the BEST RELEASE of an old classic
Graphics is redone from the ground up and thankfully they are familiar copies of the original art updated to wow us. It does seem unfair to pay fullprice just for the new artstyle but it does cost a lot to redo a game from the groundup, i mean you have to pay someone for their tedious gophering away to change and update each and every sprite to make the game better, right? This is 2D goodness with 3D movie greatness. You wont find the seamless cutscene-to-gameplay-and-back the newer final fantasy games have but it does break up a monotony those games tend to generate.
Sound is pure oldschool fun tunes plus the cutscene movies are beautifully orchestrated. Listen close at any point in the game and you'll appreciate the the detail to music and nuances of special effects timing square put into their games before they became square-enix.
Gameplay is truly classic and none moreso than the final fantasy series, the best of their time in rpg creation and it shows. Play this to remember the good old games of your youth or for the newer gamers to set the tone for the greatness of storytelling and gameplay innovation that is final fantasy.
Replay is probably not a big thing as I only tend to play these "classics" when they're redone very well, such is the case here. I'll play it til it bleeds then not touch it for a year. Kinda like the upcoming Final Fantasy Tactics remake :)
This really should have been bundled with Final Fantasy I and even better Final Fantasy III. The publishers should have made more use of the platform as you could fit FF 1-3 and maybe 4 too on a umd. I do feel cheated to have to pay full price for both remakes of 1 & 2... then i start the game and everything fades into the background noise.
Get it if you've got the extra cash.