This review is coming from a someone who would rather play this then Call of Duty or Metal Gear Solid.( Final Fantasy 4)
If you are looking for an RPG that is challenging (requires leveling up) has a simple story, great characters with very good dialogue along with silly and serious scenes that are very epic, then this just may be the game for you. This game also has the funest battle system ever. HANDS DOWN! This is coming from a guy who has played Final Fantasy's 4,6,7,8,9,10,and 12. The battles are so fun that level grinding is enjoyable. Massive exploration (without going overboard like ff12) comes with the package too. To top it all off, accomplishments come with every 20 minutes of the game. I have never played a game where you get so much done in such little time. You get more done in the first 10 hours of this game then what you get done in all of ff10. ( Not to say that i don't love ff10). And if you like all of these things than go out and try to get you a copy of this game. ( or just use an emulator). TRY TO STAY AWAY FROM THE GAMEBOY ADVANCE VERSION. Bad music quilty.
Music- Incredible soundtrack (great job Uematsu) Has some of my favorite music in video game history. Music can make a game great, but with this game, not only is the music great, but also the whole game is great. Just to name a few of my favorite tracks in the game: Golbeze's theme, The Final Battle (second favorite final boss theme. Dancing mad is my favorite),and Theme of Love. 10
Graphics- Compared to other SNES games that came out at the time (for example: the legend of Zelda A link to the past) they really aren't the best. Still, many things are very appealing to the eye. 9
Battle Mechanics- Everything is very useful and there are some really great strategies for boss fights. This game to me has the best battle mechanics out of any other Final Fantasy. Every spell seems to be very useful to my knowledge. Nothing really screwy with the level up system. Also, I have to complament this game for it's excellent job of giving you weapons before being able to buy them in stores. Along with that, the dungeon items were actually useful. 10 NO LESS!!
Story- The game doesn't go into much or leave you with a bunch of plotholes. (like final fantasy 8. FINAL FANTASY 8= plotholes) Rips off starwars in some spots but still interesting. Sets the example for a lot of the Final fantasy's to follow. By the way, i'm just comparing this games story to the other final fantasy's. This games story compared to to other games is way different. (Final Fantasy 4> other games) 9
Character development- Perfect job with the characters! Backgrounds for nearly every character and entertaining dialogue. The 10th anniversity version of the game has more of a mature type of dialogue, like final fantasy 7. 10
Well, i think that is about all. Tell me if there is something else i missed.
Overall, I give this game a perfect 10 out of 10 One of my favorite games of alltime.