A fantastic game brought together beautifully for the old-school RPG lover.
The story is a rich tapestry of interwoven tales touching on many themes, notably of love, the relationship between a mother and daughter and duty above loyalty to name but a few. The characters that come and go range from quietly courageous, calculatingly evil and downright humourous. There are many personalities on offer in this game and how they interact with each other both pulls on the heart strings and entertains in equal measure. There are as many touching moments as hilarious ones.
The gameplay is divided into a few sections. Firstly, the battle section is provided by the ever-present random encounter and a few set encounters scattered here and there. The action uses a system called Active Time Battle, a turn based fighting system with real time elements. There are many nuances to the battle system but suffice to say there are numerous ways to win (and lose) a fight ranging from physical attacks, magical damaging spells, healing abilties and crazy summouns. The animations are fantastic for a game of this age and the high-end spells look great even with the slow down in frame rate.
The second section involves travelling around the world map or dungeons. Here you are subjected to random enemy encounters but as you level up, your character's stats get bigger in order to venture into towns and buy better equipment, the standard RPG formula. In towns you get to continue the story, buy equipment and find treasure.
The real pleasure about this game is that there are so many little details in the game that stand out. Equiping different weapons on your character changes their attack and spell animations, references to old games can get old-school gamers reminiscing and the music is some of the best composed for the series. There is also an obscene amount to see and do. The brilliant Chocobo Hot or Cold will leave you elated, frustrated and wanting more every time.
This is a must buy for any Final Fantasy fan and a great addition to any gamer's back catalogue. The game suffers from pacing issues but aside from that you will find an amazing game that will continue to delight. There are a numerous fan-made challenges online that can increase the longevity of the game including the infamous Level 1 Ozma Challenge. Try it at your own peril!