Any fan of a good RPG will like this game.
Graphics: Pretty good for its time, they are very deatailed, and it takes Mode-7 to a new level. The camera angels are about the standard but there are a few times where it uses the Mode-7 camera angels for the world map, which is a very nice touch, an improvement from FFIV, but nothing.. extroadinary.
Sound: Nothing really memorable about the music in the game, it is pretty good though. The sound effects though are good, such as Kefkas laugh, which is very memorable throughout the entire game, although nothing really.. hits the spot, there are a few good songs, but nothing.. truly extroadinary. It seems average.
Gameplay: This is where it shines. Typical ATB with plenty of customization, there are many things that you can customize your characters with, and the esper magic system is great because you learn magic from espers [phantom beasts], the game is very well balenced from FFIV. Infact the game is a bit on the easy side at times, but the challenge balences itself. There though are a few cheap tricks that can cause you to beat the game without too much trouble, but the bosses seem to be rather tough all throughout.
Story: Its pretty generic actually. If you have played Secret of Mana the plot is exactly the same, just altered and they added different things for measure, yet the game doesnt get boring. The plot is nothing to win 'best storyline ever' but it is nicely done, even if it is a bit cliche, chances are you wont care though.
Characters: I found them to be not very serious. They are bland at times infact, although there are alot of characters that keep the game interesting, you are defintly bound to find atleast three that you'll like, yet the games characters just are not that interesting in the first place. They are not as great as lets say FFVII or FFIV's cast, but they still have devolpment and they fit the world very good.
Bottom line: Not the best game ever as some may have you believe, but for it, it is defintly a good RPG, nothing truly revolutionary though, its defintly worth a playthrough.