Better late then never. This game is simply amazing from its great gameplay to its stunning story, this game is a must.
The graphics on this game are really as good as its going to get for the gba or snes. There is barely any slow down in the entire game save for some encounters and a town or two. The audio is nothing short of incredible, this might be Nobuo Uematsu's best work. The character theme's and the main theme play a huge part to the game's mood and feel.
The only complaint might be the the gba's hardware does't quite handle the sound as well as it should at times.
The gameplay is played similar to most Final Fantasy games with the Active Time Bar system. Each character in the game has his/her own skills and techniques such as Sabin's blitz, Edgar's tools and Locke's steal. The characters use esper magicite to learn different forms of magic and get different boosts when you level up, somewhat similar to the GF system in Final Fantasy VIII. The only thing that some might complain about is the high encounter rate in some areas. It also might seem a bit harder to those who played VII and X(maybe). And the game isn't as linear as any past or present Final Fantasy. As good as the graphics(respectivly), the audio and the gameplay are the one thing that makes this game shine is its great, complex and intriguing story. No game to date has been able to match this awesome story. The story starts off with a bit of the worlds history, the War of the Magi, and then you take control of Terra. Terra was being controled by the empire and when she gets freed she doesn't remember who she is or where she is. Over the course of the game you unraval her origins and secrets to her abilities. However she nor any other playable character is the main character because the game covers each character almost just as much as any other. This game also features the biggest cast in the main series with over 10 playable characters. The story revolves around a resistance group called the Returners trying to stop Emperor Gesthal and his sick and demented general Kefka from gaining more magical powers and further dominating the planet. Magical powers are formed from things called magicite which are made from dying espers. Espers are magical creature used as a weapon during the War of the Magi, so they sealed themselves up in their own dimension to stop their power from being missused again. Thats why its only natural the emperor wants that power. The great thing about this game is how each character has his own reasons for fighting the empire. Overall i have just recently played and beat this game and it has become my all time favorite game. This game is great for any rpg fan and a must have for a Final Fantasy fan. Playing this game only recently i find it a shame that the more recent games don't quite live up to the story of this game.