A masterpiece of conceptual art and RPG design
A magnificent blend of:
Huge, epic, world changing story
Unique and varied art-work
Huge cast of unique, fantasy characters
Assortment of terrain and cultures
As amazing as the game is, it does have faults. The story starts off slow enough...no matter how many times your play the game, you are subjected to the literally 10 minute introduction cut-scene when you start anew. This game does suffer from "random battle syndrome", where you can just walk around, not able to see enemies on the map or in a dungeon and them BAM, fight time. This is typical with Final Fantasy games, and I've never really been a fan of it. Chrono Trigger had unavoidable battles too, but you could always see an avatar representing the enemy "group". Another detraction was, at times, I just felt like each character was a walking cliche, and was a total stereotype. Times like this didnt happen very often and werent THAT over the top when they did hit, so it's ok.
What this games -does- do right though, is drag you into this rapidly evolving storyline and refuses to let go! You are immediately thrown into the action with a unique and interesting action sequence which quickly leaves you asking questions and not wanting to put the controller down until you get answers!
Looking back and playing this game, you will feel like it is the epitome of "RPG stereotypes". There is the evil empire, the guy that never talks, the mystery girl the main character falls for, the scheming adviser, et cetera....But what you have to keep in mind is that it is games like this (And Chrono Trigger and Zelda) that give us this idea in the first place!
This is a truly amazing and epic game with detailed and varied combat, unique and rich characters, amazingly deep and well thought out story and above all else, an experience that will have you dreading putting your controller down!