It gave me exactly what I expcted,wanted and missed the last years.That´s what it makes a instant classic itself.
+Classic Battle principies
+Outstanding Soundtrack
+Well executed Storyline
The Bad:
-First 2 Bosses are really a pain
-Maybe sometimes a bit long loading times (I personally could live with it)
First off,I was disappointed in the Final Fantasy parts that came out on PS2.I expected a bit more of them.Storywise,Gameplaywise and when it comes to the special Atmosphere coming with the parts before.Even if all the comparing to FF is getting old,it´s pretty much like the PS1-FF-Parts,got the same composer and producer..and it´s a lot better then most RPGs today.
The Graphics :
Well...good.LO is almost split in two parts.Some places look not worth mentioning,while some others look outstanding.I love the Character-design and the overall style which,even if it got its ups and downs always fit.Only the Battles against many enemies (actually only 2 times in the game) it got little slowdowns.
The Sound:
The Soundtrack is one of the best our japanese Friend ever made.Really.It always supports the Game,got wonderful Melodys and is always nice made.I don´t even remember downs.The Voiceovers are great,and even the american Version supports German (which I played and is well done...doesn´t happen often),English,japanese and...one I forgot XD.You don´t have to change your System,you can always switch them and the subs are not bound to the spoken Language as well.The Sound Effects are pretty standard,as the DD5.1-Mix is.So theres no reason to complain,nothing to jump around for.
The Gameplay:
The Fighting-system us basic JRPG-Style but it´s good as it is.It doesn´t get old unlike some of them.The Playtime is 40-100h,you got egnough sidequests,the Power-up-system motivates and keep you busy...It feels like 10 years ago,and I LOVE IT!It plays exactly like I hoped,it´s not too easy in the beginning (which is good,motivates you to get progress) and feels like the old FF-Parts in a absolutely own world.If you played FF7-9 when you were younger this game is more must-have then any other JRPG right now.
And the random encounters are NOT a problem.They don´t happen too often and never have been a problem back then...it almost supports the old-days-feeling.Plus,if you want to power up it´s no problem.
The Storyline itself got some twists,but comes pretty expected.This is not really bad because the way how it is executed is really awesome.The small Storys you get to read about are well-written too and give the Characters deepness and keep the game interesting interesting until the end.The Ending is also one of the best I´ve seen the last 10 years...maybe it steps in a lot clichees,BUT it gives all answers you want,while others are often too open or just flat.
So...:
If you love RPGs,even if you only liked the Final Fantasy-Series,you will be happy with this one.Its one of the most impressive RPG as a whole,it doesn´t care too much about the changes made in the last 10 years,and most of them weren´t good in my opinion.I LOVE THIS GAME!It gave me exactly what I expcted,wanted and missed the last years.That´s what it makes a instant classic itself.
If you love JRPGs : GO!BUY!NOW!