This is a game you have to play. I don't care if you dislike RPG's or Zelda inspired action adventure games, this is a must play. Everyone who even remotely likes video games NEEDS to play this at least once in their lives. Preferably more than once.
Is it perfect? No. Could it have been? Yes. It has a few minor issues that prevent me from giving it a 10/10 but despite its flaws, it's well worth the journey and worth any minor issues that may come up.
The first thing is the graphics. It's a very good looking game, on par with the best on the SNES. The art style has a very 'Chrono Trigger' vibe if the character designer was someone else. It's very visually appealing and downright beautiful. It's honestly surprising it was able to run as well as it does on the SNES's hardware. There are these cutscenes thrown in that look like they belong on the PS1. They are great, especially for the time. Mode 7 is on full display, if you don't suffer from motion sickness it looks great and makes the world feel deep and is artistically a great decision.
The music is great. The first issue I have with it is that there are not enough tracks. The soundtrack is one of the SNES's best but it lacks variety in some places. It would've been nice to more dungeon themes and maybe a few more boss themes. It's still a stellar soundtrack but it does get a bit repetitive near the end.
The story is fantastic. It starts off simple enough and it doesn't really gain too much complexity. It's pretty much about restoring the world and it's a simple but good story. It's well told with a great supporting cast and the villains are interesting. They're not as deep as other RPG villains but they didn't feel generic either.
The game also has a great plot twist halfway through it. It's not exactly unpredictable but it's a twist that reminds me of the plot twists in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X. It really does change the direction and mood of the story. It's great. It's about 15 hours so the story never felt too long or short. It had a right kind of length for the story it was telling. Sure some may say 15 hours is too short for an action RPG but it makes it instantly replayable and it does a great job of telling the story.
The only issue with the story I had is that sometimes the text boxes move too fast. It's easy to miss something but that's a minor issue.
The gameplay is fun. It's not as deep as other action RPG's but it's fun. It has a few moves that are easy to pull off. There is a magic system that is okay. The magic isn't really necessary and I didn't use it that much, except on a difficult boss about halfway through. The level balancing is off. You could be two levels under and get destroyed but if you level up a few levels you become very overpowered. There is one part, near the end where you pretty much need to level five levels and then the rest of the game becomes a cake walk. It would've been nice to have better level balancing. It's a minor issue. If you're having issues, just level a few times and you'll be fine.
The other issue I have is once you get to chapter 3 it can be difficult to know what to do next. It becomes a little cryptic. It definitely became a game that I needed a walkthrough. The solutions to the puzzles aren't apparent and while that's not bad on its own, it would've been nice to have some hints thrown in the dungeons, ala Lufia 2. The puzzles aren't that hard but things can be cryptic in what you're supposed to do and unless you're into that kind of thing, it might be best to just consult a walkthrough. There is this one part that I would've had no idea what to do regarding a certain item I needed for a dungeon and there is this maze that would've been headache inducing without a guide.
It's not a major issue and I wouldn't let it distract you from playing it. It's worth the trouble.
This game was never released in the US. It was released in Europe, though due to modern clone consoles like the Retron 5 you can play PAL games. No matter how you play it, rather importing a copy, buying it on ebay or even using an emulator it's well worth your time. It's a shame the devoloper went other but if any game should be brought back for modern times, this is it.
Play it. You won't regret it, even if it does have a few minor issues. Consider it the SNES's 'Nier: Automata'. An instant classic.