I got to the final dungeon, too busy to finish now, I know what's up so feel comfy with stopping here.
This game has better scenario design than Final Fantasy 16 which is so funny to think about. FF16 is certainly /trying/ for something like this, but it's baffling to notice that this game has better female characters and more consistent plotting. It's hard not to compare the two, with both games having very thin characters with singular strong concepts and a narrative focused on moving from cool image to cool image. But... one is a game from 1991 and the other from 2023 which makes the extent to which the comparison is unfavorable downright strange.
The use of the battle system as a narrative space-time (and TIME is important, it's "Active Time Battle" after all) is breathtaking today as historical curio as it would have been as a formal innovation at the time. Such a masterful understanding of games as theatrical works, battles as stages, command based gameplay as directing a play. Certainly an aspect lost within the move towards action combat, even in half-steps like the FF7 Remake series or even FF13.
This game has better scenario design than Final Fantasy 16 which is so funny to think about. FF16 is certainly /trying/ for something like this, but it's baffling to notice that this game has better female characters and more consistent plotting. It's hard not to compare the two, with both games having very thin characters with singular strong concepts and a narrative focused on moving from cool image to cool image. But... one is a game from 1991 and the other from 2023 which makes the extent to which the comparison is unfavorable downright strange.
The use of the battle system as a narrative space-time (and TIME is important, it's "Active Time Battle" after all) is breathtaking today as historical curio as it would have been as a formal innovation at the time. Such a masterful understanding of games as theatrical works, battles as stages, command based gameplay as directing a play. Certainly an aspect lost within the move towards action combat, even in half-steps like the FF7 Remake series or even FF13.