I would describe this game as a flawed masterpiece. It has some bad things about it like the fact that the game reaches its half point at chapter 11. Some bosses (but not a lot) suck ass and even use death which is an annoying mechanic. The game could introduce the paradigm system a bit earlier in the game. All that to say that its still really good. The music is incredible and blinded by light is the best battle theme and i will die on this hill. The game looks really great, but there was a dog in chapter 7 i think that looks a bit fucked. The fmvs are gorgeous and look great to this day, but my main complaint with the fmvs is that during the action ones, the camera shakes and zooms in too much to understand what is happening. The battle system is the most interesting of any of the main FF games. I think it can be challenging at times but most the times i struggled, i just changed my strategy and eventually pulled out the win. I like that i don't have to control every action my teammates do. Is it necessarily fun to spam heal in a regular rpg? I don't think so and im glad i don't have to worry about it most times. I also see people complain about how linear it is. I think its better this way, because the antithesis of this linear gameplay is ff12. If you played ff12, you would know how god damn boring walking around giant maps gets. Also ff10 is damn near just as if not more linear than this game, so why doesn't that game get as much hate? Personally, i just feel like its nostalgia for most of the fan base and they just like the ones they grew up with. I grew with ff6 however, and i don't like that game at all. The story is weird, a lot of stuff gets thrown at the player and you have to adjust to it. Terms like l'cie get confusing when you start, but after a while it actually starts to drag you more into the story. I don't want to say much to avoid spoilers but ill say sazh is my favorite ff character and i cried for that man. I've also had some of the best ever rpg boss fights in this game.