the beauty of this system is that you benefit from everything that happens. there's no such thing as a wasted spell or a battle that drained more resources than it was worth. if you get hit it benefits you, if you miss it benefits you, if you have a long drag-out battle it benefits you more than an easy battle. perfectly tuned with 0.5x everything and hp compensation off. i recommend resisting the impulse to try to optimize the game and just play it however you want, because the system will conform to your playstyle like memory foam.

the emperor is one of the coolest villains in the series. the guest character structure lets you see the possibilities of what your permanent party members could become. equipment must be chosen carefully to balance all the different stats it affects. it's easy to change anyone's build midgame, as a precursor to the formalized job system. the enemy rank system means it doesn't take long for new skills to catch up, the loot encourages weapon switching by giving you powerful weapons of types you haven't used yet, and taking advantage of elemental weaknesses makes even low-level spells powerful in the right circumstances.

just a really smart evolution of the jrpg, and a game that makes me excited to check out saga.