I still have my original cartridge from 2003 and recently gave it 3 hours to see if I could get into it. I remember the game being unique at the time, but in 2022, it didn't hold up well enough for me to want to continue with it.

The battle system, while initially interesting, gets repetitive quickly. Traversal is clunky due to having to switch between characters and abilities to navigate the world. I've also read the final boss is a headache, which is not uncommon for Nintendo games from this era.

There are a lot of Mario rpg games out there and this one doesn't stand out to me as a 'must play' despite its reputation.