God this game is so good. It's so God. Damn. GOOD. The visuals are aces, the pacing is pitch perfect, the character writing is top level and perfectly developed. The soundtrack is an orchestrated feast for the ears and it rocks socks.

Really this game is a solid 50-60 hour package with the chops that few JRPGs I feel even come CLOSE to getting right. I mean that seriously, I couldn't stop playing this for days just being gripped with flying through the sky and finding new discoveries, islands, and fighting some very bizarre enemies.

Sadly the only thing holding this back from a perfect score is just the VERY slow combat that (while strategic and honestly really gripping) just tends to drag out for a minute or two for a simple random encounter. And you get simple encounters. A lot. Frequently.

Ship battles fare much better as the larger movement paths they make keep the fights more visually interesting and also take their placement into consideration in a larger scope. The game honestly shines the most in these fights with a combo of strategy, timing, and outplaying your opponent. It feels as good as it (almost) looks.

A stellar game, honestly. A tried and true classic on the Dreamcast.