Took a few hours to get on its wavelength, but once I did I had a surprisingly decent time. I don't think I would call its leveling system good--too much of its rules are pointlessly arcane and counterintuitive--but it is interesting, and maybe sometimes I prefer interesting to good. And the near-constant barrage of stats going up in battle is real satisfying in that Skinner box way. From what I hear this is a system that's carried over and refined in the SaGa series, so maybe it's time for me to finally give that a try.

Also dug how ambitious it is in the way it tells its story--basic plot's a naked, halfassed Star Wars ripoff, but I was impressed by the way the world state changes as you progress through the game, something I don't think other NES RPGs were doing at the time. Also liked the rotating cast (even if nobody has much of a personality to speak of), and the game's surprising willingness to kill people off. It's easy to see why this is nobody's favorite Final Fantasy, but, I dunno. There's something here.