Peak storytelling and themes, amazing character writing, music goes unnecessarily crazy, combat is at the top of the hack and slash genre with multiple movesets that allow for lots of creativity, and the game has a satisfying parry mechanic which instantly increases my enjoyment.

Only downsides are the side content making me want to fall asleep (abandoned side content around halfway through my playthrough) and the absence of engaging level design.

Playing through the main content really felt like I was watching a movie, cinematics were beautiful and the voice acting (English) was incredible. Easily a top contender for game of the year.

I never understood why a lot of people highly dislike this game. This is definitely one of my favorite games in the Final Fantasy franchise. I just love the characters, the settings, the touching story, the cutscenes, the gameplay... Especially the soundtrack. This game is also one of the very few games I've played that actually do tell you some important lessons.
Yes, some battles can be a bit repetitive and the game can sometimes be a running sim, but I've delt with it.
There's a hella lot to do in the post-story as well. I'm not gonna spoil it, though!

All in all, this game is misunderstood a lot and I appreciate this game 100%.