this shit got known ape murderer clayton goin gunslinger with the dante jump, there's a guy fieri behemoth, everyone looks like they're in the middle of animorphing into bratz, and it's still one of the most holistically accomplished games square's ever made

and I don't wanna hear a bitch say they're too sophisticated for riku and the paopu fruit. I don't wanna hear you're too cool to tech the ice titan or fuck up james woods. when beast rolls up that's hype. when haley joel osment says "you're stupid" it channels the most authentic childhood frustration ever with the million dollar voice crack. I'm sorry I ever said anything about nomura's big dumb shoes. if that's what it takes to design something like this make em even bigger for all I care. make em fuckin huge. I'll visit the shoe world if I gotta

the entire postgame's an exercise in stretching and bending your toolkit into different shapes to respond to increasingly idiosyncratic scenarios. the list of strategies for sniperwilds and heated contention about which is optimal (I like firaga) would make your mind melt. it's got perfect pacing, striking presentation, a rock solid mechanical backbone, and the cutest halloween outfit. kingdom hearts kinda rules

you can hurl a big ass key at sephiroth, build your gummi ship all jacked up, slump cloud and squall simultaneously, and recant every bad thing you ever said about the combat after playing proud mode

if you set aside your terminal irony poisoning and/or castle wall cynicism for a sec you can even engage with its earnest exploration of (pre)teen emotionalism and use of familiar pop elements as archetypal shorthand to meet adolescence someplace known and understood and maybe come away with better grasp of its enduring resonance beyond the chimeric childhood vhs premise

who knows