This will be a long one, cause this was one of my favorite PS1 games and it was the very first RPG i played in my life.
First thing to clear is; this game suffers from all the well known JRPG problems of its age: Slowness, no customization on character (no costumes, armors doesn't reflect on characters appearance, not even the weapons) annoying random encounters and the most important: painful EASINESS, which IMO is the biggest flop of this game, cause it affect others thing the game do well, like gameplay.
The story is mid, the whole idea is good, there's some good moments, twist or revelations, but ultimately fails to have you emotionally involved in the long run. I liked the ending, for the most part, but Yuna should have died.
So, with bad things clear out, here is why i still like the game:
1. I like the the way it does turn base combat, with commands executing in a kind of simultaneous way, this allow the Combo System, which i love.
2. I love the Master System, it's like an In-game-rewarded "trophies/achievements" system.
3. One of my most beloved role on Final Fantasy is Blue Mage, this game is the reason why. Here, Blue Mage is a universal mechanic for all characters.
4. Love the music, it's not as good as FF, but is very good.
5. This is probably the only RPG where i like the whole roster.
The rest is just a bunch of little things and quirks i like about the game, like how the money in this game have value, a lot mini games, the faeries thing, etc.
I just wish the game were harder, all those nice mechanics and quirks are ultimately worthless because the game is WAY too easy, it's just a walk until you reach the very last locations (The Tomb, Capital and Final Castle) that help to make the game feels boring, your are never in peril, i finish the game with only 1 game over (against the last boss and mostly because I thought it was scripted to die) I wish that final area difficulty was the default from the beginning. It also lack some end game dungeon/area where you can use all the things you master. The game let's you play after the last save, but there's no real reason to do it, since you already kill 99% of enemies.
First thing to clear is; this game suffers from all the well known JRPG problems of its age: Slowness, no customization on character (no costumes, armors doesn't reflect on characters appearance, not even the weapons) annoying random encounters and the most important: painful EASINESS, which IMO is the biggest flop of this game, cause it affect others thing the game do well, like gameplay.
The story is mid, the whole idea is good, there's some good moments, twist or revelations, but ultimately fails to have you emotionally involved in the long run. I liked the ending, for the most part, but Yuna should have died.
So, with bad things clear out, here is why i still like the game:
1. I like the the way it does turn base combat, with commands executing in a kind of simultaneous way, this allow the Combo System, which i love.
2. I love the Master System, it's like an In-game-rewarded "trophies/achievements" system.
3. One of my most beloved role on Final Fantasy is Blue Mage, this game is the reason why. Here, Blue Mage is a universal mechanic for all characters.
4. Love the music, it's not as good as FF, but is very good.
5. This is probably the only RPG where i like the whole roster.
The rest is just a bunch of little things and quirks i like about the game, like how the money in this game have value, a lot mini games, the faeries thing, etc.
I just wish the game were harder, all those nice mechanics and quirks are ultimately worthless because the game is WAY too easy, it's just a walk until you reach the very last locations (The Tomb, Capital and Final Castle) that help to make the game feels boring, your are never in peril, i finish the game with only 1 game over (against the last boss and mostly because I thought it was scripted to die) I wish that final area difficulty was the default from the beginning. It also lack some end game dungeon/area where you can use all the things you master. The game let's you play after the last save, but there's no real reason to do it, since you already kill 99% of enemies.