This RPG is clinically insane. Deranged. Every aspect of its design hates you. The first hour of the game is a complete and total drag. Leveling up makes zero sense, it'll either happen or it won't. But there's also ways to easily exploit leveling up. But be careful not to level up too much, because the game has nothing to prevent overflow bugs happening, so your stats may just reset all the way back to 0. Permanent party member death is a thing, so is weapon durability, so is a room full of dead children, because why not!

... And yet, despite just how absolutely fucking jank this thing is, I feel like everybody owes themselves at least one playthrough of Final Fantasy Legend, otherwisely known as the first (or second, if you count FF2) game in the SaGa series. It's chaotic, actively punishing, and yet at times completely broken and in your favor. And that's part of what makes it special, what makes it unlike any other RPG series you'll play.

If you're anything like me, you'll touch the first 30 minutes of the game, go "ugh," and put it down. But then, a day later, as you give it a second chance and figure out what the hell it's trying to do... you'll start warming up to its odd yet unique concepts. It's certainly far from a perfect game, but one worth playing at least once.