This game lived up to every hope and expectation I had of it when I first heard the rumor that Team Ninja was making an action game based on the original Final Fantasy.

The action is top-notch, the RPG elements incorporated make it feel truly in line with the franchise, and the story is cheeky, self-aware, and more ambitious than it may initially seem. It perfectly marries the old storytelling of "Ah, you have a crystal? So do I! Let us quest!" with the more modern Final Fantasy narratives, full of twists, turns, and intrigue.

While it definitely offers more than enough meat to go absolutely ham on numberwang and grinding, the main story doesn't overstay its welcome, wrapping up about when you want it to, and even offering some fairly relaxed off-ramps in terms of engagement for the final couple missions, where you can take things kinda easy until the final boss if you want to.

It's a really splendid anniversary title that captures what makes so many of the Final Fantasy spinoffs so captivating, compelling, and unique, and each mission being based on a location from a previous game makes it such a wonderful celebration of the franchise.