I first played this after playing V and VI, and I didn't think much of it. Re-playing it after I, II and III on the Famicom it's easier to see what the game does right. This is the first Final Fantasy, in my opinion, that really crafts a story with characters that you can follow with strong narrative peaks and troughs. I genuinely teared up a little when the prologue theme plays before the final battle- when all your allies throughout the game come to your aid.
Mechanically, this is the first game to use the ATB (Active Time Battle) that would become standard for the next 5 games. It doesn't feel quite perfect here, but the combat still feels smooth and fun compared to its predecessors. It feels a real shame that they walked back from the complexities of the Job system in III. You basically have no agency over how your party grows and develops- the only direction is up, more levels, better gear. In the original release you don't even get to choose your party composition, and are stuck with a fixed set of 5 characters for the end of the game. It's a crime that my beautiful Edward has to sit out the finale while the odious Edge and Kain are stinking up my party.
I'd still think this were an overall improvement over Final Fantasy III if not for one more thing. Caves & Mountains. Almost every dungeon in the game- and there are many- is a variation on a cave or a mountain. The technology & the talent are there to create beautiful environments, but someone decided there would be no cool cog dungeons, dense jungles, ruined libraries or heck, even a sewer. Instead we get brown caves, blue caves, red caves and silver caves.
Mechanically, this is the first game to use the ATB (Active Time Battle) that would become standard for the next 5 games. It doesn't feel quite perfect here, but the combat still feels smooth and fun compared to its predecessors. It feels a real shame that they walked back from the complexities of the Job system in III. You basically have no agency over how your party grows and develops- the only direction is up, more levels, better gear. In the original release you don't even get to choose your party composition, and are stuck with a fixed set of 5 characters for the end of the game. It's a crime that my beautiful Edward has to sit out the finale while the odious Edge and Kain are stinking up my party.
I'd still think this were an overall improvement over Final Fantasy III if not for one more thing. Caves & Mountains. Almost every dungeon in the game- and there are many- is a variation on a cave or a mountain. The technology & the talent are there to create beautiful environments, but someone decided there would be no cool cog dungeons, dense jungles, ruined libraries or heck, even a sewer. Instead we get brown caves, blue caves, red caves and silver caves.