About the only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is that I really feel like this was a game you needed to experience when it was fresh and new. Playing this as an adult in the Year of our Luigi 2024 I think "wow, it's easy to see why this was so formative for many people". Playing it in 1995 as a young person must have been absolutely mind blowing.
What sins this game has are hardly unique to it, mainly that only the boss fights are allowed to be interesting and the final dungeon is way too long. All the other fundamental aspects are incredibly solid. The boss fights are good and the art direction and music are wonderful.
What I think was refreshing was how straightforward the story was. JRPGs have this reputation for being sprawling and convoluted, but you can finish this one in under 20 hours. Despite being a time travel narrative all the events flow in an understandable fashion. And yet despite this there's still room for decision making, sidequests and secrets to explore and even a whole wealth of extra endings to try for.
What sins this game has are hardly unique to it, mainly that only the boss fights are allowed to be interesting and the final dungeon is way too long. All the other fundamental aspects are incredibly solid. The boss fights are good and the art direction and music are wonderful.
What I think was refreshing was how straightforward the story was. JRPGs have this reputation for being sprawling and convoluted, but you can finish this one in under 20 hours. Despite being a time travel narrative all the events flow in an understandable fashion. And yet despite this there's still room for decision making, sidequests and secrets to explore and even a whole wealth of extra endings to try for.