Definitely one of the better classic JRPGs I've gone through. PSIV offers the soul, likable cast and sense of adventure you expect from a quality JRPG with its own unique twists. The sci-fi setting, complete with planet hopping, robots and beam weapons sets it apart from the other JRPGs of the time which were largely dominated by medieval fantasy. The aspect of PSIV that I especially appreciate was the cutscene images. Even though they were just showing character expressions or poses as they talked, it can't be stated enough how much more alive it makes the dialogue feel compared to just having the sprites standing around with textboxes and maybe small face portraits. While the plot is standard "save the universe" material, the fact that you travel to several different planets and help people there helps emphasize the scale of the threat and reinforce your sense of importance. The story also manages to have a surprisingly emotional moment or 2 thanks to Alys's unexpected early death scene. The party in PSIV is particularly impressive, partially thanks to the fan re-translation which helped the characters' personalities shine through better. Alys is a charismatic role model, Rune is arrogant but undeniably cool and seeing him warm up to Chazz over the course of the game is a delight, Chazz is a quality example of a coming-of-age character arc, Wren is the stoic but dependable android and Rika is really cute with a great design. The rotating 5th party member slot also does a good job of keeping the party and its interactions fresh, especially with Raja who's extremely endearing. The gameplay is pretty par for the course but the distinctions between human and android characters as well as characters having separate skill and technique systems helps it feel fresh enough. I also like the presentation of the fights in which you see the characters fight from the back. Unfortunately the dungeons can be pretty bland and the encounter rate is too high but that's pretty common for classic JRPGs. The music is nice but repetitive apart from major scenes.