This game took forever to beat. More exactly 90 hours and 13 minutes. But I loved it from the very start! I began playing it in the summer of 2020 with the goal of beating it before summer's end, as my PS2 is in my vacation spot, and not where I live. Needless to say, I did not manage to beat the game, but had to complete it during my winter break instead. I spent many hours playing it during the break, and I actually managed to beat it just hours before I was leaving. That felt incredible. But enough backstory, let's talk about my opinions, of which I have plenty!
I came into this expecting a pretty standard JRPG, and that is also basically what I got. The unexpected thing was how basically perfect it handles this "standard" JRPG idea. It has a story that is reasonably intriguing, but pretty simple compared to some other games, but where the game succeeds is how amazing the sense of adventure in this game is. It's not just that there is an overarching quest, but every town you visit (and trust me, there are many) has its own sub-quest so to speak, so it feels like the game is telling an overarching story and lots of small stories too. This adds to the feeling of adventure, and another thing that really accomplishes this is the amazing soundtrack. Really one of the best I've heard probably. It sounds absolutely wonderful due to it being played with live instruments, and I love the neoclassicistic style that most of these tunes have, especially when it strays more towards the "neo" part (looking at the final dungeon theme as one of my favourites). I also grew to absolutely adore the battle system. I like games where you don't really have to grind, and this game balances that out with the tension system. By charging up your tension, your damage will increase in exchange for your turn, and once you get to high tension, you will deal ridiculous amounts of damage (but tension returns to normal after doing something with it, so it's not completely busted). You can actually potentially one-shot certain bosses with this, and it's definitely an incredibly satisfying mechanic to play around with. I managed to beat the game while being under the recommended level according to a strategy guide, and that speaks volumes as to how useful the tension system is. This game also features a great roster of characters, which all have great voice actors. The voice acting and the dialogue is definitely the funniest part of the game, and just made me appreciate it a lot more. The game also has a massive world which feels great to explore, and it feels like every new place has a different and unique culture, and I can definitely remember basically every town I went to. So everything feels unique in that way. Overall, probably one of my favourite RPGs ever played. Highly recommended if you have like 90 hours to spare!
I came into this expecting a pretty standard JRPG, and that is also basically what I got. The unexpected thing was how basically perfect it handles this "standard" JRPG idea. It has a story that is reasonably intriguing, but pretty simple compared to some other games, but where the game succeeds is how amazing the sense of adventure in this game is. It's not just that there is an overarching quest, but every town you visit (and trust me, there are many) has its own sub-quest so to speak, so it feels like the game is telling an overarching story and lots of small stories too. This adds to the feeling of adventure, and another thing that really accomplishes this is the amazing soundtrack. Really one of the best I've heard probably. It sounds absolutely wonderful due to it being played with live instruments, and I love the neoclassicistic style that most of these tunes have, especially when it strays more towards the "neo" part (looking at the final dungeon theme as one of my favourites). I also grew to absolutely adore the battle system. I like games where you don't really have to grind, and this game balances that out with the tension system. By charging up your tension, your damage will increase in exchange for your turn, and once you get to high tension, you will deal ridiculous amounts of damage (but tension returns to normal after doing something with it, so it's not completely busted). You can actually potentially one-shot certain bosses with this, and it's definitely an incredibly satisfying mechanic to play around with. I managed to beat the game while being under the recommended level according to a strategy guide, and that speaks volumes as to how useful the tension system is. This game also features a great roster of characters, which all have great voice actors. The voice acting and the dialogue is definitely the funniest part of the game, and just made me appreciate it a lot more. The game also has a massive world which feels great to explore, and it feels like every new place has a different and unique culture, and I can definitely remember basically every town I went to. So everything feels unique in that way. Overall, probably one of my favourite RPGs ever played. Highly recommended if you have like 90 hours to spare!