An absolute classic for a reason. Has a few issues with awful platforming and some obtuse side puzzles, but other than that its pure bliss from beginning to end. The combat is exceptional, and continues to make me wish more games used the "minigame" style of turn based battles that the Mario RPGs use. The Culex fight was also exceptionally good, and maybe one of my new favorite secret bosses in the JRPG genre. Outside of the combat, the standout element of the game was the writing and characters. Almost every new character is a slam dunk, and the fact that we have not seen more Mallow and Geno is downright criminal. The writing mixed with Yoko Shimomura's phenomenal music, just makes this game the purest form of joy condensed down into a game.

The ending legit made me tear up.