Score: 7.5/10

The story is really well paced and solidly written. It isn't a thought provoking piece that will make you think back to its deep messages or anything but it's exciting, fun, and even manages to surprise at times. The world is shockingly expansive and is a treat for the eyes especially for the time and the music doesn't disappoint (although it'd be nice if there were more tracks). The narrative and aesthetic are as solid as they come for the time and it still holds up to this day but this game still has plenty of issues. This game is extremely slow in nearly all respects I can think of aside from the pacing of the story. Movement in the overworld whether by ship or foot is tiresomely slow and this remains the same in battle as well. I found myself just waiting for slow animations to finish up rather than enjoy the combat system (which is way too simple and bare bones btw) especially during the ship battles where every action feels like a cutscene. The movement along with the tedious collectibles (moonfish and chams) sucks a lot of the joy out of the game. Despite all these problems the story and charm of the game still won me over and I understand why many consider this a masterpiece, I wouldn't say it's an all timer but it's worth your time if you're patient and into good narratives. (If you decide to emulate this I recommend playing at 150% emulation speed for general gameplay and 300% for ship battles).