interesting to play such a primitive jrpg, but it doesn't really result in gameplay that's all too deep or interesting from what i can tell. fair warning, this will be a bit of a rambly review.
i've heard the small inventory space praised as a novel feature but frankly to me it was more cumbersome than anything - "inventory management" only became a priority in the late game when i had so many key items that there was no space left in my inventory, and even then it was just a matter of guessing which ones i was least likely to need and putting them away in storage.
combat here is obviously incredibly basic and for my money the encounter rate is far, far too high for what a boring waste of time it is to sit through. and this maybe goes without saying, but the randomized damage that you and your enemies deal largely eliminates any sort of strategy or skillful play when it comes to the encounters. mostly it becomes about levelling appropriately beforehand, and i guess knowing when to start fleeing if the battle starts going badly (though even that is randomized). but at least the sfc/gbc version is a considerably brisker experience than the absolutely tortuous grindfest that is the nes/fds version.
exploration is initially fairly fun. the progression order is mostly linear but there is a lot of freedom offered in how you go about your journey, and that's rarely a bad thing. inching your way across the world and testing which foes you're strong enough to survive against reliably enough to explore in the vicinity of is a pretty good time. grinding even becomes kind of fun because it's relegated to an option at your disposal instead of a necessity (like it was in the original nes/fds version). the way MP is handled here is one of the few examples in this game of a limitation that actually leads to deeper and more engaging gameplay than if it were more streamlined; the lack of MP recovery items means that you have to manage the resource very carefully in the early game since the spells play such a big part in your damage and healing output. health recovery items are included, though, which makes for an interesting choice on whether you want to spend MP in exchange for a "free" heal (since you can always fully recover it back at the castle), or your much-coveted gold for a backup healing resource.
however, the fun starts to dissipate as you level up and explore more of the world. it's not long into the game before you'll have enough gold to max out on healing items for a miniscule percentage of your money. MP also gradually becomes less useful the more of it you have and the higher damage you do with your basic weapons, and since you're always traveling from town to town you're never too far away from an inn where you can fully recover your health and MP (much like with healing items, the prices are so low in the mid to late game that it becomes trivial to just sleep every time you come across an inn). exploration goes from exciting to a terrible drag as trekking your way across such a large area, constantly interrupted by 2 second combat encounters, becomes an almost herculean task in the late game. the only form of fast travel you're offered is an instant teleport item which sends you back to the castle in the middle of the map. it's useful, but since it only goes one way it's not nearly enough to eliminate the absolute slog that is late game traversal. a relatively easy way to fix this issue would've been offering the ability to travel between towns via the teleport spell that you unlock late into the game. as it stands, the breeziest way to travel is to use a spell (or an item) that stops most lower level monsters from entering into combat with you, which, again, is useful but doesn't eliminate the issue (and also honestly shouldn't have been a spell or an item in the first place, this should kind of just be on by default past a certain point).
i do want to end this review on a positive note though and say that in spite of its issues, the game is very charming. it's sincere but also doesn't take itself too seriously, and well presented across the board, with cute sprite work and cool designs. it's not hard to see why it was so influential, because it really does impart on you the sense that you're on a grand adventure.
i've heard the small inventory space praised as a novel feature but frankly to me it was more cumbersome than anything - "inventory management" only became a priority in the late game when i had so many key items that there was no space left in my inventory, and even then it was just a matter of guessing which ones i was least likely to need and putting them away in storage.
combat here is obviously incredibly basic and for my money the encounter rate is far, far too high for what a boring waste of time it is to sit through. and this maybe goes without saying, but the randomized damage that you and your enemies deal largely eliminates any sort of strategy or skillful play when it comes to the encounters. mostly it becomes about levelling appropriately beforehand, and i guess knowing when to start fleeing if the battle starts going badly (though even that is randomized). but at least the sfc/gbc version is a considerably brisker experience than the absolutely tortuous grindfest that is the nes/fds version.
exploration is initially fairly fun. the progression order is mostly linear but there is a lot of freedom offered in how you go about your journey, and that's rarely a bad thing. inching your way across the world and testing which foes you're strong enough to survive against reliably enough to explore in the vicinity of is a pretty good time. grinding even becomes kind of fun because it's relegated to an option at your disposal instead of a necessity (like it was in the original nes/fds version). the way MP is handled here is one of the few examples in this game of a limitation that actually leads to deeper and more engaging gameplay than if it were more streamlined; the lack of MP recovery items means that you have to manage the resource very carefully in the early game since the spells play such a big part in your damage and healing output. health recovery items are included, though, which makes for an interesting choice on whether you want to spend MP in exchange for a "free" heal (since you can always fully recover it back at the castle), or your much-coveted gold for a backup healing resource.
however, the fun starts to dissipate as you level up and explore more of the world. it's not long into the game before you'll have enough gold to max out on healing items for a miniscule percentage of your money. MP also gradually becomes less useful the more of it you have and the higher damage you do with your basic weapons, and since you're always traveling from town to town you're never too far away from an inn where you can fully recover your health and MP (much like with healing items, the prices are so low in the mid to late game that it becomes trivial to just sleep every time you come across an inn). exploration goes from exciting to a terrible drag as trekking your way across such a large area, constantly interrupted by 2 second combat encounters, becomes an almost herculean task in the late game. the only form of fast travel you're offered is an instant teleport item which sends you back to the castle in the middle of the map. it's useful, but since it only goes one way it's not nearly enough to eliminate the absolute slog that is late game traversal. a relatively easy way to fix this issue would've been offering the ability to travel between towns via the teleport spell that you unlock late into the game. as it stands, the breeziest way to travel is to use a spell (or an item) that stops most lower level monsters from entering into combat with you, which, again, is useful but doesn't eliminate the issue (and also honestly shouldn't have been a spell or an item in the first place, this should kind of just be on by default past a certain point).
i do want to end this review on a positive note though and say that in spite of its issues, the game is very charming. it's sincere but also doesn't take itself too seriously, and well presented across the board, with cute sprite work and cool designs. it's not hard to see why it was so influential, because it really does impart on you the sense that you're on a grand adventure.