first ever final fantasy, only ff ive finished (so far) and i love it to bits.

love love Love the combat - its so in-depth, from paradigm setting to actually knowing the best time to switch them mid-battle, to pairing up the characters and equipping them properly. character customisation is great but the actual levelling is both hell with the grind, and linearity.

i love the mythology, lore and pantheon but the actual plot execution is very...eh. yes i hate the linearity. yes i hate the (very pretty) hallways and the fact that the party really opens up like, 8 chapters in. but the theme and message of the game is pretty great.

the characters also go through very clear arcs and change - no one can tell me otherwise. from hopes cowardice, to wrathful vengeance, to steadfast leadership, or vanille's balance of remorseful guilt and fake happiness - these characters are full of life and enrichen the story even more. it doesnt take a rocket-science formula to understand what drives them and why they act the way they do in-game.

overall 9/10 would not replay the first 10 chapters tho bc thats true hell