This review contains spoilers
This game is about "pretty good" for 80% of the run time with only minimal issues. One being the arbitrary 40 item inventory limit this game introduced (and was thankfully dropped right after). This annoying restriction also messes with the optimise equipment function, since I assume the behind the scenes process involves the game unequipping all your stuff first and then looking in your inventory to see what you have. So if your inventory is full or a few away from full it won't let you use the function, which was a very frequent annoyance and basically took away the pretty obvious omnipresent appeal of finding items in chests in rpgs, because it was always accompanied by the thought of "ugh, what do I have to throw away now"
But aside from that, I enjoyed the game a decent amount until you go to the moon. Then I think is when the game just sorta throws away all the appeal in both story and gameplay. The lunar surface and lunar subterrain is a pretty steep difficulty spike, one of the most intense in any of these games. The random encounters always outspeed you turn 1 and can do a devastating amount of damage to you before you're able to strike. It felt like the entire area was designed as a resources drain and just to make you use your entire mp, potion and ether stock in record time. Also, story wise, you are robbed out of a satisfying conclusion with the games recurring villain, after he is revealed to also be being brainwashed (after that plotpoint was already being used on one of your party members). You never get a non scripted fight with Golbez, which is immensely disappointing. The real antagonist is a moon man vampire. But even then, you don't get to fight him. He is killed by Golbez and an ally, and then his lingering hatred incarnates into a new monster, which ends up being the final boss you fight and is about two spheres removed from anything the game had you caring about the entire time.
Overall I don't think the game is awful, I had fun with the majority of my playtime, but some mechanical annoyances and a really poor ending sort of soured the experience.
The after years is a real steaming pile of garbage though. Just an excuse to rehash content and a really really awful attempt to tie together all the final fantasy games with crystals in them.
But aside from that, I enjoyed the game a decent amount until you go to the moon. Then I think is when the game just sorta throws away all the appeal in both story and gameplay. The lunar surface and lunar subterrain is a pretty steep difficulty spike, one of the most intense in any of these games. The random encounters always outspeed you turn 1 and can do a devastating amount of damage to you before you're able to strike. It felt like the entire area was designed as a resources drain and just to make you use your entire mp, potion and ether stock in record time. Also, story wise, you are robbed out of a satisfying conclusion with the games recurring villain, after he is revealed to also be being brainwashed (after that plotpoint was already being used on one of your party members). You never get a non scripted fight with Golbez, which is immensely disappointing. The real antagonist is a moon man vampire. But even then, you don't get to fight him. He is killed by Golbez and an ally, and then his lingering hatred incarnates into a new monster, which ends up being the final boss you fight and is about two spheres removed from anything the game had you caring about the entire time.
Overall I don't think the game is awful, I had fun with the majority of my playtime, but some mechanical annoyances and a really poor ending sort of soured the experience.
The after years is a real steaming pile of garbage though. Just an excuse to rehash content and a really really awful attempt to tie together all the final fantasy games with crystals in them.