This is a game for the impressionable. The story is filled with extremely contrived conflicts solved by deus ex machina. The majority of characters do not behave like human beings. A small logic poke into the tear-jerk scenes reveals a complete lack of reason. Art work is stuff from nightmares. Thankfully there're a few routes not written by Maeda Jun that offer a little bit of genuine drama and character development.

This game ultimately crushed my enthusiasm for Japanese visual novels. I had heard so much about its legendary status, and what I got was cheap drama and asinine writing. If you are out of high school and thinking about giving this game a try, I suggest you just pick up a real novel instead.

It's the kind of visual novel people would quick to dismiss as having nothing to show for except anime titties. And yet, this game kicked off a successful brand of VNs containing Gin'iro, Haruka and Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai that, at their core, not so different from this game: full on slice of life galore, school activities and vanilla romance, absolutely nothing over the top. Maya and Midori routes are competent enough to have some believable drama and character arc. The other three routes are of lower quality, albeit Kyou is quite cute. The game walks the fine line between surrounding you with attractive girls and making you feel like a harem light novel protagonist. The storyline is so mundane it can pass for realistic. Slice of life stuff is not what I'm into but I admit VN like this have their place. Also, how does the 1/1 part not in the title?

Puzzle design is fine, but sometimes the mechanics need a bit more tutorial, despite Jonathan Blow's famous hatred towards idea of tutorial. The control of the platforming is not good and is often the source of frustration. Story tries too hard to impress, but doesn't have enough substance to land the big reveal in the end. Art and sound are monotonous for a four hour experience. so the game is better played piecemeal. I can see its historical significance, but the indie scene has grown so much, we can safely put this one on the shelf.

All the signature Final Fantasy story-telling elements can trace their roots back to here. Character growth is not just an RPG mechanics anymore, but a vital narrative element, and often works together with the main story. Romance becomes a series staple. Villains are given more attention, and sometimes take on a new sympathetic side.

The soul crushing difficulty keeps the experience fresh for FF veterans, but it also can stump a newcomer. This was my first introduction to ATB system, and I was stumped.

Younger me had no problem with the 3D graphics. Older me appreciates it even more as this game has already got so many different 2D rendition.

Fantastic introduction to a new galaxy and lays the groundwork for an epic journey. World building is meticulous, yet not intrusive. The magnitude of choices and consequences immerse players into a web of causality. Sharp writing carries the story throughout. Sheperd is not afraid to throw a couple of zingers once in a while, or punches for that matter. The renegade options provide a true anti-hero experience that is just as viable as the model soldier route. The end justifies the means, but at least it is a noble end. I do wish he doesn't run like he smokes five packs of cigarette every day though.

On the flip side, side quests are not memorable aside from a handful of more flesh-out ones. Teammates, aside from a few story moments, don't get to shine and fully become their own characters with Wrex being a notable exception who won my heart early on.

Gameplay is not archaic as some might let you think, with Mako driving being the obvious weak link. Headshoting flashlight head never gets old, and seeing enemies struggling in the air is always hilarious.

The only Fire Emblem game where I remember every character's name. Sure they don't have a million lines of support dialogue to specify their favorite food, but what short dialogue there is always captures the essence of them, a videogame writing skill sadly lost after 16 bit generation. The marriage system is first introduced here, but it doesn't indulge in dating sim. What make the characters truly memorable, however, is their role in the main story. They are tied to the main story through their lineage, and what happened in the story impacts them all. And what a story it is. It exudes grand and epic, matching the glorious title in every way. Fire Emblem story has never reached the same height ever since.

Gameplay wise, this is the only Fire Emblem game that makes you the head of an army instead of the commander of a battalion. And yes, that means you will be maneuvering your troops a lot. You can play like a battalion commander and throw all the units at one objective, or you can make strategic decision, choose advantageous position for engagement, and split your army if necessary. It also introduced a more intricate economy system where each unit has own fund and weapons can be repaired. Gone are the days when everyone wields silver weapons. Who to equip which weapon and when to use it become a gameplay decision.

If there is to be remake, a few improvements can be made:

1. Introduce rescue system from Thracia 776, which increase availability of on-foot units in battle.
2. Add indoor battle where like Thracia 776, mounted units need to dismount and receive stats debuff, which further helps on-foot units.
3. More world building and story. In the first half of the game, Sigurd's war is a secondary theater to a bigger war happening in the side of the world. It is ultimately what happens in and after the other war that seals the fate of the characters. So it can be more flashed out. The second half of the game can hint at the event of Thracia 776, which not only enriches the game itself, but also paves the way to future remake.

I couldn't play the game for more than thirty minutes due to severe headache it induced. Near the end of the game, I finally realized I was supposed to repeatedly smash the jump button to jump higher. As you can imagine, my experience with the game was quite miserable. But there's something evocative about preserving the last generation of human on film. I've seen people say how angry this game is, but that's not the impression I got. Sure the graffiti paints a picture of confusion and desperation. But that's not what we are filming. Ours is the last stage of grief. Under the bleeding sky, people seem to be taking the looming doom quite well, either due to numbness or dignity, or maybe the facts that our friends are with us.

Too many indie JRPG go for the shorter route while conveniently styling themselves as "Chrono Trigger inspired". This one says "fuck it, I'm going the full nine yards." It's the complete classic 16 bit JRPG package, with proper side quests and post game content and everything. The story is a hodgepodge of JRPG, manga and anime influence cramped into something engaging to the end, with certain events feeling a bit too familiar. Funny enough, another standout indie game from Germany in 2022: Signalis, gives the exact same impression story wise. Gameplay design is an absolute standout. With no random encounter and trash mob, the enemy variety is astounding, and each encounter is a puzzle to be solved. Just when I thought there's nothing more to be done about turn-based JRPG combat, this game came alone and proved me wrong. Writing and translation can be iffy at times, which some might say is a long standing feature of JRPG. I'm sure the writer has good intentions, but illogical world building such as "constant war makes the continent fall behind in technology" only serves to muddle the message.