A huge surprise for sure. Not that I was expecting it to be bad, since a pseudo-remake of Final Fantasy I that plays up the gothic design elements of Amano's monsters and world was an immediately exciting prospect. I like Final Fantasy 1 a lot. But I wasn't expecting the gameplay to be anywhere near so solid, and certainly not that the plot would require such a level of theory-crafting as you move throughout the game. The hurr-durr kill Chaos part is actually quite self-aware, and the decision to have such a simple-minded protagonist is obviously done to highlight how convoluted everything working behind the scenes is. I picked up on Jack being Garland quite quickly, since his default weapon being Rebellion was such a dead giveaway and it did not go unnoticed that the party kept saying "Knock 'em down" and "I'll crush you", Garland's two signature lines. I figured that it would simply make sense if this game was the loop that detailed Garland becoming Chaos. I do ultimately feel it would have been nice if it had more synergy with FF1's aesthetic by not tying Garland's origins to an isekai story or placing him in the modern FF famsquad, and within that the storytelling really only becomes coherent at the end where it returns to FF1, but nonetheless I enjoyed it. The Lufenians are a fascinating prospect, even if I'm left questioning what implication they carry for the franchise. This goes way beyond the trailer pitch by having its plot fall somewhere between a Dissidia multiverse crossover and a living fantasy. I was ready for neither. This is the kind of thing that feels like a reward for being so invested in a long-running franchise. Every time I unlocked a new level I was giddy to read the blurb and see which locale was going to be remade next, and for those that I'm more intimately familiar with it was a very special feeling recognising the sights and the sounds. The Tomb of Raithwall especially stuck out to me.

The combat was incredibly well executed. I found that, compared to Dark Souls, being rooted in Final Fantasy 1 provided a much-needed flexibility in the loadouts. An abundance of weapons and classes available to mix, match and move between at any given moment, with the point of focus being foremost on creating a dynamic combat flow. And compared to the aforementioned series and its spinoffs, Stranger of Paradise plays to franchise conventions that I'm accustomed to. I know to charge Bombs thrice in order to make them quickly self-destruct, or to avoid a Malboro's Bad Breath at all costs. There is nothing quite like the primal fear a Final Fantasy fan feels when jump-scared by a Tonberry.