Simplistic in storytelling, yet still carrying surprising sci-fi elements like a time loop and fallen supercivilizations. It's Final Fantasy. The rudimentary game design carries a certain purity that gaming has moved past long ago. Short and sweet...or more apt to say shorter and sweeter, given that the Pixel Remaster streamlines it down to only about 8 hours. It's been so long since I played the PSP version that I remembered naught, meaning that progressing the plot more or less demands a guide after a certain point. But that abstract adventure is a refreshing, nostalgic experience in its own right. I think I've tragically lost my taste for classic JRPG random encounters so the shorter runtime makes this much more appealing than the 20th anniversary PSP remakes. Although difficulty balancing is a bit wonkier since Chaos is several orders of magnitude harder than the rest of the game. But it is hard to let go of the PSP version's art style. I've never liked the designs for the advanced jobs in any other version of FFI. The music is about on par between them.

Additionally, it was very interesting to revisit this with the Phantasy Star quadrology at least somewhat afresh in my mind. Certain things like the Aero-Prism and Air Castle stick out as references to Final Fantasy's Levistone and Floating Fortress.