I have no words while also having too many of them. I'll preface this by saying the only other FF game I played was the remake of VII. Keep that in mind.

First thing I noticed off the bat was just how fluid and fun the combat was. And especially once Clive gains more power, it gets even more crazy. Even if the story was lackluster, the game would have kept me hooked with alone.

Except I was very much interested in the story. And I appreciated how the game helped you along with the lore, like ATL (active time lore) and being able to read about different places/characters whenever you pleased. Really helped me follow along. And what a story it was.

And the characters along the way? It was great to meet all these different people and actually begin to care about them. Oftentimes stories will throw people at you and it's quite apparent that they want you to care. But that wasn't the case here. The writers accomplished this effortlessly.

Can't close out this review without mentioning our protagonist, Clive. I recall the initial promo for this game making him seem like your typical unfeeling, hyper-masculine Video Game Man. But that is not what we got here. A badass, yes. But incredibly empathetic and caring for those he cares for. Ben Starr did a terrific job bringing this character to life. Clive Rosfield is for sure one of my most favorite video game protagonists.

All in all. Fucking loved this game. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a New Game + to start.