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The pinnacle of Square's 16-bit golden era, expertly designed by a "dream team" of industry veterans and superstar freelance designers. In many ways a conservative iteration of the Final Fantasy formula, with a mostly linear plot that follows an ensemble of colorful, predefined characters from fantastic days of history as they journey through time and space and battle strange beasts with blades, fists, magic, and technology in a grand quest to slay the foozle that threatens the world with annihilation. The standout difference is in presentation; no JRPG before and few since have looked this good. Random encounters and immersion-breaking battle screens don't exist, the semi-turn-based combat instead seamlessly occurring and ending in the same environment you explore, the enemies just as much a part of that environment. Dialog and stage direction show a greater sophistication and better understanding of visual storytelling, and convey a breezy but compelling story with just enough twists and fresh ideas to keep you excited to see what will happen next. And of course there's the famously ecclectic score by Mitsuda, then a sound engineer, whose inaugural soundtrack here is now widely regarded as among the finest in video game history.
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