This is a SNES RPG by Square from 1995, although it didn’t actually get a release here in the UK. I used to read Super Play magazine each month, and that had regular sections about import games, and in particular Japanese RPGs. I didn’t even know what they were at the time, but the images in the magazine, and the way they talked about them captivated me. I don’t think this game was released here until it was ported to the Nintendo DS in 2009, but I had already completed it by then. This is because around the turn of the millennium I discovered emulation, and played through many of the games I was never able to buy while sitting at the family PC. Despite playing this with a keyboard I loved it.
This time I played through the modern PC version on Steam. In a few ways it actually seems worse than the imperfectly emulated version I played so long ago. There are times where the controls just don’t seem to respond, the default graphics have a hideous filter over them, the battle menu seems to get in the way, and it gets very juddery when you move diagonally. None of that gets in the way of the fact that the game is full of joy. The music is absolutely wonderful. The characters are full of life.
This is one of my favourite games of all time. I’m not sure how much of that is nostalgia, and how much of it is just the sheer quality of this game. Both are definitely present. It stands out to me how fast paced this is compared to modern RPGs, and how packed with ideas it is. There is very little downtime at all, each area is quick and has unique mechanics so that it never falls into a pattern of grinding killing enemies for experience points.