Release: 2018
Platform: PC
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: RPG
Gameplay Stats: 105 hours, 42/42 Steam achievements
Since this is a re-release I think I'll keep my review pretty short. The original release was in 2006 on the PS2 in North America. I played this game as a kid, so all of my commentary is likely tinted with a bit of nostalgia, another reason to keep this review short.
What's new: There were quite a few updates included in this re-release. First of all, the resolutions for all of the textures were increased. This means that the game does look a bit better than a PS2 game displaying in 1080p, but since the textures weren't remade they don't look as good as a game made in 2018. The end result is probably a game that would look at home on the PS3. All of the music for the game was re-orchestrated as well, so it feels more in line with current standards for games. I didn't realize how much this had changed over time, but they included the original music that you were able to compare with. There's been a big change in the music included in games!
One of my only gripes was that the design of the game wasn't cleaned up at all in this re-release. The game still takes a stupid amount of time to do some basic things. Seemingly to counteract this though, they did include an option to play the game at 2x or 4x speed, which was a godsend. I played virtually the entire game on 2x, and used 4x commonly when grinding or fleeing from enemies. Another thing to note is that this game includes the Zodiac job system included in the original international release of the game. Essentially this means that your characters have to specialize instead of every character being a master of everything. This definitely makes the game harder, but I think it makes it more enjoyable as well. The characters aren't all interchangeable, which is nice. They also included the ridiculous super weapons that still don't have models in game for whatever reason.
Would I recommend this? I would recommend this if you played the original game (in whole or in part) and are looking for a hit of nostalgia. I don't think this game stands well on its own in 2018, but it was a better way to relive this game instead of being bored and frustrated after an hour of extremely dated gameplay. If you're interested in playing the game as a new-comer, I would hands down recommend this game over the PS2 original. That being said, just know that the game is still a bit clunky and feels like it was released over a decade ago.
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