Gilgamesh, you may be "using more technologically advanced weaponry such as Gunblades and firearms, like Rocket Launchers and Submachine Guns", your arsenal remains devoid of these pretties.
The pace of battles are the aspect the game didn't age well on, and not just because of the slow speed the ATB fills itself at, but also for the transitional loading times in-between exploration and combat. Not seamless at all, albeit they must have been improved for the PSN version.
Glad you're enjoying it so far.Aight, so I cracked into IX. Just to clarify -- while the XIII games are the only ones I've beaten, I've barely touched I, II, and XII, and got pretty far in IV and X (the latter of which I would like to continue, but I'm stuck against a certain frustratingboss. I'm fairly familiar with Final Fantasy lore though, having hung around the internet long enough and reading wikis.airship
Anyway, I just cleared the Evil Forest, so I'm not very far at all, but the first thing I thought about an hour in was "Man, they don't make 'em like this anymore." It's a real charmer, with rich prerendered backgrounds and winsome character animations (I love Vivi's little stumbles, and how the boss of Tantalus loudly kicks down each door while most of the other characters just push them open). It really is a gem of the PS1 age. I can see the seamless CG cutscenes blowing minds back in the day, and come to think of it, FFX and FFXIII are the only games that come to mind which do the same.
While there isn't much originality to speak of yet in terms of the plot or characterization (not that I expected it at this early juncture), the initial main cast are all likeable in their own right with room for chemistry and exploration, which I can see brewing in the low-key humor and tentative dialogue respectively. In any case, look forward to seeing how the story unfolds. I can't imagine the story playing it too safe after an array of predecessors full of memorable plot twists. I hear this is one of Uematsu's best soundtracks, too, so my ear will be on the lookout!
The pace of battles are the aspect the game didn't age well on, and not just because of the slow speed the ATB fills itself at, but also for the transitional loading times in-between exploration and combat. Not seamless at all, albeit they must have been improved for the PSN version.