Game certainly isn't perfect but it was released in 2001 and set the bar for a lot of things in ambitious 3D JRPGs. It had a huge world that you could really explore 360° with tons of things to find. The amount of full 3D content, backgrounds, enemies, cut-scenes, animations etc... it had was insane. Every single NPC has its little animation when you talk to him.
Ship battles are slow and could be improved but they were still a nice addition, although not as good as the battle system in Panzer Dragoon Saga (one of the very best).
Normal battles also tend to have you use the same strategy over and over again, which is to launch your best special attack that does area damage to take out or weaken enemies, or use Cutlass attack to finish a single enemy. And bosses are "everyone defends, buff Vyse, use his special attacks".
There is room to make things a bit more engaging, less battles and more interesting strategies. However the world, the exploration etc... is timeless. This is a game that has SEGA written all over it.
Gamecube game makes loadings and transitions much faster.