I let someone borrow my PS2 copy right after I got past the Zanarkland Ruins...never got it back. just spent quarantine playing the XII (beat this one a couple of times) and X remasters, and both still hold up.

+ one of the best, most focused stories in the franchise. the small party and linear path reinforce this; it feels like a real pilgrimage with legitimate stakes. there is some unnecessarily obtuse parts, but when it hits, it hits big. I love the idea behind Sin, and there are some crazy revelations in every act of the game. voice-acting remains solid (it was a big deal at the time). some of it is cringey, but that's also just the nature of JRPGs spoken out loud. I *don't* think Tidus is annoying and the character is overall fairly fitting for his situation.

+ sphere grid and battle system are so fun. for casual playthroughs, you can just get through each character's part of the grid without grinding and keep their individuality. and for the completionists, there's the ability to customize or max out everything. I wish they would bring back a full-on turn-based battle system again; there is actually a good bit of strategy to it. the way FF has being going, that seems further and further away though (XV, shudder).

- fuck me, the HD remaster was released in 2013 and we still can't skip cutscenes? and there are A LOT of damn cutscenes, several long ones before bosses. also, WHO TF thought up some of the dumb shit in the International/Remaster? having superboss dark aeons show up out of nowhere so you can never finish the cloisters of trials properly? not to mention a lot of the regular end-game content is stuck behind some inane shit -- the worst fucking Chocobo mini game of all time (and I didn't mind VII's breeding), dodging 200 straight fucking lightning bolts, etc. even if you want to grind more, getting the end-game treats can be pretty damn discouraging.

still a fun game, though. top five FF for me.