Definitely one of the absolute classics (up there with FF2/4, my personal fav until 12 came out and Secret of Mana. Although I finished it on the SNES originally, it was one of the first gams I picked up for my PS2 (didn't have a PS1) so I could own it.
I have to agree with the downhill thing too. I will say the Square/Enix wasn't as good, but they still had a few big titles. As I mentioned I had the most love for the old school FF's (heck, I played the original on the NES when it first came out, so I was waiting for the second!) and a few of the FF's that many thought we're ground breaking I wasn't totally sold on, like FF7.
But FF12 brought back all the fun and immersion for me. I think the biggest reason was because you could finally explore again, especially in the towns. One of the things I hated the most when they made the jump in graphics up to FF7 was that most everything was on a path, except for a (not very well) hidden path here and there. In 12 you could finally explore towns and dungeons again, all in 3D. Plus the combat system was very well thought out and an improvement. The story was grand, good voicing acting and a plot that didn't seem like it was made for 12 year olds. There was a HUGE world, many different monsters with their own lore. Lots of secret quests as usual for a FF game. And the graphics were mind blowing.
Took them 10 incarnations for me, but I finaly found one I liked as much or more than the second one, which was a HUGE leap in it's own right at the time.
I would agree that Chrono Trigger signaled the end of Square's 'golden age' if you will.
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