The score really sums it up. If you haven't played this game before, and you own a Wii, you must pay, download, and play this. Right the fuck now.
If you're one of those gamers who only plays Call of Duty and Halo. I don't give a shit. If you think Role Playing Games are for nerds and geeks exclusively. I don't give a fuck. If the thought of reading speech bubbles makes you gag. You make me gag. And I don't give a fucking shit. Download this game, right now, and set aside about ten hours. That's all it will take. At least for the first play through. The thirty or so next play throughs (about what it takes to get at least a few characters to Level 99) will entirely devour your life, but they're optional. The first one will expose you to everything you need to know to understand the justification for the perfect score.
After playing video games for the better part of my now twenty six years of existence, this game is still (having come out only ten years into that existence) the best gaming experience I have ever had. I've played games that might have slightly more visual and artistic merit (Shadow of Colossus comes to mind). I've played games that had more addictive game mechanics (can anything beat the simplicity and joy of a Starcraft or X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter?). I've played games with amazing storytelling and characters (GTA IV, Metal Gears, etc. etc.). But no game, not one, has combined all these elements as smoothly and effortlessly as this masterpiece from Squaresoft did in 1995.
I won't go into the history of the game or its design, because that's what the link in the title to Wikipedia is for. My single goal here is to instill in anyone dumb enough to be reading at this point, how absolutely life-inspiring this game is, and how magically it weaves its way into your memory.
The best way I can explain the overawing awesomeness of this game is through personal anecdote. Or rather, the sheer volume of them. Anyone I have ever talked to who has played this game, has loved it. People I didn't even know would ever pick up an RPG, have said that it's one of the most amazing games they've ever played. People who aren't even gamers. Parents. Little kids. Black. White. It doesn't matter. Humanity loves this game. I've seen a few forum posts in places like IGN and Gamespot from supposed haters, but these people are not real. They are being contrary for the sake of wanting to stand out in a sea of overwhelming support. The few people who appear to have something bordering on valid criticisms are often talking about the poorly done up Playstation version (which I also own) which butchered the experience with long loading times, poor music translation, and, well, horrible loading times. The original Super Nintendo version available now in the US, EU, and Japan Wii shop channels, is faultless.
I would attempt to pick out one part that stands above the rest (if I were forced to, it would be the story, which pulls you in from the start of the first playthrough, and does so again every time you click "New Game+"), but that would be useless. Every part of this game merges into the next. The music reflects the visual style on the screen. The graphics and animations flow as if your controller were connected directly to the characters. The combat system is simplistic, dynamic, complicated, easy and challenging all at once, as the difficulty of the battle before you (based on the story) dictates. The story is sweeping and epic, yet driven at moments by characters you will never forget. Each character has their own theme song that supremely sums up the entirety of that character. Talking about the game's virtues is cyclical and, ultimately, redundant. Words don't do this game justice. You have to play it.
So do it. Take the ten hours. It costs eight dollars. Really. Eight dollars. For ten hours of your life you'll want to relive again and again. I am supremely jealous of anyone I might ever convince to play this for the first time. It's been so long I can barely remember that addictive joy. Just do me a favour, drop me a line when you finish it, and tell me how much you loved it. I'll add it to my list of anecdotes.
