This has to be one of the best games I have ever seen- challenged only by Final Fantasy VIII. The story is great, the battles are amazing, the animation is wonderful, and the music (by Nobuo Uematsu) is awe-inspiring. If you can, listen to the orchestral version. But I regularly laughed at people who spent hours and hours playing these games until I started. After just half an hour, I was hooked. I spent over 100 hours across a five month period playing it. Truly addictive.