The story and lore kept me engaged, even when challenging bosses appeared. Each cast member has a distinct personality and undergoes impeccable character development. The only character I initially struggled to connect with was Rikku. However, she redeemed herself throughout the story, especially with her battle mechanics.

Speaking of battle mechanics, I particularly appreciated the ability to switch characters during battles without using a turn. This feature added a dynamic element to the fights and introduced a neat strategic layer to it. The Sphere Grid leveling system was also enjoyable, providing a continuous means of character development that effectively evoked the feel of a board game.

The soundtrack, as expected from a Final Fantasy game, is superb, elegantly capturing every moment and location. I appreciate the additions made in the Remastered version, such as higher resolution textures and character models that (mostly) stay true to the original artistic vision. While opinions may vary on the altered facial designs, personally, I don't mind them. I also found the new toggles for game speed, supercharge, and encounter rate useful, when grinding non-story-progression content.

The major drawback, however, is the presence of unskippable in-game cutscenes. Several fights are preceded by important cutscenes that are fine to watch initially but become tedious upon subsequent retries after defeat. This can be frustrating and unnecessarily time-consuming, particularly in difficult encounters.

Additionally, I encountered the known "green screen" bug infrequently, but it typically resolved itself without major issue.