Final Fantasy III

The Good
Where to start? The graphics were simply incredible - some of the best ever seen on the SNES. Ditto for the music - Uematsu-san actually composed half an hour of an Opera for the game at one point. But primarily, the draw for this is in its excellent storyline and impressively complex characterizations. I wouldn't dream of spoiling it, but halfway through the game the plot takes a massive left turn which still leaves gamers gaping (in a good way) to this day. The sequence that follows is one of the most sombre and emotional I've seen in any video game ever - and they drug this level of involvement out of little 32x32 anime sprites! The plot is also non-linear compared to most Final Fantasies, with a number of quests that can be taken in any order you like before the game ends. And the subquests are far better than in most of the FFs - instead of silly diversions like breeding chocobos, most of the subplots are character-centric as well. By the end of the game, you are forced to be fond of your entire party. Everything about this is excellent.

The Bad
One tiny little irritation in the game design - call this a warning. You must level up all your characters or you won't make it through the endgame. If you, like me, are the sort of gamer who prefers to focus on one single "supergroup" and ignore the rest, this could result in greatly extended play times right when you're wanting to reach the end.

The Bottom Line
A utter classic which must be played by anyone with the slightest interest in Japanese-style RPGs.