I know that many people either love this game or hate it.  Me, myself, kind of agree with both sides.  I think that it started out as a great game, good gameplay, excellent graphics, mesmerizing music and a decent plot.  I thought that this might have had potential of living up to other great Final Fantasy games like FFVI.  And don't get me wrong, I thought it was a great game, but not a great Final Fantasy game.  The same thing with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, I think they concentrated too much on creating good graphics instead of spending most of their time on the plot.  At first, I thought that this game would keep a steady plot, but it got boring fast.  The characters were basic and primitive and didn't advance enough and there wasn't much that was happening.  But why did I rate it 4 Stars then?  Because I liked the ending.  Even though I think they concentrated too much on Squall and Rinoa, I still think it had a sweet ending.  It's an okay game but for me to say it's one of the best Final Fantasy games would be a blatant lie.  I'm ready to face the facts.  I say you buy Final Fantasy IX or X and save your money for excellent games instead of decent games.