This is most definitely a much, much different game than the other entries in the Final Fantasy series.  You control the young hero, Ramza Beoulve, and a party of adventurers as they become involved in what starts out as a relatively simple case of kidnapping and politics that eventually turns into a crisis that involves a trip into the underworld to save the world from the forces of darkness.  Your party starts out as Ramza and a bunch of generic characters, but as you progress through the game you will meet up with a number of friends that will join your party, all of which have their own unique abilities, ranging from forgettable, to helpful, to awesomely-overpowering.