PLEASE READ TO THE END OR ELSE YOU'LL BE CONFUSED
Honestly, I don't recommend this game on its own. Final Fantasy as a franchise has spanned so many console generations we're farther away from the release of the GameCube than how old FF1 was when the GameCube released. The age shows. This was a different time in gaming, back when the length of the game was what determined the worth as a product, not the entertainment value. Games that lasted longer (artificially or no) were always considered the most bang for your buck, whether you're buying it for your kid or putting it up for rent in every Blockbuster in America. This game is a slot, random encounters every 4 seconds that range from overly punishing in the first few hours to downright insultingly easy halfway through. Enemies don't scale to progress, which is most evident when you reach the final stretch of the Shrine of Chaos where you can one shot every non Black Flan enemy in a single turn with a standard attack from a WHITE MAGE. Honestly 4 steps for an encounter you insta win with the Auto-Battle feature sounds more like a mobile Idle game than a JRPG, and it plays the same way. The only time I was truly challenged was on the final boss, but only because it has a FULL HEAL MOVE. If you aren't fast enough, all your progress and all the hi-ethers you've been hording (not out of necessity but because they're generally useless outside of boss encounters) have gone to waste. All of this isn't even mentioning how much of a methane-spewing crawl through a tar pit that achieving 100% feels like. Ever wanted to shiny hunt a pokemon without the satisfaction of having a different colored jpeg and one shooting the enemy with your over leveled Knight? Try completing the bestiary! There's two less than 5% encounters that take place in and next to the final rooms of their dungeons respectively. Seriously, why is the Iron Golem a 1.4% encounter rate?
You might be thinking "Why are you recommending this game if you don't recommend it in the text?" For it's historical value of course. Final Fantasy as a franchise is old enough to where their kids (sequels and spinoffs) could feasibly be in High School, college, hell maybe even vote or have kids of their own! Final Fantasy 7 has its own spinoff game, movie, remake (that's not a remake it's a sequel but whatever) spinoff that GOT a remake, mobile game, etc. It's such a transcendent experience to play through the beginnings of the franchise that defined mine and the two generations before my childhoods. Seeing enemies like the Sagahin knowing they'll blossom into their own beast tribe in 14, seeing the Gnomes knowing that they'll influence the Tarutarus and Lalafells in both the MMOs, seeing the origins of my favorite class Red Mage (that ended up being ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ in this game specifically), having an NPC throw out the name Cid and being like "I know that guy! All of the Cids from 2-15!" It's fun to retroactively piece together the beginning of so many references and tropes in the series, and fighting chaos, though a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ fight, legitimately felt like an accomplishment when I got that final toe curling ass clenching hit that triggered the oh so satisfying cross hatch fadeout. I cannot stress this enough, FF1 IS NOT FUN! However, if you're a FF fan and you want to see the beginning of it all, please play FF1. Just don't finish the bestiary ;)

PLEASE READ TO THE END OR ELSE YOU'LL BE CONFUSED Honestly, I don't recommend this game on its own. Final Fantasy as a franchise has spanned so many console generations we're farther away from the release of the GameCube than how old FF1 was when the GameCube released. The age shows. This was a different time in gaming, back when the length of the game was what determined the worth as a product, not the entertainment value. Games that lasted longer (artificially or no) were always considered the most bang for your buck, whether you're buying it for your kid or putting it up for rent in every Blockbuster in America. This game is a slot, random encounters every 4 seconds that range from overly punishing in the first few hours to downright insultingly easy halfway through. Enemies don't scale to progress, which is most evident when you reach the final stretch of the Shrine of Chaos where you can one shot every non Black Flan enemy in a single turn with a standard attack from a WHITE MAGE. Honestly 4 steps for an encounter you insta win with the Auto-Battle feature sounds more like a mobile Idle game than a JRPG, and it plays the same way. The only time I was truly challenged was on the final boss, but only because it has a FULL HEAL MOVE. If you aren't fast enough, all your progress and all the hi-ethers you've been hording (not out of necessity but because they're generally useless outside of boss encounters) have gone to waste. All of this isn't even mentioning how much of a methane-spewing crawl through a tar pit that achieving 100% feels like. Ever wanted to shiny hunt a pokemon without the satisfaction of having a different colored jpeg and one shooting the enemy with your over leveled Knight? Try completing the bestiary! There's two less than 5% encounters that take place in and next to the final rooms of their dungeons respectively. Seriously, why is the Iron Golem a 1.4% encounter rate? You might be thinking "Why are you recommending this game if you don't recommend it in the text?" For it's historical value of course. Final Fantasy as a franchise is old enough to where their kids (sequels and spinoffs) could feasibly be in High School, college, hell maybe even vote or have kids of their own! Final Fantasy 7 has its own spinoff game, movie, remake (that's not a remake it's a sequel but whatever) spinoff that GOT a remake, mobile game, etc. It's such a transcendent experience to play through the beginnings of the franchise that defined mine and the two generations before my childhoods. Seeing enemies like the Sagahin knowing they'll blossom into their own beast tribe in 14, seeing the Gnomes knowing that they'll influence the Tarutarus and Lalafells in both the MMOs, seeing the origins of my favorite class Red Mage (that ended up being dogshit in this game specifically), having an NPC throw out the name Cid and being like "I know that guy! All of the Cids from 2-15!" It's fun to retroactively piece together the beginning of so many references and tropes in the series, and fighting chaos, though a bullshit fight, legitimately felt like an accomplishment when I got that final toe curling ass clenching hit that triggered the oh so satisfying cross hatch fadeout. I cannot stress this enough, FF1 IS NOT FUN! However, if you're a FF fan and you want to see the beginning of it all, please play FF1. Just don't finish the bestiary ;)