Huge step up in quality from Setsuna. Everything that made it good is here - the vibes, the soundtrack, the story and themes. But more importantly, the parts the dragged it down have been massively improved. Combat now feels satisfying and the sense of agency is massively improved with the ability to move and aim exactly where you want to attack.
There's too many QoL changes to name, but needless to say their combined effort makes Lost Sphear into what feels like Tokyo RPG Factory really wanted to do with I Am Setuna, but couldn't for one reason or another.

Played this straight after finishing I Am Setsuna as wanted to complete both titles before they were removed from the PS+ Catalogue. Took 38 hours to platinum. This game is supposed to be the successor to I Am Setsuna so I am making a direct comparison.

I liked the music and felt the combat system was more enjoyable and had better explained mechanics than I Am Setsuna.

The art style was pleasant to look at but I preferred the aesthetic of I Am Setsuna.

I did not warm to the characters and was disappointed with the story. I enjoyed the story up until the first "ending" and if they had concluded the game there, I would have been very happy but instead they chose to drag the story out for many more hours and the plot became increasingly nonsensical....I ended up fast-forwarding through a lot of the cutscenes towards the end just to get the game completed as I was bored.