now this is how you make an sequel, take account of every misstep of the predecessor and improve it in every concivable way, the combat-system is a lot more expansive and smoother and every addition is great, the Drive form and reaction command mechanics especially are really fun to engage with, it's just an blast to play through and through.

the Gummi Ship sections also saw some substantial improvements, it's faster and more exciting although the actual building mechanic is somewhat useless now since the game gives you better ships after each segment.

presentation-wise is still mostly the same, slightly better visuals, great art-style and fantastic soundtrack, you can't go wrong with Yoko Shimomura.

the storyline is once again compelling but overly convoluted, the game pretty much expects that you already played the two previous games (358/2 Days and especially Chain of Memories) to fully understand it to it's fullest, I didn't played any of these two so it was indeed pretty confusing and difficult to follow but nonetheless solid.

overall this is one of the best action RPGs I ever played, the improvements on the combat system are an blast, good storyline and fantastic music, absolute must play.