Man, what an improvement this game is. Every single flaw the first game had is fixed here while improving on the skeleton of the first game. Characters now have their own individual skill bar instead of tying everything to a universal XP bar, allowing maps to be cleared far faster. The maps themselves completely remove the enemy bloat of the first game. Only the last two maps in the game dip the enemy count into the 40s but by then, you've got enough equipment and upgraded each character enough time, along with multiple skill applications, that high enemy counts become a non-issue. And most characters unlock their AoE multi-attacks long before you reach the late game, allowing you to weaken or clear large groups of enemies, significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to clear a map. The improvements to the gameplay here are so great that i was able to clear multiple maps in one sitting, something that became impossible starting in the mid-game of the first game.
The presentation of the game has also seen a major buff. The sprites are the usual top-tier quality of course but the animated cut-ins for specials and assists just so neat to look at now. The UI is improved, giving you a much clearer picture of what's going on. Really, this whole game's an improvement.
The story is just dumb fun like last time and that's fine, i didn't come into this game expecting Shakesphere. Though my experience with most of these characters is still limited to just these crossovers, i was still able to enjoy them and their interactions although no doubt i would enjoy it a lot more if i had played those games. Speaking of characters, there seems to be a trend for Monolith Soft characters to improve when in a crossover. T-elos saw a massive improvement in her crossover appearances compared to her original appearance in Xenosaga Episode III. And now, Fiora has gotten a huge boost to her character and the main reason is because Shulk is not in this game, and so it gives her more freedom for her character. Seriously, i feel like there's a big gap between how Fiora is written in this game vs how she's written in Xenoblade Chronicles.
The music for the most part is just cheating because it's just remixes from existing songs. Not all of them are as good as their original versions but oh well, what are you to do.
Admittedly, this game does occasionally get repetitive at times and it's pretty long so that might definitely be an issue for some. But as long as it's not the only game your playing, the repetitiveness shouldn't sting too much. Besides, the very cool spritework and attack animations this game has can distract you from the occasional repetitiveness.
This game has given me even more appreciation for Monolith Soft, because if there's one thing they are consistently good at, it's improving tremendously with sequels. Even on the very rare times they make a bad game, the chances are high that should a sequel ever come, it'll be a tremendous improvement and it just shows how good Monolith Soft is at improving.
The presentation of the game has also seen a major buff. The sprites are the usual top-tier quality of course but the animated cut-ins for specials and assists just so neat to look at now. The UI is improved, giving you a much clearer picture of what's going on. Really, this whole game's an improvement.
The story is just dumb fun like last time and that's fine, i didn't come into this game expecting Shakesphere. Though my experience with most of these characters is still limited to just these crossovers, i was still able to enjoy them and their interactions although no doubt i would enjoy it a lot more if i had played those games. Speaking of characters, there seems to be a trend for Monolith Soft characters to improve when in a crossover. T-elos saw a massive improvement in her crossover appearances compared to her original appearance in Xenosaga Episode III. And now, Fiora has gotten a huge boost to her character and the main reason is because Shulk is not in this game, and so it gives her more freedom for her character. Seriously, i feel like there's a big gap between how Fiora is written in this game vs how she's written in Xenoblade Chronicles.
The music for the most part is just cheating because it's just remixes from existing songs. Not all of them are as good as their original versions but oh well, what are you to do.
Admittedly, this game does occasionally get repetitive at times and it's pretty long so that might definitely be an issue for some. But as long as it's not the only game your playing, the repetitiveness shouldn't sting too much. Besides, the very cool spritework and attack animations this game has can distract you from the occasional repetitiveness.
This game has given me even more appreciation for Monolith Soft, because if there's one thing they are consistently good at, it's improving tremendously with sequels. Even on the very rare times they make a bad game, the chances are high that should a sequel ever come, it'll be a tremendous improvement and it just shows how good Monolith Soft is at improving.