A pretty big step up from what they managed to achieve with the first game. The inclusion of party members is a welcome addition, even if they don't have much personality yet. The puzzlebox design of the overworld makes exploring legitmately fun this time with the exception of some mandatory invisible search checks and a baffling wild goose chase at the start of the game.

I can't really dispute any complaints people have about the encounter design. Despite all of the additional mechanics it still really just boils down to spamming the same couple attacks over and over.