I played this game for 70 hours and I found it engaging the entire time and was glad to spend time vibing in that world.
I could complain about the plot contrivances or subpar sidequest structure or the repetitive combat-heavy stretch of the back third, but ultimately, this game had my attention for 70 hours without me even considering stopping. I never got sick of playing around with the combat systems and party layouts, I always had fun poking around the maps and marveling at the effective scale of the art design.
The game also passes the important JRPG test of every major town being a place I wanna hang out in. For as dated as the sidequest structure may be, the affinity-charts between the NPC inhabitants and the schedules they adhere to do a lot to sell you on these towns as real, lived-in spaces, and idle NPC dialogue adds a lot of local flavor. Some best-in-class towns here, I cant overstate how fucking important this is.
Overall, had a great time chilling and hanging out with this game.
I could complain about the plot contrivances or subpar sidequest structure or the repetitive combat-heavy stretch of the back third, but ultimately, this game had my attention for 70 hours without me even considering stopping. I never got sick of playing around with the combat systems and party layouts, I always had fun poking around the maps and marveling at the effective scale of the art design.
The game also passes the important JRPG test of every major town being a place I wanna hang out in. For as dated as the sidequest structure may be, the affinity-charts between the NPC inhabitants and the schedules they adhere to do a lot to sell you on these towns as real, lived-in spaces, and idle NPC dialogue adds a lot of local flavor. Some best-in-class towns here, I cant overstate how fucking important this is.
Overall, had a great time chilling and hanging out with this game.