Positives
- detailed and colorful character models for the main and supporting cast
- good soundtrack; with Birds Over the Valley being a personal favorite
- engaging combat that encourages the usage of specific elemental attacks, buffs and debuffs
- playable characters are well balanced, allowing any team combination to be successful
- items are not consumed when used, removing any hesitancy in utilizing them
- fantastic crafting system that is simple to execute, but rewards mastery with incredibly powerful items and equipment
- essences, evolution link and reinforcement are all terrific new additions

Negatives
- explorable areas occasionally feel cluttered because of the excessive number of enemies and gathering points
- voice acting is limited to only Japanese
- mostly uninteresting main story and characters
- optional cutscenes are intrusive, frequently interrupting crafting sessions or attempts at making a manual save
- several cutscenes provide no meaningful character insight or world building and often feel disjointed from the main story
- the majority of sidequests are monotonous and yield lackluster rewards
- enemy variety is severely lacking
- inventory management is cumbersome due to the vast amount of items