This game lets you fight while you're riding on horses. It's the best game ever just by that token.
Okay, more seriously - it's definitely one of my favorite games ever, even if there are a ton of flaws. The puzzles can be... questionable. The hit detection when crossing gaps on horses can be weird. It has a questionable "search" system. But there's still a lot in there that I love.
Gameplay-wise, the best thing is the customization - and, more importantly, the on-the-fly customization. You can completely shift your "medium" set up (more or less Guardian Forces from Final Fantasy VIII except, uh, done better) and what passive skills you have equipped in the middle of battle, allowing you to react to what your enemy is doing immediately instead of having to soft reset and finagle with your gear in the menu. There's some limitations, namely with "gear" (basically, what "teaches" new passive abilities to your medium - you can remove them but it'll break the gear. this is a problem especially since some gear is one-of-a-kind), and I wouldn't quite say it's PERFECT - there's no "memory" feature, though that kinda plays into making sure you have a good generalist build that you can fine-tune as necessary.
With all of this customization, you might think - all of the characters are really interchangeable, then, aren't they? Well... yes and no. They kind of can be but they're still unique in very noticeable ways. It helps that they can use the main distinguisher, "force abilities" (Limit Breaks), very often, and said abilities aren't just different flavors of "deal lots of damage". Each player character gets their own unique force ability which helps solidify their niches - especially notable is Virginia's "Mystic" which lets her use items in various ways (typically using them on every party member) and Gallows's "Extend" which lets him cast magic on an entire group.
Oh yeah, consumable items are actually really good in this game, go figure. It's probably because they're in relatively limited supply (you can get an infinite supply of them but that requires doing a sidequest) but there's something just... NICE about them being useful and not just being something to hoard.
The ENC/VIT gauge systems are also good. ENC lets you cancel encounters at the cost of a (refillable, mostly through battle) point gauge; it's a way, way better system than just flipping a switch to turn them off (and, I'd argue, having on-map encounters). It also rewards exploration(/having a guide :V) by letting you reduce the cost through finding items. VIT, meanwhile, just restores your health after battle - the more health you lost the more VIT you need to refill, until you're out of VIT. You'll want to keep on top of your HP in battle as a result, and that seems kinda self-defeating now that I type it out, but... idk, I like it still.
Oh also the story. The story is cheesy but I still like it. Something I really, personally appreciate is that it generally lays off the romance. Virginia isn't QUITE a standalone female protagonist (one of her motivations is still searching for her father - who she calls "Daddy", which is weird to me but I blame the internet for that) but she still is primarily motivated by her strong sense of justice. She wants to know what's up with her dad but she's also, pretty explicitly, in it to help Filgaia.
Also two of the party members are kinda stereotypical (Jet is a loner, Gallows is occasionally horny) but people call them out on it so it's kinda a wash.
Again - this game IS far from perfect but it has GREAT concepts and it DOES pull off a ton of stuff very well so I can't really help but love it.
Okay, more seriously - it's definitely one of my favorite games ever, even if there are a ton of flaws. The puzzles can be... questionable. The hit detection when crossing gaps on horses can be weird. It has a questionable "search" system. But there's still a lot in there that I love.
Gameplay-wise, the best thing is the customization - and, more importantly, the on-the-fly customization. You can completely shift your "medium" set up (more or less Guardian Forces from Final Fantasy VIII except, uh, done better) and what passive skills you have equipped in the middle of battle, allowing you to react to what your enemy is doing immediately instead of having to soft reset and finagle with your gear in the menu. There's some limitations, namely with "gear" (basically, what "teaches" new passive abilities to your medium - you can remove them but it'll break the gear. this is a problem especially since some gear is one-of-a-kind), and I wouldn't quite say it's PERFECT - there's no "memory" feature, though that kinda plays into making sure you have a good generalist build that you can fine-tune as necessary.
With all of this customization, you might think - all of the characters are really interchangeable, then, aren't they? Well... yes and no. They kind of can be but they're still unique in very noticeable ways. It helps that they can use the main distinguisher, "force abilities" (Limit Breaks), very often, and said abilities aren't just different flavors of "deal lots of damage". Each player character gets their own unique force ability which helps solidify their niches - especially notable is Virginia's "Mystic" which lets her use items in various ways (typically using them on every party member) and Gallows's "Extend" which lets him cast magic on an entire group.
Oh yeah, consumable items are actually really good in this game, go figure. It's probably because they're in relatively limited supply (you can get an infinite supply of them but that requires doing a sidequest) but there's something just... NICE about them being useful and not just being something to hoard.
The ENC/VIT gauge systems are also good. ENC lets you cancel encounters at the cost of a (refillable, mostly through battle) point gauge; it's a way, way better system than just flipping a switch to turn them off (and, I'd argue, having on-map encounters). It also rewards exploration(/having a guide :V) by letting you reduce the cost through finding items. VIT, meanwhile, just restores your health after battle - the more health you lost the more VIT you need to refill, until you're out of VIT. You'll want to keep on top of your HP in battle as a result, and that seems kinda self-defeating now that I type it out, but... idk, I like it still.
Oh also the story. The story is cheesy but I still like it. Something I really, personally appreciate is that it generally lays off the romance. Virginia isn't QUITE a standalone female protagonist (one of her motivations is still searching for her father - who she calls "Daddy", which is weird to me but I blame the internet for that) but she still is primarily motivated by her strong sense of justice. She wants to know what's up with her dad but she's also, pretty explicitly, in it to help Filgaia.
Also two of the party members are kinda stereotypical (Jet is a loner, Gallows is occasionally horny) but people call them out on it so it's kinda a wash.
Again - this game IS far from perfect but it has GREAT concepts and it DOES pull off a ton of stuff very well so I can't really help but love it.