Definitely one of the most mid JRPGs I've experienced. It delivers on all the surface-level things you'd expect from the genre: flashy combat, great music, and memorable character designs are all here. Beyond those, however, the game doesn't do enough beyond them to justify further investment. The story in particular has some very flat characters and far too many gags for the sake of it (moreso even than other Tales games), as well as a large portion of the mid-game dragging far too much to the detriment of the investment in the overall narrative. When it came time for the final act twists and pulls, I found myself not caring much at all.