Sorry this took me a while to finish, as there have been some drastic changes in my life recently, but I'm so glad that after almost 10 months I was finally able to finish this game.
Thematically, this is probably the most ambitious game I've ever played. This game is chock full of typical anime tropes, and that can sometimes ruin someone's experience after seeing these plot points happen over and over, but this time they're all presented in ways which I don't think I've ever seen a JRPG or even any other game put out. That too, the themes of this game hit VERY hard knowing they're all very realistic and can have personal impacts on one's whole world view.
The gameplay is very hit or miss in my opinion. I think the on-foot deathblow system is pretty innovative for a turn based game as, ironically, it lets you hit more buttons in combat instead of just pressing fight. Additionally if you want, you can intentionally hit your opponent with just weaker moves so that you store AP, which allows you to unleash a full blown combo on your enemies later. This cannot be said for gear combat, which just blows in my opinion. The game gives you the illusion of choice such that you can choose between gear and on-foot combat, but really there isn't much of a choice in almost every part of the game. On a side note here, when you are able to change party members, there is going to be a very obvious answer as to who will go in your party, as Fei and Citan are just the best characters in combat. The third slot will almost always go to Emeralda.
In terms of the story, people really hate the second disc as it just feels like a slideshow, which for the most part is true. However, I feel as though the first disc is very drawn out and for the most part just serves as just the Kislev/Aveh (Shevat/Solaris) war. The story really picks up in the second disc (if you can bear to even watch it all), and I think that was what truly made me admire this game so much more than what I would have with just disc 1.
Finally, the characters. Fei and Elly, given how they are the main characters of this love story, are obviously the best characters in the game. They are followed closely in my opinion by Citan and Billy. I see myself more closely in Bart among everyone else. Then the rest of the main characters kind of didn't need to exist past their part in the story (with the exception of Emeralda).
This game isn't without its flaws which are very apparent in 2023. I think I spent most of this review bashing on the game, however, I don't think they entirely negate the good aspects of this game. The highs of this game are EXTREMELY high, while the lows of this game are not all that below standard. Overall, this game is in DESPERATE need of attention from its deadbeat father Square Enix, which could solve a lot of its problems.
Backloggd is dumb and won't let me give quarters of stars so imagine this is a 4.25/5 stars.
Thematically, this is probably the most ambitious game I've ever played. This game is chock full of typical anime tropes, and that can sometimes ruin someone's experience after seeing these plot points happen over and over, but this time they're all presented in ways which I don't think I've ever seen a JRPG or even any other game put out. That too, the themes of this game hit VERY hard knowing they're all very realistic and can have personal impacts on one's whole world view.
The gameplay is very hit or miss in my opinion. I think the on-foot deathblow system is pretty innovative for a turn based game as, ironically, it lets you hit more buttons in combat instead of just pressing fight. Additionally if you want, you can intentionally hit your opponent with just weaker moves so that you store AP, which allows you to unleash a full blown combo on your enemies later. This cannot be said for gear combat, which just blows in my opinion. The game gives you the illusion of choice such that you can choose between gear and on-foot combat, but really there isn't much of a choice in almost every part of the game. On a side note here, when you are able to change party members, there is going to be a very obvious answer as to who will go in your party, as Fei and Citan are just the best characters in combat. The third slot will almost always go to Emeralda.
In terms of the story, people really hate the second disc as it just feels like a slideshow, which for the most part is true. However, I feel as though the first disc is very drawn out and for the most part just serves as just the Kislev/Aveh (Shevat/Solaris) war. The story really picks up in the second disc (if you can bear to even watch it all), and I think that was what truly made me admire this game so much more than what I would have with just disc 1.
Finally, the characters. Fei and Elly, given how they are the main characters of this love story, are obviously the best characters in the game. They are followed closely in my opinion by Citan and Billy. I see myself more closely in Bart among everyone else. Then the rest of the main characters kind of didn't need to exist past their part in the story (with the exception of Emeralda).
This game isn't without its flaws which are very apparent in 2023. I think I spent most of this review bashing on the game, however, I don't think they entirely negate the good aspects of this game. The highs of this game are EXTREMELY high, while the lows of this game are not all that below standard. Overall, this game is in DESPERATE need of attention from its deadbeat father Square Enix, which could solve a lot of its problems.
Backloggd is dumb and won't let me give quarters of stars so imagine this is a 4.25/5 stars.