Massive step forward. The world feels so alive, and there's tons of things to explore. Visuals are amazing and music even more so. I'm also one of the few people that really love the battle system (except for not leveling up, that sucks). But it's sad to hear the devs talking about the limitations that have been layed on them for no reason whatsoever. And they don't like it too, you can feel them, fighting against those limitations and trying to push the boundary of what they're allowed to do. I wonder how this game would've turned out had the dev's gotten free reign to do what they pleased.


(Also, sidenote: Why the FUCKK are modern mario games so obsessed with gatekeeping 100% completion?? It's driving me CRAZY. If you use any combat items (like the fire flower), you're immediately not eligible for a true 100% save file. AND THEY DON'T TELL YOU THIS!! I found out after ALMOST 100%ing the game, gave up on it when i heard this. Utter BS.)