Strangers of Paradise, is a strange game indeed. It tries to take the world and characters of the original Final Fantasy and explore some stories that were never told before. Simultaneously this game tries to set up a multiverse concept for all the Final Fantasy games to exist in parallel dimensions, so to say this game is ambitious for a spin off is quite the understatement. The game sees us take the shoes of Jack, and his group of buddies as they seek to destroy the evil force known as Chaos. Along the way we encounter various familiar locations from Final Fantasy games prior, while also fighting our way through hoards of enemies. The gameplay is not to dissimilar to Team Ninja's other offerings in the NioH series, but with a couple key differences. Namely there is no stamina bar, but instead a break gauge which will deplete with the more damage you take. Also the leveling system takes more after the Final Fantasy series as opposed to the NioH series, with the Job system, which lets you level up, and mix and match certain classes to unlock new ones. While overall this game is a fun and unique take on the Souls/NioH genre, and the story actually picks up towards the end the game isn't without it's issues. Much like NioH I am not a fan of the loot system in this game. The fact that almost every enemy drops a puddle of loot which is just the same piece of armor you got 30 times before but with slightly better stats is not a very engaging way to incorporate gear in my opinion, especially when loot will constantly be outclassed every new mission you go into. The constant stream of loot also clogs your inventory meaning every level or so you'll have to be scrapping piles of gear for mostly useless upgrade materials that you will seldomly use. And my other major gripe is the level design. While it is nice to see certain areas of Final Fantasy past be re-imagined, especially for games that haven't been in 3D before, the level design leaves a lot to be desired. Linear Souls like games such as Demon's Souls, and NioH both have little meandering paths, and hidden goodies for you to find, while this game mostly feels like grand open hallways with very little to find, or worth exploring. I feel like given a little more time this game could've been something truly special, but as it stands it's just a good, not great, action game that will go down as one of the more bizarre moments in the history of Final Fantasy. I hope this game receives a sequel which allows for more refinement, and maybe something that doesn't rely on pre-established lore to tell it's story. What they have here in a combat system is truly compelling, and something I think fans of Souls likes, and Final Fantasy will both equally enjoy.