When I was still playing part 1, I was very positive while waiting for the game to show its depth in terms of mechanics, progression system and fights. I got that in part 2 but I didn’t expect the game to become this challenging. In some parts it feels too punishingly hard. I’ve played all the main Mistwalker games and played many of Sakaguchi’s other games when he was part of Squaresoft. None of them were as challenging as part 2. The only explanation I can think of is this being a deliberate choice for being an Apple Arcade game. Other than that, the game is your typical Sakaguchi game in terms of pacing, story build up, the themes that are being focused on, cutscene direction and more. You feel right at home if you played the older Final Fantasy games. It has some quality of life improvements and the story is slightly more mature in terms of how the characters interact with each other. The gameplay is fantastic and there were moments where it feels great to win a fight. This game is more of a love letter for FF fans. Play part 1 if you’re here for a relaxing time. Play part 2 only if you’re ready to sweat and have many boss fights feel like the last boss fight.