This game has a special place in my heart, because it came at a time in my life when everything was going to shit. It was my means of escape and in a way it saved me from doing something I would've regretted.

That aside having poured many hours into this game, I still believe there are some elements in the game that people will not invest in like the chain system, trust me it takes a good while to get a good flow with it but it can be done, and it's a great system for levelling up weapons and characters quick. And the story is very easy to pick up (never played the first game until later on). There's a character for every playstyle that you can main if you get tired of the other three (not until Playthrough 2 though when you can play as all four), worth mastering them all though and feels great when you can take on any enemy with any character it's one of the best feelings ever.

Forgot to add I love Weapon Lore, and this game has that in spades and some of the stories behind some of the weapons can either be really satisfying, depressing or both. And some weapons are a little tongue and cheek take Nobuyoshi for example I bet the devs had a field day with that one looking at the weapon traits.

And a final point, a certain boss battle on Playthrough 2 and 3 may cause panic and stress if you hate timed missions.

Have fun.