This review contains spoilers
It's taken me a while to sort out my feelings about this game because it's a game i really want to love.
The gameplay is easily the best in the series, taking mechanics and ideas from 1 and 2 and polishing them to near perfection. The combat is complex and engaging, the exploration feels rewarding and the class system is amazing overall.
There are still some annoyances here and there (terrible equipment menus, level lowering being a postgame unlock, Healer AI being pretty bad to name a few), but overall this is one of very few JRPGs i can see myself replaying just for the gameplay.
The story on the other hand can best be described as "wasted potential". It's great up until Chapter 6, where the narrative reaches the most memorable emotional climax in the series and then stumbles the rest of the way to an oddly unsatisfying conclusion that fails to wrap up both the lingering plot threads left over from the previous games and most of the open questions within its own arc. It wasn't enough to ruin the experience for me, but it was still disappointing to say the least. It almost feels rushed.
Here's hoping the DLC story can turn it back around, because XB3 really is a fantastic game otherwise!
The gameplay is easily the best in the series, taking mechanics and ideas from 1 and 2 and polishing them to near perfection. The combat is complex and engaging, the exploration feels rewarding and the class system is amazing overall.
There are still some annoyances here and there (terrible equipment menus, level lowering being a postgame unlock, Healer AI being pretty bad to name a few), but overall this is one of very few JRPGs i can see myself replaying just for the gameplay.
The story on the other hand can best be described as "wasted potential". It's great up until Chapter 6, where the narrative reaches the most memorable emotional climax in the series and then stumbles the rest of the way to an oddly unsatisfying conclusion that fails to wrap up both the lingering plot threads left over from the previous games and most of the open questions within its own arc. It wasn't enough to ruin the experience for me, but it was still disappointing to say the least. It almost feels rushed.
Here's hoping the DLC story can turn it back around, because XB3 really is a fantastic game otherwise!