This game heavily relies on its presentation and style to carry some of its weaker aspects, but damn it, its some of the best I've ever seen. Everything from the music, art style, and UI is a cohesive, pleasant assault on the senses. The gameplay is typical JRPG/monster collecter faire, but I feel like at the end of the day, it simply boiled down to: discover enemy weakness -> knock everyone down -> all out attack. There are a few wrinkles here and there, but for a game that runs well over 100 hours, you can really feel it. The story is very well done for the most part, with a few unfortunate JRPG tropes that make it a little too wild for me at the end (really, does there always have to be ANOTHER final boss?). But regardless of my criticisms, this game is probably the best JRPG I've ever played. The social/confidant system is unparalleled.

100% Completion Notes: The Royal version of this game is apparently more forgiving in its trophy list, and I didn't think it was too challenging. Royal introduces another couple months of in-game time to help you get everything done. The biggest challenge is sticking with the game through its massive runtime.