Far from a perfect game but refreshingly ambitious enough that I feel I can finally be optimistic for upcoming pokemon games for the first time in years. The gameplay aside from the solid base pokemon team-building and battling is alright. It feels very satisfying to catch a new pokemon for the first time since the exploration aspect actually makes it feel like you're discovering pokemon in the wild rather than randomly getting jumped by whichever 5 pokemon are designated for each route. What isn't satisfying is catching/beating the same pokemon 20 times to fill out its pokedex entry so having to engage in that to reach the next rank was pretty annoying. The strong and agile style moves and the accompanying speed-based turn numbers were a small but nice addition to the standard combat. The boss battles were pleasantly hectic but they could've used a few gimmicks to make them feel more distinct from each other. I also would've liked more trainer battles since beating pokemon in the wild isn't really as enjoyable. The story wasn't anything to write home about, particularly the awkwardly hamfisted detail about the pearl and diamond clan leaders being obsessed with space and time respectively, but I enjoyed the characters not being all buddy-buddy all the time and the surprisingly blunt way they'd talk about how they'd get killed by pokemon if they weren't careful. Also Irida's cute. Visually the game could obviously use an upgrade since pokemon can often look out of place in the world with their stiff animations, but I was happy with how well it performed at least given gamefreak's track record. I really hope they build on this game's foundation in a more modern pokemon setting with plenty of towns and trainers because I think they've finally started taking the series in a good direction.

I love this game! The changes to the battle system are fun and make the battles feel dynamic and like you don't know what's going to happen which makes it stay true to how there aren't Pokemon trainers yet in the lore. Exploring all of the places feels great and getting rewarded with Braviary near the end makes it feel amazing to get through in multiple traversal methods. The game has 3 major ending points which feels good to be able to complete them each. The biggest problems with the game are that the graphics have some issues occasionally (flashing at day/night transition, 3fps flying Pokemon), some parts are a little too cryptic (Ursaluna evolution condition?? Stupid), and the characters toward the end lack personality and instead they have it replaced with a gimmick (Palina seems like a character but Sabi only talks about her clairvoyance until it no longer sounds like a word). Otherwise, the game is very good and has a great difficulty curve as well as constant rewards for exploration!

Good game, I enjoyed it for the most part. I just don't know why people hold it in high regard in terms of it's plot and characters, many people say that this is one of the best JRPG parties and I'm just sitting there wondering how? Most of them are flat and nobody gets enough time to develop. The only ones I'd say were good is Frog and Robo and I still don't feel like Frog got enough time to shine

They mostly just disappear after they're arc concludes (considering if they have one)

Can see how the story is good for it's time and I can appreciate that but the characters aren't good imo and it isn't really an excuse when we got FF6 from the same era

But everything else is pretty good

The game aged really well, the pixel art and general presentation of the game aged really well and I really like how battles happen in real time except of being transported to the "fighting dimension" which is something I wish more JRPGs did

Combat is simplistic and honestly after a certain point I've been able to just spam the same tech or I can just equip berserk for Ayla and leave the DS and come back to find the fight done (actually works)

The soundtrack is hands down one of the best in gaming

Overall it's a good game and I recommend playing it but it just leaves me disappointed and empty. Don't wanna say it's overrated since it was a phenomenon for it's time but it really is

Bioshock Infinite hits all the right notes on an aura/aural level. Beautiful environments, a sweeping score, well-acted, etc... My love of the game pretty much ends there though. Shallow explorations of the game's key themes, and a monotonous gameplay loop kept me from ever really feeling satisfied. Gone is the horror-tinged elements of Rapture. Likewise the feeling of exploring a level, and finding some secrets within. Instead it's all replaced with combat arenas, and long corridors filled with spongey enemies.