finally got around to beat this one. for compliments, the atmosphere and world building are probably this game's best qualities. the first two games had this nice grunge to them that the future games slowly drifted away from, which isn't terrible, but it's sad to see. the fact that this game manages to introduce so many factions and cities that don't feel overabundant is honestly crazy for how it affects the later games.
In terms of actual gameplay, i'm atleast glad RGG managed to only go up from this. the lock on mechanics are downright awful for the most part. it's aggravating to hit anyone if they move to the side or god forbid dash behind you. worst part is, your moveset is good enough that a good lock on system would've made the game a hundred times better.
this game is probably a 5/10, but the impact this game had is enough to at least warrant a higher score. i'd love to retry the game if it had a new game plus. for what it's worth, the game makes a pretty good impression, but i'd recommend kiwami over this for anyone trying to get into the series.