TLDR: Doesn't do much to improve on its original counterparts nor does it fix any of the issues the original counterparts had (The Tartarus slog, gameplay loop, unfinished characters, etc.)
I want to start out with, having played FES, I don’t think this is a good “remake”, “remaster”, “reload”, whatever you want to call it or class it. It adds some nice things here and there, but fails most of the bigger problems I had or in some cases, amplifying them. While I don’t agree with the whole “they made it P5” statement, I do agree that the game lacks the charm in some areas, for lack of a better word, that FES had. Found some portions Tartarus visually lacked the feeling it gave in FES (a few I liked the updated look) and lighting stuff in the overworld, or for the sake of visual effects, section(s) were made harder to traverse because of it,Adamah, but that’s nitpicks.
On a merciless run, I found the game way too easy for such difficulty, was pretty disappointed about that but also at the same time, didn’t want to spend any more time than I did on the game, so whatever. I thought the addition of Monad Doors/Passages was interesting as first, but as I traversed further into Tartarus, they felt more and more in the way instead of a good challenge. Most of the bosses just were not good or fun in challenging ways and a bit dumb at times, then after a certain point, I found myself fighting the same bosses in different Monad Doors? ok man
The game doesn’t do much at all to improve the gameplay loop of its original counterparts, in some areas it even being worse. There’s nothing that alleviates the slog Tartarus is, at times even feeling moreso than the original. It’s not rewarding at all, you go thru 30-40 odd floors per section, then what? Go back to what u were doing irl waiting for the next full moon, which when you get there, still doesnt do anything interesting, just fight an arcana boss then leave. Yea it does lead to something in the very end, but before that it shows no narrative for the most part and isn't something I looked forward to. The “lore” papers they added into Tartarus just aren’t enough, 30-40 floors for one paragraph of incomplete lore that frankly isn’t interesting did not do it for me. It’s just fighting fighting fighting with no reward, Combat is fine, but when your doing the same mind numbing battles over and over, it gets boring and not fun.
I don’t find the plot good or interesting at all, in FES, and Reload doesn’t do much, if anything at all, to make me want to change opinions. The full moon days are supposed to progress the plot, but I struggle to find where, you go in, fight a boss, then that’s basically it. You might get a few scenes depending on where you’re at in the game but nothing that really carries a narrative. When u finally get to points where it does push the narrative, it’s frankly disappointing, partially from the slow pacing of the narrative or it just not being interesting or incomplete. A lot of the characters feel unfinished or done in by their screen time (All 3 Strega characters, Shinji, SEES members, Ikutsuki, etc.).
Another small nitpick I have is that the SEES member social links are either locked by later dates or by social stats, there are a few Social Links outside of them that are interesting, but having to still wait for around for them sullied my interest throughout the game
I don't want to make this whole review negative, so I'll mention a few things, if I can, that I liked. Aigis and her character was one I liked in FES and it not having much change, of course I would like her in Reload. The final scene, both times, hasn't failed in giving me a knot in my throat. A few other social links I came to like, like Kamiki and Yuko. The voiced SLs did seem to enhance them a bit and appreciate that
Taking in the amount of idle hours I had on Reload, more or less, was considerable longer in hours played, which given its the same game for the most part, was not to my liking. The game overall is slower paced, whether it was Tartarus and its battle animation or overworld scene, didn't appreciate the extra time commitment
OSTs are worse for the most part, at least the remixes, are all worse than their older counterparts. Idk what their thinking was but a lot was missing the oomf and power that the originals had.
I want to start out with, having played FES, I don’t think this is a good “remake”, “remaster”, “reload”, whatever you want to call it or class it. It adds some nice things here and there, but fails most of the bigger problems I had or in some cases, amplifying them. While I don’t agree with the whole “they made it P5” statement, I do agree that the game lacks the charm in some areas, for lack of a better word, that FES had. Found some portions Tartarus visually lacked the feeling it gave in FES (a few I liked the updated look) and lighting stuff in the overworld, or for the sake of visual effects, section(s) were made harder to traverse because of it,
On a merciless run, I found the game way too easy for such difficulty, was pretty disappointed about that but also at the same time, didn’t want to spend any more time than I did on the game, so whatever. I thought the addition of Monad Doors/Passages was interesting as first, but as I traversed further into Tartarus, they felt more and more in the way instead of a good challenge. Most of the bosses just were not good or fun in challenging ways and a bit dumb at times, then after a certain point, I found myself fighting the same bosses in different Monad Doors? ok man
The game doesn’t do much at all to improve the gameplay loop of its original counterparts, in some areas it even being worse. There’s nothing that alleviates the slog Tartarus is, at times even feeling moreso than the original. It’s not rewarding at all, you go thru 30-40 odd floors per section, then what? Go back to what u were doing irl waiting for the next full moon, which when you get there, still doesnt do anything interesting, just fight an arcana boss then leave. Yea it does lead to something in the very end, but before that it shows no narrative for the most part and isn't something I looked forward to. The “lore” papers they added into Tartarus just aren’t enough, 30-40 floors for one paragraph of incomplete lore that frankly isn’t interesting did not do it for me. It’s just fighting fighting fighting with no reward, Combat is fine, but when your doing the same mind numbing battles over and over, it gets boring and not fun.
I don’t find the plot good or interesting at all, in FES, and Reload doesn’t do much, if anything at all, to make me want to change opinions. The full moon days are supposed to progress the plot, but I struggle to find where, you go in, fight a boss, then that’s basically it. You might get a few scenes depending on where you’re at in the game but nothing that really carries a narrative. When u finally get to points where it does push the narrative, it’s frankly disappointing, partially from the slow pacing of the narrative or it just not being interesting or incomplete. A lot of the characters feel unfinished or done in by their screen time (All 3 Strega characters, Shinji, SEES members, Ikutsuki, etc.).
Another small nitpick I have is that the SEES member social links are either locked by later dates or by social stats, there are a few Social Links outside of them that are interesting, but having to still wait for around for them sullied my interest throughout the game
I don't want to make this whole review negative, so I'll mention a few things, if I can, that I liked. Aigis and her character was one I liked in FES and it not having much change, of course I would like her in Reload. The final scene, both times, hasn't failed in giving me a knot in my throat. A few other social links I came to like, like Kamiki and Yuko. The voiced SLs did seem to enhance them a bit and appreciate that
Taking in the amount of idle hours I had on Reload, more or less, was considerable longer in hours played, which given its the same game for the most part, was not to my liking. The game overall is slower paced, whether it was Tartarus and its battle animation or overworld scene, didn't appreciate the extra time commitment
OSTs are worse for the most part, at least the remixes, are all worse than their older counterparts. Idk what their thinking was but a lot was missing the oomf and power that the originals had.