This game has pretty much been my introduction to the Character-Action genre. As an intro, I think this is an incredible game. It definitely shows its Resident Evil origins with the camera angles and light puzzle elements. This also makes itself evident with the mood, ambience, and enemies. It starts to split off with its own sense of character with the corny (in a different way from RE) dialogue, intense music, and faster paced action.

Even this early into the series, the core of the design remains as solid as ever. Combos are fun to perform, progression is very satisfying and feels meaningful, and the different weapons you can use are fun. In particular, I really liked Ifrit for those powerful, meaty hits that feel like a bag of bricks thanks to the sound design and impact. I also greatly enjoy Devil Trigger as a mechanic, it feels very fun to have a short burst where you turn the tides on enemies and go hog wild.

The only real low points of the game are the Water sections, which feel out of place but are short and far between, and the three fights against Nightmare. In general, this game is relatively tough but that boss fight just feels tedious and unfun with the wait times for its weakness. Still, I enjoyed every other boss, Phantom, Griffin, and even all the phases of Mundus with how challenging it was. I'm not a fan of how obtuse the Secret Missions and some of the Blue Orbs are to find. The platforming segments can also be a bit frustrating.

There's a lot of good about this game that I would absolutely still recommend this even to modern players as a worthwhile experience and I think it should be played first by anyone interested in Character Action Games if they have a curiosity for this genre.