it was okay, i'd get it on sale. the story is sub-par at best, the character development isn't deep, the villains backstory is located in a random spot where like... a ton of back story is just stored on a data device towards the end of the game, you don't ever figure out why the bad guys are really bad, at least I don't think I did on my first play through.

I could see the NG+ being fun to power thru the game. The last few boss fights were pretty lame, if I wasn't playing Rena and spamming heals and res items I don't think it would have been possible. It is very odd how much more unfair/hard the last two fights are compared to the rest of the game. The entire game I don't think I sweat once, but the last two bosses required spam heals/resses.

The arena towards the end of the game was pretty unfun as well. The solo fights felt lame, ending your streak because you received a status effect that you couldn't dispell or cure just isn't fun in 2024. I didn't get the necklace that makes you immune to all ailments until I was already very sick of the arena.

I'm recommending this game on sale and also because I actually finished it, it was good enough and interesting enough for me to want to finish it, but I'm not sure I am glad I did.

One of the best remakes of all time. So much care was taken to bring an old classic up to modern standards. Do not sleep on this one.

I never played the OG and I feel like I got tricked by all the hype and nostalgia around this game.

I'll start with the positives: the graphics are nice, voice work is mostly decent, Ophelia and Dias are cool characters, and the party recruitment system was interesting.

I think the worst thing about this game is the plot. There ISN'T ONE. The game starts with a prophecy about a hero with a sword of light, but after the first two hours that entire plot thread is forgotten and never mentioned again. There's a few events but nothing really happens until the last act of the game. Just as things start getting interesting, the game ends. That's it.

I want to bring up the antagonists because they were handled so poorly. They aren't mentioned at all until the last bit of the game, and they get very little screen time. It's been a few months since I last played and I couldn't tell you any of their names because they're so forgettable. I can only remember a few by the tropes they characterized. I don't even remember who the final boss was! I THINK he had red hair, but that's all I got.

The battle system just isn't fun. It's very basic and it's too easy to win by spamming abilities, but then it gets frustrating fighting multiple bosses who spam AOE spells. I was also surprised at how easy it is to break the game and become incredibly OP.

I don't love being so negative about a game like this, but I wish I had an idea of the cons before I bought it. At the very least I could have tempered my expectations.