With a combat system that feels more like a chore than a joy, dialogue that is disjointed at its best and groan-inducing at its worst, this retelling of a game I admittedly never finished was still somehow enjoyable to move through, owing a lot to strong performances and beautiful models and animation. I admit I'm only modestly invested in the characters, as so much of what happens in the game is intentionally a mystery, including some motivations simply being entirely unspoken. I hope that SQENIX take note of the criticisms of this game to improve upon their continuation of this trilogy.

This is a good game, but there are just a couple of things holding it back from being better. Starting with the good: the action is extremely fun. The way action and turn-based strategy are melded into one fluent experience is so fun. I just wish there were a couple less encounters with filler enemies. Now for the bad. There are two things which hold this game back from reaching that upper echelon for me. The first is the complaint everybody has on this game: the pacing. I understand why the story has to be slow at the start, but when that slowness drags on chapter after chapter, it gets grating. It's not that there aren't fun moments within, it's just that there is nothing motivating me to keep going. At some point, the stakes feel low and everything feels aimless. The story undoubtedly has very good and impactful moments, but these are all contained within the final few chapters or surrounded by drivel. The second thing is more of a personal complaint, but this game is so linear. I understand that it's meant to be a story that flows continuously, but everything down to the corridors makes this game feel like I have no choice to do anything. By itself, this probably wouldn't be such a problem if it wasn't mixed with the pacing issues before. Then, you're left with a low-stakes story that you have to continue following. Every now and then you'll get an area where you're given the freedom to explore the new sector and complete some side quests, but even that feels linear by the time you've done it for the third time. The structure just feels odd. My favorite part of the game was when all the areas finally fully opened up right near the end and you're given fast travel. It makes the world stop feeling like linear corridors and more like an interwoven community. This game is still good. The combat feels amazing, the characters are likable, the story beats hit sometimes, especially at the end, etc. There are just a few glaring issues that make this game hard to get through at times.

Intermission Side Review:
There is no reason for this to be better paced and arguably more hard-hitting than the main game. That ending hits different. It's a lot simpler, but that doesn't stop it from having a lot of good moments. The combat does feel worse than the main game, but maybe that's due to having less time to play with it (also the targeting can be horrendous; that boxes minigame is nightmare fuel). Overall, it's a very concise side story that's really fun.