it's an alright game, they have some cool stuff you'll like if you've played the other uta games. Grinding in the last puzzle dungeon was peak, but the best thing gotta be when i had to load an old save because i was a bit underleveled for the final boss so i went back to grind and I was forced to watch 40 minutes of unskippable cutscenes I've already watched lol
Never have I played a game I felt so middle of the road on. Nothing about this game felt outright bad, but nothing really stood out as really great either.
The story has its moments but is overall kind of a mess pacing-wise. Plot threads get started and forgotten about before suddenly coming back and hastily wrapped up with little fanfare. There was a particular moment that felt like it was setting up the ending to the game only for the game to continue for another four chapters.
The gameplay is okay, but it is repetitive and lacking in room for strategy. Often you are just spamming your strongest skills until the enemies are dead. There are some mechanics involving manipulating the turn order, but it's too unpredictable to take plan around. This is only when you aren't farming for experience without even battling which the game generously lets you do the moment enemies are only slightly below your level. The side quests are a fun distraction with some entertaining banter between party members but also don't leave much of a mark.
After finishing the game I realized that, while I didn't mind my experience with the game, it really failed to leave a big impression on me. While the other Utawarerumono games are by no means perfect, those games have incredible high points that made them extremely memorable to me. My only hope is the inevitable sequel really steps things up because there is a good foundation here.
The story has its moments but is overall kind of a mess pacing-wise. Plot threads get started and forgotten about before suddenly coming back and hastily wrapped up with little fanfare. There was a particular moment that felt like it was setting up the ending to the game only for the game to continue for another four chapters.
The gameplay is okay, but it is repetitive and lacking in room for strategy. Often you are just spamming your strongest skills until the enemies are dead. There are some mechanics involving manipulating the turn order, but it's too unpredictable to take plan around. This is only when you aren't farming for experience without even battling which the game generously lets you do the moment enemies are only slightly below your level. The side quests are a fun distraction with some entertaining banter between party members but also don't leave much of a mark.
After finishing the game I realized that, while I didn't mind my experience with the game, it really failed to leave a big impression on me. While the other Utawarerumono games are by no means perfect, those games have incredible high points that made them extremely memorable to me. My only hope is the inevitable sequel really steps things up because there is a good foundation here.