i played it 100% and enjoyed it. pretty generic in a lot of ways, but i wouldn't say that's necessarily a bad thing. i liked how each stratum felt unique from one another. they're obviously visually distinct, but they're also mechanically distinct. i liked the mapping, although it's a little tedious (particularly on later floors). the post game's kinda ridiculous. the last stratum is my least favorite, and the bosses essentially require specific party members. so if you haven't been using a protector the whole game you'll have to do a lot of grinding. the main game didn't require much grinding, i felt like. i only grinded for some quests (which needed a specific class at a specific level) or for when i swapped in a new party member. i felt like the beginning of the game was the hardest, and it just got easier (up until the post-game), probably due to acquisition of more skills. probably not necessary if you wanna play later entries. i wouldn't know, i only just started 2 :p