similarly to mario rpg's remake i went into this with rather low expectations, figured it was just another cool novelty that boomer-y games sorta fawn over. game is in fact great.
the class/djinn system is fantastic, extremely addictive and intuitive and fun, where so many games attempt this sort of system and stumble, if not fail outright, this game make looks effortless. where final fantasy has attempted and failed at plenty of times before, this game succeeds and sets a bar on its initial outing. the djinn/class sytem alone is worth playing this game for just to see an example of how to implement a job system in a deep and meaningful way while still being approachable and fun.
the story is cool but in my opinion far too reliant on context clues and random npc dialogue and hidden flavor text. could've done with a little bit more party member dialogue, half the time i honestly felt like i was playing a dark souls clone or some shit with how cryptically this game delivers information about what is going on. which is interesting given the good-vs-evil all ages presentation of things here. hoping that all picks up a bit for the sequel.
the combat is fantastic, but in my opinion often doesn't really require the player to make use of all the systems in place. for all the cool classes and spells and weapons, you can just as easily use mono-element jobs and spam your strongest spells for 20 hours and clear the superboss with little resistance. stuff is fun but i am hoping that stuff like buffs and debuffs become a little more important at some point in the next game. felt like there wasn't much room to spread the large wings the game gives you.
the puzzle system is fantastic, at its best this feels like a zelda game except with real rpg combat instead of the cinematic simulations of challenge that zelda often prefers (at least up until more recent zelda entries). the way the game delivers context clues about the story and constantly requires the player to interact with the world outside of battle makes weyard feel very involved and compelling to explore.
all in all, pleasantly surprised and had a great time, the game's original ideas are phenomenal and work fantastic, but i am hoping the core storytelling and boss fights get ramped up a little for the next go around.
the class/djinn system is fantastic, extremely addictive and intuitive and fun, where so many games attempt this sort of system and stumble, if not fail outright, this game make looks effortless. where final fantasy has attempted and failed at plenty of times before, this game succeeds and sets a bar on its initial outing. the djinn/class sytem alone is worth playing this game for just to see an example of how to implement a job system in a deep and meaningful way while still being approachable and fun.
the story is cool but in my opinion far too reliant on context clues and random npc dialogue and hidden flavor text. could've done with a little bit more party member dialogue, half the time i honestly felt like i was playing a dark souls clone or some shit with how cryptically this game delivers information about what is going on. which is interesting given the good-vs-evil all ages presentation of things here. hoping that all picks up a bit for the sequel.
the combat is fantastic, but in my opinion often doesn't really require the player to make use of all the systems in place. for all the cool classes and spells and weapons, you can just as easily use mono-element jobs and spam your strongest spells for 20 hours and clear the superboss with little resistance. stuff is fun but i am hoping that stuff like buffs and debuffs become a little more important at some point in the next game. felt like there wasn't much room to spread the large wings the game gives you.
the puzzle system is fantastic, at its best this feels like a zelda game except with real rpg combat instead of the cinematic simulations of challenge that zelda often prefers (at least up until more recent zelda entries). the way the game delivers context clues about the story and constantly requires the player to interact with the world outside of battle makes weyard feel very involved and compelling to explore.
all in all, pleasantly surprised and had a great time, the game's original ideas are phenomenal and work fantastic, but i am hoping the core storytelling and boss fights get ramped up a little for the next go around.