Simultaneously Dated and Timeless 12 Episode Anime Simulator.
The PS2 era was when Gust went sicko mode, so of course their entry on the platform was going to bring everything they learned and accumulated in 8 years.
The gameplay instantly grabs you with a simple but enticing loop of alchemizing items to unlock stat upgrades and skills for your party of fun characters. Throw academic course themed missions and you have a joyful romp through a charming game which, much like MST3K, tells you to repeat to yourself it's just a show.
Battles are the final evolution of the turn based battles with beautiful spritework and effects, to make for a high speed spectacle in a style I am sad to see go.
The music and overall presentation is great, the story making use of its school setting to great effect for charming events.
Story and characters are simple and archetypal but the instances of cliched shonen anime happenstance are far enough apart that it hardly grates on you.
All and all, an enjoyable experience, however while the complexity of your crafting chains or combat combinations steadily increases, the perpetual gameplay cycle does not deviate across it's ~30 hours of play.
The PS2 era was when Gust went sicko mode, so of course their entry on the platform was going to bring everything they learned and accumulated in 8 years.
The gameplay instantly grabs you with a simple but enticing loop of alchemizing items to unlock stat upgrades and skills for your party of fun characters. Throw academic course themed missions and you have a joyful romp through a charming game which, much like MST3K, tells you to repeat to yourself it's just a show.
Battles are the final evolution of the turn based battles with beautiful spritework and effects, to make for a high speed spectacle in a style I am sad to see go.
The music and overall presentation is great, the story making use of its school setting to great effect for charming events.
Story and characters are simple and archetypal but the instances of cliched shonen anime happenstance are far enough apart that it hardly grates on you.
All and all, an enjoyable experience, however while the complexity of your crafting chains or combat combinations steadily increases, the perpetual gameplay cycle does not deviate across it's ~30 hours of play.