As someone who did not like the first title I was greatly surprised by this one. While the combat hasn’t changed the characters this time around have more personality and interact with each other more, creating a realistic narrative the first lacked imo. Some characters definitely felt weaker story wise than others but overall this game was great. With way more towns to explore and a bigger world I had so much fun playing this game. This one is probably my favorite jrpg of the year.