Even though I would consider myself to be an avid fan of the series, I somehow never got around to playing this one, which is kind of surprising, considering how much this game gets hyped up within the fanbase, and I gotta say, after beating it, I'm pretty disappointed.
Even though the series has a lot of games, I feel that most of them do a really good job of standing on their own, having some sort of unique gameplay elements or different progression systems/gameplay loops, but this one really doesn't do anything to stand on its own. The very few things that this game does to even remotely stand out are so extremely shallow and vague that it's more of an accident when it happens, rather than an actual mechanic the game is designed around.
I would even go so far as to say this game does absolutely nothing to justify playing it literally over any other game in the series. It feels so bad to be playing a game and the whole time I'm thinking, "I could just replay Vesperia."
The pacing of the gameplay is equally as rough, with there being so much backtracking having to travel across the world map just to talk to people. I rolled credits with less than 40 hours yet I feel like this game took literally forever with just how much of a slog to play through a lot of the times.
Which is kind of a shame because admittedly, the story/overall narrative, as well as the characters, are absolutely wonderful this time around. The narrative is so beautifully thematic and there are a plethora of interesting scenes and character moments that I genuinely was very invested in, and that's something I do feel like this game does fantastically. In fact, that's the main thing that kept me playing honestly, and I can't take that away. But when the gameplay is for the most part boring, character progression is boring, customization is shallow, and a lot the mechanics might as well not even exist, then it's hard to recommend this game to anyone unless they are interested in the top tier narrative.
Even though the series has a lot of games, I feel that most of them do a really good job of standing on their own, having some sort of unique gameplay elements or different progression systems/gameplay loops, but this one really doesn't do anything to stand on its own. The very few things that this game does to even remotely stand out are so extremely shallow and vague that it's more of an accident when it happens, rather than an actual mechanic the game is designed around.
I would even go so far as to say this game does absolutely nothing to justify playing it literally over any other game in the series. It feels so bad to be playing a game and the whole time I'm thinking, "I could just replay Vesperia."
The pacing of the gameplay is equally as rough, with there being so much backtracking having to travel across the world map just to talk to people. I rolled credits with less than 40 hours yet I feel like this game took literally forever with just how much of a slog to play through a lot of the times.
Which is kind of a shame because admittedly, the story/overall narrative, as well as the characters, are absolutely wonderful this time around. The narrative is so beautifully thematic and there are a plethora of interesting scenes and character moments that I genuinely was very invested in, and that's something I do feel like this game does fantastically. In fact, that's the main thing that kept me playing honestly, and I can't take that away. But when the gameplay is for the most part boring, character progression is boring, customization is shallow, and a lot the mechanics might as well not even exist, then it's hard to recommend this game to anyone unless they are interested in the top tier narrative.