my first PS2 game and few ever came close since lmao. it's only issue is that if you want to master/level up all weapons in one/two runs, you need to continually kill yourself and replay the same level sections over and over on first visit. might work in some RPGs, but not so much in this genre. it does get a smidge repetitive. but, that is a somewhat niche goal in the grand scheme! hence only half a star taken off. they really knocked it out of the park in the transition to action gameplay. the Vita port is similarly great, but does suffer from the general issues of the HD remaster which is a shame. nonetheless I'm always appreciative of a portable fix for my favourite games, and this one is worth many, many replays. i can't even think of another game that offers this level of variety in weapons, with most having genuine function/value. even makes me wish a future port/remaster could give a sliding difficulty because you do get a bit godlike by the end of upgrading them all.