The aesthetic was really cool and the story was interesting. But holy god the gameplay is so bad. You can auto through pretty much every battle (including bosses) but the random encounter rate is ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that the map system is awful and figuring out where to go is a nightmare without a walkthrough. Its the equivalent of watching paint dry and banging your head on the wall at the same time. The time period is no excuse either, there are plenty of JRPGs released for the SNES with at least passable gameplay. Hoping for a remake that keeps everything else intact but saves the train wreck gameplay.

Improves on VP1 in a lot of ways. As far as gameplay is concerned, Tri-Ace took VP1's combat, added a third dimension, and considerably refined it. It's way more balanced, it has a lot more depth and is a lot harder to break. In other words, its god-tier.

Compared to VP1, the game is also a lot more linear and the story structure is pretty standard now. Not a bad thing at all, but personally I preferred VP1's structure. The game focuses on the main group way more, but in exchange, einherjar recruitment is now reduced to selecting an option and then reading some optional flavor text.

All in all, it's one of the greatest JRPGs ever made, and I would highly recommend it. Just make sure you play VP1 first, you absolutely need to.

Really great game. While not quite as refined as Zero 2 or 3, the core gameplay and level design was still a lot of fun. However, I did find some of the changes and new mechanics a bit disagreeable though. The part system managed to be almost as obtuse as X5's, the new cyberelf system removed the fun of collecting them, the change in EX skill acquisition was dumb, etc. The removal of elemental chips was genius though, as it alleviates the franchise's long-standing issue with weakness abuse sucking the fun out of bosses. Serves as an amazing epilogue to the Zero series, too.

2nd best game in the Mega Man franchise. I appreciate it more and more with every replay. Weapon levels may still exist, but it's faaaar less grindy than Zero 1; you can reasonably max them out this time. It's got extremely satisfying platforming, bosses and enemy design, with the best level of difficulty in the series. Best soundtrack in the zero series too.

And no, there is nothing wrong with the system for gaining EX skills. This isn't the X series anymore; they're cool bonuses that complement the ranking system, rewarding you for playing well. And besides, if you MUST have them without putting in the effort, there's always the A-rank cyberelves to help you nab a few.