I adore the paper doll Akihiko Yoshida aesthetic and am always a sucker for snappy job system combat! The characters in BD aren't the deepest but they're charming little sketches that play off one another well and really grow on you with time. And yet... I feel like this game relies a little too much on Final Fantasy nostalgia in a way that almost feels a bit like easy pandering. I never thought i'd say it, but i just miiiight be getting a little fatigued with magical crystals at this point!!! Even the attempt to deconstruct the trope (the crystals are actually BAD and must be STOPPED) is kind of done to death and equally prominent in the series? it hardly functions as an exciting twist or subversive moment. This is a consummately made and satisfying title with so much to enjoy, but as a classic JRPG obsessive there was a lot this game did that simultaneously warmed my heart and left me feeling a bit patronized. Which is what I signed up for, I guess? And that's the uncomfortable problem!