The game is gorgeous, the soundtrack is so good and I love the focus on exploration and fun side quests. But it’s never really that rewarding. The dungeons are both a highlight and a disappointment, each dungeon is unique, has its own vibes, and is so fun to explore and meet the people in it, but god this game holds your hand so much, after every item or key you just get a shortcut to where you need to use it, there is never a need to think about where you need to go, never a sense of being lost in a massive intricate dungeon, and it’s such a shame. I will say however the puzzles are so good and incredibly fun.

Hot take: the triforce quest is actually so fun and encourages so much exploration of the islands and lets you discover so much of the world, it’s bogged down by grindy side quests however that are just lame timesinks if you didn’t know about them beforehand (I never wanna see a joy pendant again in my life)

This probably is the best final fantasy has ever been in so long. A giant world with many thigns to see, multitude of fun side quests, even the side content is hella fun. I love the minigames, even if some of them overstayed their welcome. Presentation wise, it does not get better then this. It is very PS2 style in nature, from its combat, being simple but with massive depth, and its story, and characters being overly dramatic and complicated but true to heart, and it does it so well. The game drops the ball hard however by locking most of it's side content in its third act, and by the time you get there, you probably will be too exhausted to do any more side content. Thankfully, there was no need for any grind at that point, as the game is very streamlined and balanced well. The third act is spectacular, while the narrative takes the hit, the drama is done so well, with some amazing cinematics, character moments, and great set pieces. If this pace of improvements continues, I am so excited for part 3.