I would never tell somebody they shouldn't enjoy something unless there was something morally and/or legally wrong with it, and I still would not with this game... but there are some parts of this game that I truly believe you'd have to be crazy to enjoy. As much as I can appreciate the soundtrack and narrative (and frankly do still believe it is worth playing for this alone), the gameplay and structure is so fundamentally flawed that I was desperate to be done like, halfway through my all endings playthrough. On top of having one of the most horribly designed Hard modes that I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing, the core gameplay is so horribly bland with countless extremely questionable design decisions that should not have made it into any kind of remake or remaster or whatever this is. My full review on the game (Link) goes more into detail about this but I was honestly suffering by the end just trying to beat it so I could know what happens. Everything is so bland, the customization is lame and meaningless and it just feels like the game is stuck back in the bad part of the era it was originally released in.

Final Fantasy XV at its core I truly believe is a very good game and left a significant impact on me. It's that it was unfinished among plenty other pre-release issues, and I truly with that this game could have seen it's full potential realized. However, I believe that what we ended up with, while not what it could have been, is still very good. The story is not one of the best in the franchise (although the moments near of the end of the game are regardless some of the most impactful in a game that I have played) but the characters are phenomenal and truly make up for it. My absolute favorite part of this game is the exploration and world design, the soundtrack, and the boss battles. Several areas of this game are some of my all-time favorite locations (Altissia) and the absolute masterpiece from Yoko Shimomura that plays as you explore one of my personal favorite open worlds is unforgettable to me. I would never deny the game and its development are filled with a million flaws but I do not believe that the finished product in and of itself is even close to bad and is still one of my more memorable gaming experiences.

This is definitely more regarding the most liked reviews. I very much disagree with the prospect that this game is entirely worthless or disrespects FromSoft's vision or anything. The tone is absolutely different from the original game and you can totally argue that as a genuine issue, but it does not take away from this being a beautiful and solid souls experience. There is absolutely an argument against them "using" this game as some hardware showcase but I don't think that you can argue it is nothing more than that; they succeeded in it, firstly because the game is one of the most incredibly looking games I've ever played and to me still fits a Souls-like aesthetic, even if not perfectly. It's more than that though, as the game feels great to play, just as any other FromSoft game; it is not fundamentally different, or changed, or 'westernized' or anything, it is still a Souls-like to its core.

While I played this game quite a long time ago, when it originally released, I know for a fact that I did not find it to be any kind of downgrade from the original nor a bad game really at all. Overall the game was more of the first; a wholly original and ambitious take on Disney characters like we've never seen before and I am still somewhat surprised Disney allowed in the first place. The sequel continues to push this creative vision and also exists to formulate the concept into a 'series' rather than just a one-off game that I remember fondly.

I had fun playing this game and while it's entirely warranted to criticize the franchise for not reaching it's potential, I do believe that it somewhat paved the way for bigger changes like in Legends: Arceus and in and of itself was a decent Pokemon game. I had fun with it, thought the Wild Area was a really great addition overall, and absolutely love the Gen 8 Pokemon designs, some of the best we've seen since Gen 5. I just do not think this is a bad game; I understand why people hold that idea and do believe that the multi-billion dollar franchise deserves plenty of criticism, but I did quite enjoy my time with Sword and don't think it's quite the crime against humanity that it is often remembered as.