I think over time I've come to see this game as more of a companion to the original SMT rather than a clear improvement. Sure it's less broken than the original game, but the game design can be more frustrating, especially in some of its more mean-spirited attempts at difficulty. In particular, I think of the magnetite resources that deplete at a frankly insane rate and the Magic and Intelligence stat checks (useless stats on your main character that you're supposed to just throw away points to so you can get past arbitrary walls).

Despite those shortcomings, the game's world and story are top notch. Truly. The kind of stuff that I was left thinking about for weeks on end after I beat the game, in particular the way that the game focuses on the Law side of things which brings forth a lot of interesting statements on religion and the way that societies built solely on religious values fail their people. It's good stuff! At least as good or better than most of the stuff on the SNES.

I know old-school dungeon crawler type stuff might be hard for lots of people to get into, but I've found these old SMT games to be rewarding to a point where I'd heartily recommend them to any JRPG fan looking to expand their horizons a bit. (especially if you're mostly versed in modern games.)