What.... a beautiful ending.

The story was so well written. The dialogue extremely witty, which you hardly see in games. And the cinematography was just exceptional. From what I know, the developers were just fans of films. But they somehow delivered to a degree higher than most films you see. It is truly exceptional.

I did dislike the gameplay. If there is a remaster or remake, it needs to improve the quality of life for combat.

There is no experience. But instead your weapons get more "attuned" to killing certain types of monsters (from what I understood). But the problem is that you have to keep switching between weapons to optimally have strong enough weapons or else you will be doing 1 damage to all enemies. It is the slog of having to go through the menu multiple times that really holds back the game.

If that is improved, then this game would be more bearable and more of an enjoyable challenge. I enjoyed the concept of the gameplay and to recommend it to any hardcore jrpg player looking for a challenge.

But this game shines more in its story. And the story delivers.

If someone says a Pokemon story can never be good, show them this game.

The story is incredibly emotional. And with the special episodes being exclusive to this version than time/darkness, it elevates it to a further level. Those who have played it all know just how good the Grovyle episode was. Which has probably one of the best scenes you can end a story with. It is beautifully sad.

And the music elevates it to another level too. It is simple, but works. I don't think there is a single soundtrack that sounds bad. And when it needs to sound good or emotional, it just goes out of its way to orchestrate some of the best melodies you can hear.

The gameplay being a mystery dungeon is of course not for everyone. It has not aged too well and can be very tedious. Especially for those late game 20+ floors. It is challenging but not everyone can get into it.