glad we got an action rpg with platinum's involvement that was actually good

playing this after trying out the demo for the sequel really highlights this game's shortcomings. everything from the design to the writing is shaping up to be a lot more polished and deliberate in the new one, like the old one was just playing in the kiddie pool the whole time. still pretty good!

i don't feel strongly about the story decisions but i really hate the combat in this game. it's terrifying to commit to any action and you never feel like you're responding to it with the strategy it expects you to arrive at. apparently the combat feels better in the new game but i sure hope they tweak the way they approach encounter design as well. it's possible barret is the greatest character in all of video games