Honestly, my highest praise is 'They didn't fuck it up.' With some gripes included (the wonky pacing in some spots and the overly-long ending chapters), this is the best sequel to the OG masterpiece on the DS that we could've gotten. The links to the original (and the new chapter from the Switch remaster) are handled very well, and Square and H.A.N.D. do a great job of updating everything to 2021 standards while still keeping it distinctly aligned with TWEWY. The plot trades the more character-focused story of the original for a grander scope, but all of the in-focus newcomers still get plenty of growth and interaction in the runtime. The combat is just as friendly to early-onset arthritis as it is chaotic and fun to experiment with. I'm torn on whether I want more of this series down the line, or if this game should be the end, but no matter what, if they keep up this quality, I'm there for whatever they do next with it.