It's definitely better than the first two games, though "redemption" is too strong a word. Took forever for me to get around to this after playing 1 and 2 mostly because me and the homie playing through this with me decided it would be in our best interest to watch the connected anime to get all the prior context (which was a horrible mistake, roots was horrifically boring).
This game at the very least gets a win in the fact that since this is the finale, the plot actually has to do things, explain mysteries that the series thus far had been frustratingly obtuse over, and wrap up everything in a satisfying way. For very brief moments in time I actually found myself somewhat caring about the characters and the general story arc, which was something that I didn't think previously was possible. Not sure if that's because of the actual writing being a step up or if I've found the sheer nothingness of the G.U. plot endearing thanks to stockholm syndrome, but hey! There's also another tournament arc when the previous 2 games already had tournament arcs within them, so that's awesome.
The gameplay is pretty much the same thing as always, you check your email and do a quest and then repeat that shit until the credits roll. The combat is at its deepest here given there's the highest amount of playable weapons and party members to use here, but it's still pretty bland and I definitely found myself avoiding every enemy encounter and optional side content like the plague just to get this game obliterated.
I will give this game credit over Quarantine in the IMOQ series in that at least this game feels more like a solid way to end the story rather than just being a dumb final grindfest with very little payoff. I'm saving most of my general thoughts on the G.U. series as a whole for my review of Last Recode, but I will say that G.U. at the very least TRIES to make each game feel like bespoke titles instead of selling a 4 disc game in piecemeal, and this game is no different. It's honestly a lot better than I expected it to be, but given its existence as one part of a greater whole, I can't exactly recommend it given you'd have to play the first 2 volumes as well.
This game at the very least gets a win in the fact that since this is the finale, the plot actually has to do things, explain mysteries that the series thus far had been frustratingly obtuse over, and wrap up everything in a satisfying way. For very brief moments in time I actually found myself somewhat caring about the characters and the general story arc, which was something that I didn't think previously was possible. Not sure if that's because of the actual writing being a step up or if I've found the sheer nothingness of the G.U. plot endearing thanks to stockholm syndrome, but hey! There's also another tournament arc when the previous 2 games already had tournament arcs within them, so that's awesome.
The gameplay is pretty much the same thing as always, you check your email and do a quest and then repeat that shit until the credits roll. The combat is at its deepest here given there's the highest amount of playable weapons and party members to use here, but it's still pretty bland and I definitely found myself avoiding every enemy encounter and optional side content like the plague just to get this game obliterated.
I will give this game credit over Quarantine in the IMOQ series in that at least this game feels more like a solid way to end the story rather than just being a dumb final grindfest with very little payoff. I'm saving most of my general thoughts on the G.U. series as a whole for my review of Last Recode, but I will say that G.U. at the very least TRIES to make each game feel like bespoke titles instead of selling a 4 disc game in piecemeal, and this game is no different. It's honestly a lot better than I expected it to be, but given its existence as one part of a greater whole, I can't exactly recommend it given you'd have to play the first 2 volumes as well.