I've played all the games and I sure as hell won't be skipping this one. This formula just works and the series has been such a delight to experience. I hope Puffballsunited will thrive and create more masterpieces like this one.

That said, some nitpicks that don't ultimately matter:
Wish some of the old tiny stuff that was memorable such as the harmonica at the start of EtP weren't taken out but I do understand that most of them had a valid reason to be taken out. There are also some inconsistencies with the quality, sometimes it feels like high-quality fluid and punchy animation, sometimes it goes for the old nostalgic style. While it didn't bother me, it's something I noticed that I hoped could have been different.

Again, those are all just tiny nitpicks. I cannot wait for what our puffboy will offer to the gaming landscape in the future. If you've played all of the previous entries, this is definitely worth the price. And if you haven't? You're on for a bumpy ride for some classic goofs and gags.

Don't be fooled by the charming appearance of this game. It is not relaxing. They definitely make you feel like a struggling potion seller. For better or worse. You don't have time to talk to your friends! Business is booming!

Oh, you want to see all those cute well written scenes? Tough luck buttercup, time is ticking, you have a business to run.
Me? I haven't had a gameover yet. Somehow. I've been always clutching it last minute. But I can see how problematic it can be to be constantly reminded that you can't let up. It sucks too because everything else about the game is great!

It's immersive this way but at the same time, it pretty much discourages you from interacting with the best parts of the game. It's one of those unfortunate circumstances where the design contradicts with the appeal. Game is about relationships and immersing yourself with the characters and story but it's also still a game about managing your shop. It's tuned too far to the latter side that the former gets side swiped.

That said, it is a very polished and very well made game! Writing is superb, animations are second to none, everything is satisfying. Hefty amount of loading screens though. And surprsingly, I haven't encountered any bugs.

Honestly I thought the card battle system was gonna be the brunt of the difficulty but its mostly just relying on the RNG to give you the right ingredients for those darn three potions that are just staring you down everytime you open the brew menu.

There's also a thing in the game that requires you to play through it again many times to see everything. There are two sides of this.
A. The mechanics of the game aren't complex or indepth enough that replaying it a dozen will probably get boring and repetitive.
B. I do like the aspect of committing to your playthrough. Sticking with a decision until the very end and not having the unreasonable freedom to just choose everything. It honestly surprised me in a pleasant way.

Also a personal nitpick of mine that no one seems to talk about: Animations are great and all but dang, the sharp non-transition from one animation to the next really breaks the character immersion sometimes. They're supposed to be energetic and lively but then feels like someone switching one gif to another.

Overall, the game is perfectly paced for what it's trying to do, but what it's trying to do directly contradicts with what the players want. Overtime, it did encourage me to manage my time better and I eventually chuck it to just a skill issue. But still. The game should be more forgiving. Even just a little bit. I want to be invested in the story, not how much the clock is ticking.

Unfortunately going to have to give this one a No. It's such a charming and sweet game full of passion into it but I just can't recommend it.
Overall experience is not very good, navigation around the map and completing missions do not reward any sort of satisfying gameplay progress or story reward. Combat lacks any impact, inuitive aspects and flow. Parries don't feel like parries. Hits don't feel like hits. It just doesn't feel like it has the good parts of a game. That final polish in gameplay. It doesn't scratch any itch. It's not fun.
The game looks so nice too and has the potential to be really memorable but I find myself equivallent to seeing a can of orange soda only to find it is orange flavored sparkling water.