probably the most addicting srpg i've played. beautiful art, amazing gameplay, and although the story is very simple and straightforward it does what it needs to do.

re: story, i will admit that i was hoping for a deeper story (impossible not to bring up final fantasy tactics LOL) with some political intrigue but it never feels like it tries to pass off its story as being particularly deep or profound, so i can forgive it for its bland protagonist and largely uninteresting story. it's a story about a prince reclaiming his kingdom from an ancient evil, and that's it.

characters are also fun, and though a roster with ~60 unique characters doesn't really lend itself to a fully fleshed-out cast, individual character stories feel distinct enough to build on, and rapports between your favourites are a fun treat to get (even if you're like me and end up grinding a bunch of them like crazy in the tavern when you reach endgame because you forgot about them for a while).

the pandering to horny men is kind of insane though. scarlett's boob jiggle is ridiculous and the female elven fencers' outfits are just silly. but at least it's not every female character (low bar i know).

overall: drakenhold was my favourite area. aubin, magellan, liza, gloucester, renault, and rolf were my favourite characters. i want a sequel with a deeper story so bad... please...!!!!!!

(saw the credits roll so i'll log it now even though i will continue to play act3)
its story isn't revolutionary and is generally kind of a standard jrpg save-the-world type deal but MAN does it do this well!!! this has been on my backlog forever because i knew i would get obsessed with it (which i am...) but i'm SO glad i finally played it. it's so rich and full of life!!! so much character!!! so much love and passion put into the game that you can really feel as you play through the story.
and the characters are incredible. hendrik and jasper are my favourites... because i'm predictable... but i love the rest of the party so much. each character has so much love put into their individual narratives٭ and they don't all blend together as it sometimes tends to happen with rpg parties.
to be honesttt i kind of just love this game a lot and it's become something very dear to my heart. i can't say i'm particularly keen to start act3 knowing what happens... but at least i get to spend more time with these characters.

really just the minor complaints i have are that the music largely sucks most of the time (thank goodness you can replace the field music at least) and the luminary shouldn't have been a silent protagonist. now... onward...

٭ jade aside, because the game is more concerned with making her its token sexy girl instead of giving her more depth or development -_-

edit 13/2/24: i did NOT like act3. the only good thing in act3 is the closure hendrik gets about jasper... otherwise it's just a selection of watered down act2 events + grinding + challenge dungeons. not changing my rating because i still love this game dearly but when i replay it i'm going to end it at act2's finale and pretend act3 doesn't exist. Idgaf

playing this is starting to become a bit of a chore so i'll review it now ^__^ this was my first harvest moon/sos game and i can see why it's so beloved. character writing and events are really really good!! all the characters have so much depth to them and they're actually fun to talk to, as opposed to just cycling through the same dialogue every time.

some things on the gameplay side feel really tedious though — getting the materials needed to upgrade tools, make farm circles etc feel a bit grindy and i PERSONALLY feel that clothes shouldn't be so hard to obtain!!! just let me buy them with money!!! it's also not a game you can just play without a guide unless you're fine with having to wait as long as an ingame year to unlock certain things ie. town link ranks.

also, my farmer is brown... why is my family white. why is the little icon on the bottom screen a blond haired blue eyed freak. the whitewashing of the lulukoko residents is also pretty egregious...

so... it's nowhere near as addicting as stardew valley, but the graphics are lovely and the writing and cast are fantastic. just a charming game overall <3