The story is genuinely amazing and actually managed to get me emotional, but the game is just so fucking long and bloated for no good reason. From beginning to end, you are dragged through countless identical battles that serve almost no mechanical or narrative purpose. By cutting these unnecessary battles, you could shave off like 20-30 hours from the game and lose nothing.

Truthfully, it deserves a lower rating for the menagerie of shitty design choices alongside the filler, but the narrative highs manage to carry the experience.