Operation Babel is the final game in the Xth Duology Remake and it's a noticeable step up from Operation Abyss despite the very similar coat of paint. It does reused the city hub/school setting along with the return of some dungeons. The core gameplay is similar too.
Despite the similarities, Babel does improve the game quite a bit for the better. One of the biggest addition is the new sub-class system. You can subclass pretty early in the game and you're free to subclass any of the 9 classes. They aren't equals to the main class since the only benefits you get are from the skills and passives the subclass gets. Even then, it makes customization and builds a whole lot more interesting than Operation Abyss which lacks any such subclass system. The subclass system does come with an annoying penalty though since EXP obtained is equally split between the two classes which makes leveling up slower in comparison. I guess another plus side is that you gain additional health when subclasses level up so it's well worth subclassing throughout.
Furthermore, Babel introduce new accessory types that grant specific spells or skills from other classes. This allows you to use another class skill without having to subclass them at all.
A new QoL I enjoyed was the lack of generic keys for locked doors. In Abyss, they can require grinding just to even unlock a door and to make matters worse, they get locked again once you leave the dungeon.
Dungeons in general have become more simplified to a slight degree. There are some still pretty complex ones here and there, but very few have multiple annoying gimmicks.
Combat as a whole otherwise, is mostly the same. Unfortunately, the gear and loot system hasn't change and it is way too RNG to get the gear you need. There is a lengthy and difficult post game as well.
The story takes place a few months after Abyss and despite the short time skip, a new threat already appears at the beginning. The story is more sci-fi compared to Abyss and focuses on a world ending threat by aliens. I thought as a whole, it was more interesting than Abyss, but unfortunately, there's barely any other plotline so it's pretty straightforward.
There aren't that many new characters either and a majority of the existing ones are from Abyss. Unfortunately, these returning ones mostly make cameo appearances and have little involvement in the main story. If you start with Babel, you don't get any deep explanation on those characters' backstories.
Overall, Babel is a lot like Abyss, but has some noticeable game improvements and updates which makes it a lot more fun to play. The story is interesting and doesn't really require prior knowledge of Abyss to understand Babel's story. But you might want to try out Abyss anyway since that's where you'll learn the characters' backgrounds and history.
Despite the similarities, Babel does improve the game quite a bit for the better. One of the biggest addition is the new sub-class system. You can subclass pretty early in the game and you're free to subclass any of the 9 classes. They aren't equals to the main class since the only benefits you get are from the skills and passives the subclass gets. Even then, it makes customization and builds a whole lot more interesting than Operation Abyss which lacks any such subclass system. The subclass system does come with an annoying penalty though since EXP obtained is equally split between the two classes which makes leveling up slower in comparison. I guess another plus side is that you gain additional health when subclasses level up so it's well worth subclassing throughout.
Furthermore, Babel introduce new accessory types that grant specific spells or skills from other classes. This allows you to use another class skill without having to subclass them at all.
A new QoL I enjoyed was the lack of generic keys for locked doors. In Abyss, they can require grinding just to even unlock a door and to make matters worse, they get locked again once you leave the dungeon.
Dungeons in general have become more simplified to a slight degree. There are some still pretty complex ones here and there, but very few have multiple annoying gimmicks.
Combat as a whole otherwise, is mostly the same. Unfortunately, the gear and loot system hasn't change and it is way too RNG to get the gear you need. There is a lengthy and difficult post game as well.
The story takes place a few months after Abyss and despite the short time skip, a new threat already appears at the beginning. The story is more sci-fi compared to Abyss and focuses on a world ending threat by aliens. I thought as a whole, it was more interesting than Abyss, but unfortunately, there's barely any other plotline so it's pretty straightforward.
There aren't that many new characters either and a majority of the existing ones are from Abyss. Unfortunately, these returning ones mostly make cameo appearances and have little involvement in the main story. If you start with Babel, you don't get any deep explanation on those characters' backstories.
Overall, Babel is a lot like Abyss, but has some noticeable game improvements and updates which makes it a lot more fun to play. The story is interesting and doesn't really require prior knowledge of Abyss to understand Babel's story. But you might want to try out Abyss anyway since that's where you'll learn the characters' backgrounds and history.