One thing I can say is that the main characters in this game are great, with the exception of one or two of the crew. Absolutely fantastic. The story, however, can be middling to less than great with weird and oftentimes terrible pacing. The first half is rather weak and feels railroaded, with the middle of the narrative losing steam before picking it up for the final half. Additionally, I was kind of let down by the ending.

But before all that, let's go back to talking about the characters. I like Velvet, our main protagonist. She is one of the better solo female video game protagonists I have seen. She initially seems one-note and tropey—edgy for the sake of being edgy, much like a genderbent version of those shounen manga side protagonists. But I am glad to say that her character evolves and explains beautifully over time. Her development and internal struggle are among the best aspects of the game. I appreciate that she isn’t the typical naive or overly cheerful female protagonist with “friendship can do everything” in her brain.

Moving on to the party members, they are easily the best part of the game—a rag-tag group of misfits with likable personalities and amazing interactions. Almost all, save one, are interesting and have individual side quests that strengthen the bond between the characters. They all have their flaws, which make them seem human. The group dynamic, with their interactions and skits, makes it very interesting to experience.

The story, as mentioned before, is something that I can’t say much of. It's pretty predictable and not that deep, but the protagonist adds a refreshing twist by being more violent and depressed rather than relying on the typical "power of friendship" trope—except at the few moments when it does happen, which just disappoints me. While the interactions or skits are really great, they are often layered four in a row and heavy with exposition. The character interactions make them bearable. One last thing: the villains' lack of depth negatively impacted the personal conflicts between them and the party members, which just makes it dull.

I would recommend this game honestly just for the characters. They are great and well-written, and I have no memory of it being tropey at all, which is one of my biggest gripes with JRPGs.