At the time of writing this, I've beaten the main game as well as all the optional dungeons that you can complete before the final boss, and... where do I even begin.

PROS:
- The sheer amount of optional side content that is on offer is staggering. Tons of extra dungeons, as well as an extra board-game esque area that can be repeated for top-tier loot.

- The Empathy system that the main character uses is awesome. Really heavy FFV Job system vibes, with the added perk of permanent stat gains that always feel like you're working towards a series of progressively greater goals with different abilities and passives.

- The world is very Earthbound/Mother-esque, with great writing. Can be super comedic and fun one moment and eerie and unsettling the next. Not really so much of a twist-heavy game, but there are a few genuine surprises that caught me off guard (namely Mr. Cat's Dungeon )

- The random encounter system is rather forgiving, and thankfully has a mechanic where if you're at a certain level you can just dismiss the battle and continue on. There's also a grea

CONS:
- The game has several difficulty spikes that feel a bit harsh for when they occur in the game. Particularly some of the required story dungeons.

- There are several instances of maps that feel rather annoying to traverse, particularly those where darkness obscures your vision, or a lot of the landmarks feel rather samey and disorienting. Rainbow Park and the Path of Enlightenment particularly come to mind.

- The itemization could definitely have been handled better. Money is rather short early on in the game, and healing items, particularly revives, are really expensive, which can cause some frustration when you don't have a proper healer in the party.

NOTES AND ADVICE:
- Invest in the Flower form. it will help substantially with reducing grinding late game.

- Some of the chests when opened will give small buffs for the next battle. Definitely try to use them on big EXP gain enemies/bosses.

- Your party will change a lot, so be sure to not completely neglect any of your forms so that you always have options available to you. The game is fairly good at not leaving you too screwed at any one moment, but better safe than sorry.

This game was a blast to play through, and the fact that it's only around $15 astounds me. If you can put up with a little JRPG jank here and there, this game is truly a hidden gem that deserves more recognition.

At the time of writing this, I've beaten the main game as well as all the optional dungeons that you can complete before the final boss, and... where do I even begin. PROS: - The sheer amount of optional side content that is on offer is staggering. Tons of extra dungeons, as well as an extra board-game esque area that can be repeated for top-tier loot. - The Empathy system that the main character uses is awesome. Really heavy FFV Job system vibes, with the added perk of permanent stat gains that always feel like you're working towards a series of progressively greater goals with different abilities and passives. - The world is very Earthbound/Mother-esque, with great writing. Can be super comedic and fun one moment and eerie and unsettling the next. Not really so much of a twist-heavy game, but there are a few genuine surprises that caught me off guard (namely [spoiler]Mr. Cat's Dungeon [/spoiler]) - The random encounter system is rather forgiving, and thankfully has a mechanic where if you're at a certain level you can just dismiss the battle and continue on. There's also a grea CONS: - The game has several difficulty spikes that feel a bit harsh for when they occur in the game. Particularly some of the required story dungeons. - There are several instances of maps that feel rather annoying to traverse, particularly those where darkness obscures your vision, or a lot of the landmarks feel rather samey and disorienting. [spoiler]Rainbow Park and the Path of Enlightenment particularly come to mind.[/spoiler] - The itemization could definitely have been handled better. Money is rather short early on in the game, and healing items, particularly revives, are really expensive, which can cause some frustration when you don't have a proper healer in the party. NOTES AND ADVICE: - Invest in the [spoiler]Flower[/spoiler] form. it will help substantially with reducing grinding late game. - Some of the chests when opened will give small buffs for the next battle. Definitely try to use them on big EXP gain enemies/bosses. - Your party will change a lot, so be sure to not completely neglect any of your forms so that you always have options available to you. The game is fairly good at not leaving you too screwed at any one moment, but better safe than sorry. This game was a blast to play through, and the fact that it's only around $15 astounds me. If you can put up with a little JRPG jank here and there, this game is truly a hidden gem that deserves more recognition.