Solid little game. The retro look fits the gameplay as you'd hope. Cute characters I Very much a love letter to the 16-bit jRPG era. Without getting into spoiler territory, a lot of the design choices really made me smile as I encountered them; Quality of life options I would have loved back in the day fit seamlessly into the overall feel of the game. Music was good enough but didn't have the old Kemco vibe I admit I was hoping to hear a bit of. Not a soundtrack I'm gonna put on for fun though.

The job leveling system I came to really like but even after 20+ hours I never felt like the menus for managing "Plates" was ever anything but terribly clunky. It's a pity they didn't put in an option to just make that menu a straight list instead of the showy-but-awkward style they used for it. That's literally my biggest complaint about the game, but considering how integral that is to the game itself it becomes hard to ignore. Nothing is perfect and Dragon Lapis is no exception.

Oh, and anyone worried about the paid add-ons/"cheats": Don't be. They are COMPLETELY unnecessary and can totally just be ignored. The game is going to give you access to those same bonuses in other ways and even then you still will never need them. Also, just start the game on Hard mode if you've ever played pretty much any SNES RPG ever.

Cute, fun, quirky, and all-around a pleasant experience. The low marks are minimal and do not take away from the whole experience. Highly recommended.