TerrenceG

Just okay. Lots of cutscenes and decent action but personally find the game loop a bit one-note. Story quest, 3 side quests, a couple bounties, then on to the next story chunk. Worth checking out but not at the full price point

5 boards from only Mario Party 1-3 and the boards are different from the original. Was looking forward to a full on blast-from-the-past, a bit disappointed

There's always some new sidequest to complete, place to explore, or collectable to find. Nicely paced story, decent combat. Only thing holding this title back are the sometimes janky animations, and a few unfortunate bugs. Great buy if you can find it on sale, I'd keep an eye out for more titles from this developer in the future. Had fun with this one.

Unfortunately the beauty in this game is only skin deep. Yes, the soundtrack and graphics are nice but the gameplay itself is lacking. The most satisfying gameplay element is Citizen recruitment, however your recruits are rarely fleshed out and recruitment often amount to a few lines of shallow dialogue and a fetch or monster extermination quest. Battles are pretty and flashy but offer no real challenge (beyond the tainted challenge monsters). Shallow motivations from villains take away from the otherwise passable plot. Kingdom management is a nice distraction from the fetch quests. You assign your citizens around your kingdom to help you, whether it be collecting materials, making medicine, helping you learn magic... If you don't mind endless fetch quests broken up with a little kingdom management and some eye-roll moments at the enemies, I'd pick this game up on sale.

Hard to recommend this game. Pretty visuals and beautiful soundtrack but grossly repetitive gameplay. Be prepared to spend chunks of time staring at your heroine in various states of undress. Despite it's flaws it has a certain charm to it. 5.5 stars.

I feel like this game has been grossly overrated by both fans and professionals alike. 100% of the game is hand-holding and unchallenging. Grind 4 or 5 levels at the start of the game and you'll breeze on through. Equipment is available, but the stat changes are so insignificant you can go without. Admittedly I haven't completed the game yet, but I've sunk about 20 hours into it, about 14 of those hours being dull, repetitive fetch quests. Wouldn't recommend except to die-hard Studio Ghibli fans, the storyline is alright if you can deal with the boring gameplay.