smerickson

Here's the deal. It was fun. Graphics are huge, and the interaction with pokemon was cute. I quickly got over the not battling with pokemon in the wild and how the pokemon run around in the wild is cool as well. -- The problem. The big problem. Is end game. As a fan of the series, what I wanted was to go hardcore and min-max pokemon so I could implement fun strategies in online play. But with the absence of held items, IV's, and pokemon effects (sturdy, poison point etc), it's just not there. I probably wont play the next version, at least, not at the 60$ price point. Nintendo, if you want an amazing game, please bring back the end game for the hardcore fans.

Very fun. The annoying things are endless tutorials and the backward way to play with friends. The story is nothing to brag about but each time I think it's about to end, they continue onward with changes to how gear works. I find the formula, while repetitive, to be enjoyable--feels like Dark Souls, kinda clunky but endless boss fights. Each weapon has it's own play style so if you ever get bored try equipping a different one.

Listen. This is the first game I've given a max score that actually deserves the max score. This series isn't for everyone. It mixes absurdity/comedy with sorrow in a powerful way. If the blockbusters like Last of Us or Uncharted feel like a film than this game definitely feels more like a novel. You understand the motivations of every little detail. Again, I'd recommend if you don't know the series to really youtube the "sim" portions; it's not for everybody. That being said, I love that part of it.

So far it's a delight. If you like Ni No Kuni or Pokemon you'll probably enjoy this. The chibi style is a little irritating but I'm getting used to it. They actually managed to work it into the gameplay via "stacks". You have 2 monsters "equipped" to your characters, depending on their size. If you are in chibi form you can have one above you and one below you; if you switch to regular form you can have two above you. I've been using the japanese voices. I've (no offense) found a lot of square's dubs to be very annoying.

Very fun so far, haven't paid anything and still got fun characters. We'll see how the free to play aspect is maintained when multiplayer is added in.