So, I got really into World of FF when it clicked for me and I'm like 75% through the game already at ch.17/21 and been catching almost all the pokemon along the way and doing all the intervention side stuff.
This game has a really slow and shitty UI which is very bad for pokemon/smt games where you are constantly changing your party members and going into their skill trees to upgrade them. There's also a real bad lack of information to the point where I've had to google several skills because there is no way to find out what a skill does. I blame this on Tose game being Tose game.
Also Big Bridge is really boring. Especially when you get to the top and die on an optional super boss and realize the warp door is at the bottom and you have to climb the whole fucking thing again.
that being said
The game after it opened up about 3-5 hours in with mirajawels, interventions, sidequests, transfigurations, champion summons, champion mirajewels, XL pokemon summons, etc... has been pushing all the right buttons gameplay-wise for the kind of skill/team management tinkering I enjoy in games and catching monsters and leveling monsters is fun. The Summons are cool, the Maxima edition Champion Jewels where you dress up as FF characters and get an extra move or two seem kinda useless for the ones I've tried and XL monster summoning seems useless to so far since they had a ton of HP (good) but they don't really seem to output anymore damage than your character stacks would do normally? Idk. I only have Cerebus and an Adamontoise so far for XL.
I also am really enjoying the silly pun writing and all the nostalgia of hanging with FF characters and being in FF towns/dungeons. Always exciting to see what the next area will be and will it be your favorite area from your favorite FF?? Also some of the music remixes are really nice like FF3's Eternal Wind in the 2nd city you go to. I also like that guest character-wise it's not just the main characters/villians like in Dissidia but you get side characters too. I think for some of them it's their first time voiced and it's cool and makes me want Square to do fully voiced FF5/6/8/9 asap (since FF4 DS was VA'd cutscenes and 7 remake will be addressing that). Bartz from FFV & Gilgamesh have a good VA dynamic. Never been a big fan of Butz/bartz but I'm becoming one now.
Pacing is pretty good like an old-school PS2 era rpg (is PS2 old-school at this point? idk). Cutscenes, dungeons, side-stuff, keep moving and keep enjoying new things! It's why I blew through a lot of the game so far in like a week. I plan on doing all the post-game dungeons too unless it gets real grindy. Will try to collect all the pokemon but not gonna fuck around for any grind for hours for rare chance encounter ones. So probably will miss a few.
Anyhow, outside the UI sucking and game being a little too easy and not forcing you to really strategize hard with your pokemon, oh and not being able to skip the summons (nostalgic throwback!) this is a pretty good game and got me hooked. I hope it sold enough to make a 2nd one because with just a few improvements it could be even better + another chance to include characters and towns and dungeons and music that you like that didn't make it into here.
Game is cute & funny and the graphics are actually pretty good if you're ok with the bobblehead look. Seems like it must've had a pretty sizeable budget. I like all the cameo stuff like Xenogears and 4th wall breaking. Hell there's even a Dirge of Cerebus character lol
I picked this up when it launched on PS4 but got turned off by the first hour or two which seemed really simple and dull. Glad I stuck with it on Switch (portability is very nice). This along with Dissidia (the old ones, not the new crappy one) & Theaterhythm & FF14 are doing a good job satisfying my Final Fantasy series nostalgia. I remember when FF was kinda dying for a while, but now it's a series I like a lot again. Just gotta play FF15....