cut-and-pasted from my QT3 post; it's hand-me-downs for you unappreciative fuckers!
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I picked this up today. It's got some improvements over the PSone version (which I loved, so take this with a grain of salt), and some downgrades.
Improvements:
+ Easy Mode. It's still pretty hard, but elemental matchup penalties are reduced, and any elemental type can use any Coinfeigm without reduction in effectiveness. You also get access to the Re Vin Coinfeigm (resurrection spell) from the get-go.
+ Soundtrack. No longer with the Towers of Trial make you pray for the sudden onset of hearing loss.
+ AI. Enemies are less prone to aimlessly charging, and now target elemental matchups better.
+ Good seals don't require complicated Session set-ups (although the best ones still do).
+ No more load times! (Hoshigami PSOne wasn't that bad, though.)
Downgrades:
- Graphics. Spell effects lack translucency and overall took a hit. The DS' lower resolution makes the RAP gauge harder to read, and that's a pretty bad thing, since the games exploitability lies in the RAP gauge.
- Art direction. The new character designs are pretty bad compared to the original.
Overall, I think it's a good port. The secret elements are still there, and the Easy Mode reduces the need to grind for Seals to develop super-Coinfeigm and to exploit the RAP gauge for those folks that just wanna FFT-style rawdog it. If you didn't grok the original -- the entire game is based around the idea that you want to build advanced Coinfeigm to counter enemy mages and superior numbers -- this one will be a LITTLE better. If don't want to play a game that punishes you for playing it like TO or FFT, I'd still stay away.
