Okay.

You are a gamer. You either felt let down by Final Fantasy VII "Remake" and were hoping this would turn out better, or you just enjoy the games regardless.

Square Enix went to great lengths to market both of these games as remakes. One is a remake. The other is not.

If you played Seiken Densetsu 3, you'll already know what to expect here. By and large it's the same game, just built for newer platforms. Unlike Final Fantasy VII Remake, Square Enix stayed true to their roots here. The unfortunate truth is that releasing it after Final Fantasy VII Remake will likely gut sales and tell Square Enix "See, told you people want Kingdom Hearts-ish rapid crazy action and uber graphics!" When the reality is likely the opposite. Due to the coronavirus, this game will end up getting the short end of the stick

So let's get started.

✅ I actually enjoy the styling of the game. It hearkens back to a time where "fantasy" really was front and center and you could lose yourself in things.
✅ There's a level of freedom of exploration that the 'other' game simply does not deliver.
✅ The battle engine is simplistic (very), but not overly convoluted.
✅ I also appreciate how they simplified the ring (even though it uses a strange key to access it).
✅ Difficulty is balanced. Bosses have predictable patterns just like in the original, but with 3D you're having to adjust your usual strategy a bit to make sure you don't get wasted.
✅ I am on my first triad of characters - Riesz, Angela and Charlotte. Every single one of them pulls their own weight very nicely.
✅ The shortcuts for actions and spells makes the general flow of combat much smoother; though I would have liked to have had some text or something indicating what certain tactics were when pressing LB/RB.
✅ Finally, it plays reasonably smooth and confident in itself, without needing to resort to gimmick changes like 'that other' game.


❌ I'm playing on 4k/60 and there is quite a bit of stuttering, especially when turning direction.
❌ There also appears to be some texture pop-in issues especially with stuff in the distance (think FFXV).
❌ the voice acting feels lower budget. Many of the girls sound like valley girls rather than ones trying to tell a serious story. Their voices are fine, the delivery of the lines seems off. Compared to Final Fantasy VII Remake it will be a bit of a shock.
❌ The Strategy options appear powerful, but from my experience the AI does not use what they're told to use. I have Charlotte set to attack until healing is needed, and for the most part she will never heal herself, which defeats the purpose since she's always the main target (as a healer).

I'm enjoying what I have so far. As someone who actually couldn't stand Seiken Densetsu 3 for very long this felt like a breath of fresh air.