Been chipping away at this. Still in Chapter 5 though.

Pros:
  • I haven't really talked about the War Battles. I've only done the second of what I imagine will be three or four total battles, but I really appreciate the gameplay change. Despite how simple and straight forward it technically is, I appreciate that it really does reward strategic thinking where sending the right troops, and taking out bases in the proper order make the battles go more smoothly. We recently liberated Elbion, and I imagine the team is going to be dealing with the Concordians and their Azure Crystal soon.
  • I'm really digging the unique setup with l'Cie in this game. XIII, and to a much lesser extent since it dropped a lot of the terminology, XV both really played up the angst of being chosen by the Crystal. In Type-0, I like the fact we see the l'Cie from an outsiders perspective, your party is mostly human and so the l'Cie are treated as these revered demi-gods in the game. They show it to, the "fight" with the Primus l'Cie of Militesi pretty much showcased how far these beings outclass normal humans. I also like the fact that since their obligated to the Crystal only, they tend to ignore what humans are doing. They've actually been a very intriguing part of the story because the humans are fighting to protect their homelands and crystals, and it seems like the Crystals really don't give a trout.
  • I think its interesting that the game gives you different models of the same summons. From the looks of things, I imagine there are only five different summons, but then you get thing like Rubicante, who is a different model of Ifrit that sacrifices his HP for higher attack power and a permanent Regen effect. Its an interesting idea that is only hampered by how limited summons usage is in this game.
  • I'm happy I'm finally unlocking more spell types and variations. The ROK class of spells have been a interesting.


Cons:
  • Despite being remastered, I'm surprised by how many bugs pop up in this game. The most annoying and most common is the one where the game stops registering items or treasure chest commands. I first encountered this in Chapter 3 when I was exploring the sewers and found a treasure chest that I couldn't open because the command prompt would never register. I ran into it again during one of the Expert Trials with an item on the floor I couldn't pick up because again, the character could never register it was there. Another bug I've seen is one that prevents you from moving into new areas. This one does correct itself, but I'm not sure why it pops up. My only guess is that the game prioritizes loading in enemies over transitioning to areas.
  • I'm a little annoyed with how Expert Trials exist for NG+. I guess I could grind to high heaven to do them, but it really does feel like the game is purposely telling you to ignore them until then. I've come so close to beating one of them recently, but I get slaughtered in the final part of the mission thanks to the souped up Supersoldier enemy units and their overpowered machine gun fire. Even summoning tanky Golem in the fight just had me witness him get torn to shreds by them.
  • Secret Missions are a little game breaking and a little too easy to abuse. Perhaps I should just exploit this so I can beat that Expert Trial...