Didn't get as far as I would like. Killing time between missions is more work than you would think.

Pros:
  • I didn't care for her at first, but once the "reveal" happens, I ended up really liking Aria. Her fun misadventures after the incident have been pretty amusing so far.
  • After several failed attempts, I finally beat an Expert Trial that helped liberate part of the region. I kept getting my ass handed to me in the final section where you had to capture an escape ship and needed to fight a crap ton of enemies in a small plaza with snipers. I was only able to do it by taking a serious gamble and using Jack to OHK all the enemies while ice skating around the ship to avoid sniper fire. I completely lucked out and was able to score a Killsight with the leader super soldier, which both knocked him on his ass and took out most of his health, leaving him as an easy kill for Jack. I unlocked a new magic for my trouble and got an upgrade for the Fire Rifle spell. The story twist at the end of the mission was amusing as well.
  • Nice to see the Ice Reaper finally get some characterization, shame that it's heavily foreshadowing his eventual demise. With that said, I'm already expecting this game to have a bit of a downer ending.
  • While I don't converse with NPCs as much as I should outside of the Class Moogles, I do really like the atmosphere they create, especially with all the resentment with Class Zero. As well as really pointing out how messed up the whole "Crystal removes your memory of the dead" plot angle. The setting is really smurfed up actually.
  • I may need to find a guide, cause I feel I've reached a dead end with Chocobo breeding. I do enjoy it even if it is not as useful as it was in VII. I can't seem to make anything past Swiftfoot Chocobos.
  • While King is basically "easy mode" I must say that I have really warmed up to some of the other characters such as Seven and Sice. I may do a breakdown of my thoughts on the team later.


Cons:
  • Another QoL issue I wish they had done for the remaster is allowing you to teleport within the school to any other section. Seems weird I have to teleport back to the main hall to teleport to a different part of the school.
  • The Emina quest is a little sketchy if you ask me. I know Japan seems to love voyeurism but this questline is really creepy. This is almost as bad as the massage minigame in X-2 but at least that quest was also funny. This one just makes me feel dirty.
  • I am really starting to hate guns in this game. They are fairly realistic, and its been annoying watching a mission go south because you didn't see a stray sniper bullet and watched as it killed your party member.
  • In hindsight, I'm starting to really dislike the summon system in this game. While I am fine with them killing a party member to be used, and they are limited in time due to their power, it is annoying that they are relegated to missions only, severely limiting their usefulness. They just feel like a mechanic I'm more likely to use in NG+ when I stop giving a damn about mission scores cause my team is overpowered enough to compensate for it.