I got pretty excited for this when an old friend from the GameFAQs Top 10 Board hailed it as the second coming as SaGa Frontier, and while it doesn't quite capture the absolute magic of that universe, the absolute freedom of exploration it had is here. You finish the first chapter of the character you've chosen, check the map to see where Chapter 2 is, and it's at a much higher level than you can handle right now, and on the other side of the world; it actively encourages you to dig into its world! I was expecting something like that, but what I could never have predicted was an incredible Final-Fantasy-5-style class system (even if not as big) that lets you try out new classes and learn their skills to customize your builds. The battle system is pretty cool, too; it has some engaging new elements that really make you think about how to approach an encounter without being so needlessly complicated that you need a college-level course just to understand the basics. The stories are generally more grounded than the usual, "Save the world from cosmic destruction by killing God," and that actually manages to give them more weight. A lot of people love the artstyle, and while I think the 2D sprites in a 3D pop-up book world looks a little goofy sometimes, this game actually does use it well; a lot of classic JRPGs have hidden passages that are obnoxious to find, but this uses the perspective to sort of tease the passage that's otherwise obscured by a rock or shrub, and that's a lot more engaging to follow than trying to walk into every wall.