The game was decent enough for a mediocre JRPG for a while. Then came the difficulty spike: Gungnir in the desert. There were hard boss fights previously, but none that felt impossible. This one though? It basically wants you to be level 60 while all the available enemies are in the low 40s. Sure, you can grind, grind, grind and there's even a way to cheese it, but I don't have the patience. The game had enough lackluster elements as it is. Deleted.

Over time I've discovered I'm a big fan of "dating sims disguised as other games." Fire Emblem, Persona, Stardew Valley, Mass Effect; put some romance on top of a really solid core game and I will eat that up. But I've definitely figured out that aforementioned strong core is a necessity and character driven romance alone will not help me tolerate a game that just sucks. Shining Resonance Refrain is a perfect example of that. Mediocre gameplay, a shallow story, and just absolutely abysmal and tedious general game loop and traversal ruin any potential the decent character designs may have had. Would definitely recommend passing on this one unless you've got absolutely nothing better to do.