Beat. This game was more of a mix between 1 and 2 as it had the more intimate cast and sweet infinite inventory of 1 with the more fleshed out exploration and rpg mechanics of 2. The combat was largely the same as 2 except for a few notable changes: guns had longer range and different shot patterns, weapon skills were removed, spells could be cast on ground, spells automatically leveled up with use for larger area effects without more mp cost, and enemies were much less predictable. Sometimes they went for the closest target but other times they would focus down and kill weaker characters. The entire game was done using the guild side quest system from 2, with the main story missions being those that gave a warning about completing the other jobs. The story took a very long time to reveal the big bad, instead focusing on the moment to moment characters and adventure. Every quest had a large amount of dialogue, character interactions and world building, making the entire game a fun story. We are talking Witcher 3 levels of side quests. Many side quests featured repeating characters, adding to the depth. I did not like the mini games though. Most jobs were combat but some required mini games and it was usually a surprise when they would happen. I failed 3 jobs and got middle completion for a few others, particularly the competition jobs with Alba. It was always a dps race without regard for endurance, defense, etc. I failed the bazaar shoplifter because it was that stupid ball under cup carnival minigame. It was dumb, just arrest them all because aiding and abetting the thief is just as bad as being the thief. I failed helping Sania break the guy who was addicted because I jumped in and fought the monsters, which I thought was the point of the job. Lastly I failed the job about sneaking a monk in training to his gf because of how stupid the controls were. If I could directly control the movements of the guy instead of having to go up and talk to him then it would have been half sensible at least. I somehow managed to beat this minigame the 2nd time with the ninja. Even the minigames that I passed were mostly annoying. I did like the more dialogue focused events, like the quiz tournaments, who done it investigation, and assigning the correct people to a task. The song performance was good because the entire set piece outweighed the rhythm game aspect. I missed 2 jobs towards the end and only killed 25 wanted monsters since I did not go too far out of my way to grind.

The game stayed a reasonable challenge until late game, where I went all out crafting the best possible gear using a guide. I generally dislike crafting systems. This one would have been better if components were not consumed because obviously I am going to save scum if the result is not good. So I just skipped the whole process but at least waited until much later. I did max out equipment at the danger dome. I liked the concept of an arena to wager items but the implementation did not make sense at all. Why would people wager the better version of the equipment I wagered? Especially against someone known to never lose? I totally abused Alec's silence spell by only fighting casters for very easy wins. When I finally got the full party roster Marsia and Theo sat out for the rest of the game. Marsia started off significantly lower level and was never able to contribute enough to be worth using. And then near the end game she had to solo a bunch of mages. Uh oh. It was 4 vs her and they were 50 to 60 levels higher. She got wrecked. So I made her a robe that greatly reduced magic damage, a rod that healed on hit (which I thought healed when SHE took damage so it was a waste), and gave her the hp/mp regen accessory along with another magic damage reduction. She was taking only 1 damage from the enemies so it was an easy win. Theo was interesting as a summoner but he fell behind the rest and I replaced him with Velhart. Tosh, Shu and Elc joined as temporary party members at points but they should not have taken up a valuable party slot since they did not stay there were just a waste of xp. I used online maps for the big optional dungeon and final dungeon because they had stupid mazes of repeating paths. Before the final boss I did a bunch more crafting using the loot from the final dungeon, making accessories to greatly reduce magic damage, and absorb dark element for the final boss. This proved good because the final boss did a lot of party wide nukes, including a big dark nuke. The final boss was not as difficult or mechanically interesting as in 2 though despite being the same dark god.

Alec: lvl 83, 838 hp, 523 mp, 162 atk, 136 def, 104 agl, 5 move, 104 mag. Life stealer, hero armor, super ring, romancing stone.

He was incredibly over powered with the ability to use every weapon type and a ridiculous selection of spells; healing, hp drain, resurrection, silence, confuse, paralysis, and nukes. Though he lacked good tank abilities. The life stealer sword was probably the most over powered weapon I have ever seen because it healed the user for 100% of damage delt. The romancing stone gave 0 mp cost so he could do infinite healing.

Velhart: lvl 72, 809 hp, 418 mp, 150 atk, 127 def, 104 agl, 6 mov, 75 mag. Life stealer, hero armor, force amulet, super ring.

A great warrior using the OP life stealer again, but not as powerful or versatile as Alec. I only used 2 of his abilities: the line for a ranged attack when he could not get close enough, and the area whirlwind attack for multiple enemies. Musou was like Elc's invincible only longer lasting, but I never bothered to use it. His 1st skill did more damage as his hp went lower. He was best off using normal attacks for the healing.

Cheryl: lvl 74, 148 atk, 115 def, 143 agl, 4 mov, 84 mag. Lunar blaster or hyper shotgun, battle suit, super ring, raila's mirror.

She lacked the OP weapons of the warriors and the status immune heavy armor, but her guns were incredibly effective and her skill set was good. That lunar blaster had the same range as sniper rifle, which allowed her to shoot pretty much a full screen length. Way better than the lousy 2 range for all guns in Arc 2. Shotguns had like 3 or 4 range and hit in a very wide cone, making them by far the best for multiple enemies. In fact I think she got the most kills and most damage done of all the characters. I also had the best rocket launcher but did not find it as useful. She had healing, status recovery, mp drain, temporary agl buff and some nukes with fixed range that were explosives instead of magic. Excellent character all around. Her and Lutz were always ripping on each other and it was hilarious. I wondered if they would spark romance so I paired them for the love tournament but nothing happened between them.

Lutz: lvl 73, 132 atk, 118 def, 113 agl, 4 mov, 78 mag. Thieves dagger, hero armor, super ring, force amulet.

The weakest character of the 4 main team, and a rogue type that used heavy armor for some reason. He did the least damage and his dagger only life stole for 25% of damage. Despite his fairly mediocre attack and defense, he had some great abilities. Fatal dagger was melee range and 100% chance to put an enemy into critical hp, so he could hit for way higher than the others using this. He got an area nuke, status cure, silence, attack buff, magic defense buff, and steal. I did not find steal useful at all but looking at a guide it can give some rare items, especially from wanted monsters. Nothing necessary though. He was the comic relief, so much so that it was kinda overboard but I still laughed a lot at his antics.

Theo: lvl 44

He used spears but was more of a caster. He had useful abilities in defense buff, hp and mp drain, area whirlwind attack, and the ability to turn monsters into cards, which was effectively instant death. It often did not work unless the monster was low hp though. The cards could then be spent as summons which hit all enemies regardless of range. Cool but just not as useful as the other characters.

Marsia: lvl 27

She had a nuke for every element and if I had leveled her up she would get resurrection. Her nuke damage was painfully low when she joined so I benched her.

The guest characters from the previous games were all under leveled and poorly equipped, even only having a small selection of their previous abilities. Anrietta was a secret party member and I chose wrong not to let her join, but she was only level 1 and would not have been used anyway. She was a more limited mage than Marsia with a heal and sword, though I wonder if her starting sword could even be removed. I liked the romance subplot between her, Alec and the orphanage matron but the ending did not show him choosing either girl. It would be a tough choice; the poor sweetheart with a lot of kids or the spoiled rich brat? Importing save data from Arc 2 supposedly changes the game a bit with new events so worth playing again at some point if I ever run through the entire series again. It is tough to rate compared to the other 2 games because it did some things better and others worse, and really the entire trilogy was more like a single massive game. 3 felt more like the post game of Lunar 2 or the world of ruin from FF6 rather than its own separate game. It was fun seeing how the world became after the ending of 2, and the characters and frequent story scenes, even for side quests, made the game fun and engaging throughout. Some of the minigames though were very annoying and not something to look forward to. There was also a series of simple Choko minigames that came up on a little gameboy screen. I looked at it for several seconds before bailing.

7.8/10