SUMMARY
This game could have been excellent but it's only good because of its bad UI, the English localization and some parts of its story.
GOOD
There is a minimap.
You can fast travel from anywhere.
Monster design.
The puns for the monsters' names.
Story, especially Act 3.
You can take the main character off the battle team.
The forging minigame.
NEUTRAL
Characters (except the main protagonist who is not only silent but also totally apathic)
BAD
The English localization censored many things, especially regarding Sylvando.
Awful menus. Like, access to the skills trees and "Return to main menu" are in the same sub-menu. You can't even close the game from the title menu; instead, you need to start playing and then quit from the in-game menu! That or Alt-F4.
Lack of QoL options.
Half-done cursor memory (like, it remembers that last spell you used but it doesn't remember that you used a spell on your previous turn).
By default, each character targets their own foes instead of having all characters target the same foe.
You can only buy up to 9 items at a time and you need to manually choose where they will be stored each time
In typical DQ fashion, EVERYTHING you do is described with textboxes (plural!). I have eyes! I don't need a f-ing textbox to tell me that Erik dealt 21 damage to Slime B when I SEE Erik hitting Slime B for 21 damage! SHOW, DON'T TELL for anything sacred's sake!
Inventory management is a chore because of that stupid menu system that only lets you move items one by one with dozens of textboxes to choose the character, then the item, then the destination, then to tell you what you just did. LOOK AT WHAT OTHER GAMES HAVE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST 40 YEARS, DAMNIT!
It's nice to give us a way to show the sparkling spots but why is it so tedious and, more important, why don't they STAY shown on the map?
Many equipments give ridiculously low buffs (like +1% critical chance or 10% Poison resist).
Arbalest, sword and interact are on the same button so, way too often, when I try to attack a nearby enemy or pick an item on the field, my character instead shoots and aggroes a faraway enemy.
The aftermath of the "Big Event" at the end of Act 1 is highly disappointing, especially when compared to other games that have similar events.
The bestiary is only useful for farming purposes: there are no informations on the monsters' stats or weaknesses.
The flying vehicle moves forward automatically (you can't prevent it from moving). Also, you can only land on specific spots and, when you board it again, you always start from the same point instead of starting from where you were. Come on! Secret of Mana did better than that and it was 33 years ago!
