[b][u]Light Spoilers on an optional side thing later in the game and on a minor thing that happens during the story, you'll be warned.[/u][/b]
The graphics and music are what you'd expect, fairly good.
The story is most certainly quite interesting. That plus all the side quests and stuff you can find and do, along with the journal so you don't forget a side quest if you start it, are very good things to have.
But, speaking of the story, the very last bit of the ending through the soulstress route makes me wonder if I need to complete the game in a different book topic route, or all three, or at a different difficulty to get a more thorough explanation, and perhaps, given what it is, more? Or is it there just for no reason other than it being nonsense?
If it's the latter, then I would be stunned by why the story would just decide to leap off a cliff, but given how the game is, I don't think it's there for no reason. At least I hope so, otherwise that would be another negative.
Unfortunately, the balance seems bad in my opinion. Some skills will just do nothing in the late game, and sometimes a skill will just straight up heal the enemy, forcing you to through trial and error figure out what you can use to actually attack. Now this would have been an interesting mechanic should it have been taught at all, and shown which skills heal what type of enemy, but as it is right now, it's just an annoyance that will sometimes happen. Luckily, it seems more on the rare side of things as I didn't encounter it that much.
Another bad thing is the game design. There's an early choice about the book topic that you can make, and if you choose the Soulstress one, you will [b][u]NOT[/u][/b] be able to get all the characters, as Eliza [spoiler]will not come in and rescue you, thus joining your party.[/spoiler] Why they'd have this specific route have that and the other two be able to get Eliza is beyond me. I can only attribute it to terrible game design.
Also, it's not that flexible in where you can go, there's some times where it just locks you into staying in a room and into just going forward, I'd like to be able to go back, you can make it to just the island and not to leave it, but let me move a bit more freely, that's what I think.
[b][u]\/ The Spoiler \/[/u][/b]
Lastly, in the side quest/side stuff area, while they're nice, sometimes it's hard to figure them out. You just have no clue. [spoiler]For example, with Medeia, someone you can release only in the soulstress route as a side thing, only for her to turn out to be evil, but from there you have 0 idea what to do afterwards to reseal her? Kill her? Who knows what you actually do with her. Nothing short of just interacting and talking with everything and everyone would allow you to actually figure it out. I reckon it should leave some clues at least. Granted, I could have just missed something, but I doubt that.[/spoiler]
[b][u]^ End of Spoiler ^[/u][/b]
Overall, while it does have a few bad parts, the story is still interesting enough to recommend it. This is on the assumption that the last bit of the ending is not there just for no reason.
