I did it with III might as well do it with this. Let me express some thoughts after finishing the game.
There are a couple of circumstancial things that I want to point out. I've been playing this games in english and the fact that they had to change some VA felt weird but it's what it is (then again after 120h you get used to it). The second is that for some reason the game decided to randomly (as in I can't reproduce it) lock itselft at 47 fps I get why the number (1/3 of 144) but not why it was happening (nothing was even close to 100% usage and I even locked the game at 60).
Now, as far as the game goes. The first half of the prologue is basically fanservice land (the good kind), let's show you all those characters from other games that you know and then even use some of them. It's also a spoiler fest for the crossbell games (even if somethings don't make that much sense if you haven't played them). At the moment it felt awesome, but them going from This Rean guy seems to have brought the end of the world to let's trust this guys who failed miserably. The second half is mostly getting up to speed and learn what happened after the end of the third game.
Then Act 1 solves one of my biggest problems with III the super rigid structure. Sure it's basically the same structure: Free days - go some place to move the plot (keep finding returning characters) - conclude with a fight that has extra conditions (Win in X amount of turns), then do a Mech battle and then be rescued at the last minute for the umpteenth time (look I know that this series is Tropey as hell, but how many times can I be saved at the last moment). And it also solves my othe problem with the series as a whole, no bonding events, albeit only temporary. I think this part of the game is fine, we start seeing the aftermath of the events of the previous game and how it's affecting people in the lead up to totally not WWI It didn't dawn on me until half way into the game on the fact that their excuse is the shooting of the emperor, because someone mentioned that it was the "Great War".
Then we have the fragments/intemission. Which to be fair is probably my favorite moment of the game. Infiltrating the black workshop to save Rean and concluding with a boss rush (where you have to defeat the final 2 bosses at the same time to get extra AP) It kept going so much that I had to stop and try again the next day. But it also starts one of the big problems with this game Angie was alive, I admit I suspected she'd be but ....
Then Act II feels like im retreading CSII (it's even doing the let's compress the plot in a few weeks vs months even) . Let's go to places and rescue people. And it also brings back the bonding system, after 4 games I still think that it just doesn't work and then you add the "special memories" that remove so much agency from the characters. But for the most part is the same loop as before: Free day - go rescue people - also have a mech battle - and then a final fight. This all leads to the last part of act 2. Fanservice fest part 2 I admit having all those chracters interacting in one place after so many games has it's charm. But then after another boss rush the fact the the last fight requires you to defeat enemies in certain order of extra AP, but the last one is actually not the one with the most HP and your area of attack is very small can lead to mistakes can get annoying, another big problem with the game comes getting saved at the last minute, again, by characters who were supposed to be dead ... .
Worth pointing out that Act II includes a cool QOL improvement. If you're the kind of guy who likes to speak to NPCs, the game quick travel menu will show you the areas that get new dialog (which considering to how many places you can fast travel at this point it makes live way easier).
And Act III is just again a loop of Free day - exploration - Mech fight. However the first part of act 3 (that could have been an intermission) well ... the idea that osborne wasn't evil all along and is controlled, sure it's a trope and all, but is so cheap trying to redeem him at this point, I mean he's been presented as a villian for like 7 games at this point.. .
And then the eventide part, I could have done without it really.
The final chapter is again one section to do side quests One of which needs to be completed to get the true ending and then the final dungeon well, we're back to loooooooong final dungeons. I admit I liked the first part a lot playing as all those guest characters was pretty cool. We're also back at actually defeating the enemies in the final dungeon and most of them getting redeemed.. I admit that I didn't see coming the end of Cedric's story ... I didn't see that final twist coming. The ending (the real one that is) is the most anime shit I've seen in a while but at this point I should have expected that. But did they really need to keep Crow and by extension Millium alive?.
It's funny tho. That this is the first Cold Steel game that has a happy ending, it's weird but it kind of have to happen at some point.
And then after like 9 games the snakes an organization that bleeds talent faster than any gaming studio are as crypic as ever, we barely know nothing about them. Sure, the post-post credit scene finally shows us the grandmaster and that there's still ANOTHER event coming... but that's all . And Mcfirebro having and enlighment and then going sorry, ok, bye ... felt like a total copt-out.. It feels like a mystery box that keeps adding more things but at some point it will have to be opened. And then is the first Anguis who I think (Nielsen) or is it sheer coincidence that they share the same voice, tho that would explain why he appears at the right time at the right places and had the convinient black record.
Also for a Great War that was going to ravage the world we only see the beginning and then are told that it was stopped, but we see nothing... sure it lasted a day but it might as well not have happened. It feels like the build up was to nothing, Sure we get a scene of everything starting and the game shows us portratis of all those characters that have been mentioned the whole game but don't even appear but that's it.
Leaving the story, combat starts a bit more difficult but mostly because the orders start nerfed but since you can do trial chest to make them even more broken, I mean if you wanted you could turtle nearly all the bosses with Rean's order ... I like systems that are broken but I there should be some way to counter it. I mean sure some bosses (like 4) can uses orders against you and stop you from using them but it's a very small number.
As for minigames I liked the return of Pom Pom Party, even if eventually I found a more or less stable strategy. And vantage masters forced me to change my deck a few times which is nice.
Finally I liked the music more in this game, I think it's mostly for the fact that you are constantly moving places so I notice more the change.
I'll be there for Hajimari (althought to be fair I'm intrigued in how they're gonna connect them with S & N who you can see in the screenshoots of the steam page) , but after that I don't know if I'll still be playing this games.
There's probably more I could say but I'd circling around the same ideas.
PS: I'm quite surprised that about 50% of players (if steam global stats are to be trusted) have, finished the game. Then again, if you're getting this game you're in to finish it.
