I really wanted to like this game, the first trailers looked very promising. But after I started playing I became ever more disappointed. I'll keep it brief:
- the combat system is enjoyable, but it's pretty much a copy of Chrono Trigger's one. the few minor improvements (like Momentum mode) don't really change overall impression
- story is pretty much a copy of FF10, with ideas from other games, but stripped of any interesting plot twists. writing itself is pretty crappy and immature as well, it feels rushed, unfinished and unpolished
- characters are just your everyday JRPG archetype bunch: the brooding one, the aggresive one, the crybaby etc. also the classes are the typical figter, dragoon, black mage, white mage... not to mention that they are poorly disguised references to Chrono Trigger's characters
- the world is pretty empty. a world map in any Final Fantasy would be teeming with secrets and optional dungeons. but here it's just empty. also, the level design of the dungeons is horrible. each dungeon is just one linear corridor with a few short side-corridors. again: unfinished and rushed
- no voice acting whatsoever. there are only a few shouts and grunts during combat, but even those are in Japanese. the studio didn't even try to record these battle cries in english. it's 2016 for crying out loud! again: an unfinished product in my book.
- music is so so. compositions are ok, but the minimalist piano arrangements got on my nerves after a while. some songs are suited to be arranged for solo piano, but mostly it doesn't work. a few songs do have full instrumentation, but those are so far between that they're hard to notice.
- visual style is quite nice. character models are anime-ish, but not too japanese-cute. they remind me of the big-headed characters from the FF4 remake.
- but some criticism is deserved even for the visuals - the variety of environments is very poor. the world map is all snowy landscape, some trees and mountains. the assets used for towns and dungeons are very limited - you see the same ice-like floors in caves or futuristic platforms in dungeons over and over.
Overall, the game was kind of enjoyable, but all these shout-outs to past classics only irritated me. It's hard to care about the story or characters when you feel you've played this many times before. And the fact that the game feels is unfinished is inexcusable.