as with any game people make a meme out of, i came into this expecting a bad time but was surprisingly delighted by the end. i stopped at the beginning of post game ( which i understand has a lot going on ) and can say that i thought stranger of paradise was ... a good time! it was stupid, don't get me wrong, but it was good.

the writing is awful -- borderline unintelligible dialogue ( in english ) on top of the sort of bland, cookie-cutter late 80's plot that the game is building itself off of, mixed with characters who barely had personalities & hardly seemed to have any kind of relationship, all culminated in the most uncharismatic entry in this franchise yet. and yet ... i was charmed.
it carries itself in the kind of edgy way that sonic games do, where you can't quite tell if it's ironic or if the team really thought, "yes, this is the pinnacle of Cool." it's that kind of hammy, almost immature sincerity that had me smiling & shaking my head & having a chuffed time despite all of its writing flaws. but these flaws can only entertain for so long, and by the end i was ready to say bye-bye to this horrid cast of characters & the cheeky referential world they lived in.

the job system is where this game shines. i think a lot of classic FF jobs were adapted really well to a 3D action game, with smart progression & fun motivation for filling out the skill trees -- advanced jobs required lower-tier jobs to reach a certain level before unlocking, which meant you had to experiment to get to the good stuff. the combo system & customization that allows borrowing certain skills from well-leveled classes was fun, too, and paired with you being able to "equip" two jobs at once, it meant you could make some satisfying builds. stuff like playing a class that sacrifices health for power, and then swapping to a job that can quickly dish out heals to negate that loss, was exciting to think about & try executing.

the major flaw with the job system is mostly in the combat itself, which wasn't terribly exciting. dungeons weren't very fun to explore & enemies felt ... predictable & bland to fight. even with the required flashy finishers, i didn't feel too inspired by any of the mob or boss fights. it also was a shame that your party members didn't really contribute much to fights, and that the thrill of making a full team comp couldn't ultimately be realized because party AI just didn't allow the level of strategizing a standard turn-based RPG affords. it seems like going through the game with a group of real life buddies would probably make this kind of thing feel so much better, but if you don't have that ... then once you unlock all the jobs, you're kind of just sitting there like ... well. what now?

minor nitpick: i'll mention the inventory style where you're getting so much trash, the game just offers to throw it all away for you & auto equip you with whatever you've got that's high level. i don't really like a system where i'm not actually thinking about how to equip my party in an RPG. sure, the weapons & armor had some additional abilities on them that might make me ponder my options more carefully ... except that there are 600 different options & not enough time or patience in the world to actually consider them all. i know it's a well established mechanic in gaming at this point, but i don't know ... why even bother including an equipment system if you're just bloating it with THAT much bullshit?

but it's fine. it's a really, really stupid game. and it's not too long, either. the problems i listed above make me uninterested in going through a second time to experiment with team comps or builds, nor to go through the DLC to see what it is that has this game's fans clammoring ... but there's novelty & charm in a first playthrough, for sure. the costume designs are breathtaking to see for a first time, for example, but there's just not enough actual meat for me to not feel bored, overall.

is it good? eh ... is it a good time? sure, i guess so ... is it everything you'd expect from this studio, for better or worse? you betcha.