Annoying characters, tedious combat, and a plot twist which invalidates most of the series. The game even punishes you for exploring, by making the party members hate you for 'wasting time'.

People who suggest this game is one of three worthwhile games in the series are real high on nostalgia. Suggesting that it's not just top 3, but number 1, is legitimately unbelievable. It's charming in its jank and bad designness, but it's a pretty poor game with legendarily bad voice acting and cutscene direction, and does not reach the heights of neither the games that came before it, nor the game that comes immediately after it.

horrible game. Gameplay pacing is dreadful and the combat system is so simplistic. A story on par with a low quality anime with a bad english dub. The metascore of 80 tricked me. The plot twist that I spoiled for myself is the only interesting part of it

I walked really far on a whim one day just to pick this up only to find out that it lost some of the depth that the superior Second Story had. It's still an okay JRPG but it should be more.

The game's plot has some interesting sci-fi elements and I was relatively enjoying it up until one the dumbest plot TWEESTS in fiction occurs around the halfway point which railroads the plot into complete shit. However, the combat of SO3 is a notable improvement over the last game - there are more combat options and fights move more quickly and fluidly. On the downside, dungeons feel like they drag on forever and the skill system sucks compared to the prequel.