This part specifically really summarizes my feelings on the game. The building blocks are there for the game to be a genuine classic, but I just didn't think they came together well enough for my tastes. It's crammed full of good ideas, but I think the bulk of the ones relating to gameplay come with some caveats.
The class selection is radically different from the ones in I and II, but there's a lot of overlap between the roles certain skills play, so distinctions already start to blur before subclassing even comes into the picture. Subclassing is a great idea, but because the only real difference is the class-specific skill and stats (the latter being easy to work around), when you get down to it, there's no reason to use princesses or physical classes other than gladiators or arbalists. Form Ki boosts the effectiveness of princess healing skills so much that it overshadows the princess' TP regeneration, and Endless Battle is just a straight +25% attack boost with no strings attached. The sailing mini-game is neat, but because it's so puzzle-oriented and because each trip costs a good chunk of money, it sometimes forces grinding in-between trips early on.
Plus, even though this is story-related, the alignment aspect doesn't feel all that real or meaningful, because even after choosing a side, nothing major changes in terms of how you interact with your opposition. They just make a comment every now or then, so the conflict feels less like an ideological schism and more like a squabble. I appreciate them trying to give the story layers, but neither side really attempts espousing their ideologies, so by the time you do choose, it's more a matter of picking whichever faction you dislike less than whichever doctrine actually resonates.
Everything else the setting, the music, the character design, the enemy design, the atmosphere, and the labyrinth design
(except the 3rd stratum, but at least that's saved by its music)
Nothing a nectar can't fix.
