After watching the first episodes from the Zestiria anime, I decided to give the game a chance and it wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. I just finished the Water Temple and the cast, outside of Rose, is one of the best ones in the series. The story seems average but I'm glad it doesn't fall into the Maxwell, 4 great spirits, two worlds divided by a god trope like the Xillia games, Eternia, Symphonia, Graces and more.
The weapon/equipment system is a mess. I'm not even trying to understand it. I haven't changed my characters' equipment in 4 hours of gameplay, I only upgrade their items when I feel like enemies are hitting too hard.
The empty landscapes and poorly detailed enviroments are also a big flaw in the game. Xillia, as bland as it could get in certain maps, still had some very beautiful towns and hills. This game's world is just dull. It's like they spent all of the budget on the battle system and the character animations.