I have mixed feelings about this one. I'm going to suggest it still because if you've played the series this far its worth seeing how it ends, and the first playthrough can still be a fun experience. The battle system is a bit more polished, you have better party options at a certain point vs 3, the bond system is better than previous incarnations, there are some cool moments and a few fun battles.
Having said that, I love the Trails of Series, but feel like there was a lot of wasted potential with this. The gist of it is that there is a lot of filler, and there are a lot of boss battles that are basically rehashes of past battles with different combinations of the same people, but they don't have any new moves or mechanics, just adjusted stats. There are also some annoying storytelling choices and an underwhelming final dungeon.
More detailed explanation with spoilers below!!!
The game starts on a good note, where you are introduced to some characters that you may be familiar with. The start is, in my opinion, great. After that, you go on a series of quests with New Class 7 where you have very minimal party options, and most of the boss battles are ones that you are not able to win. The whole "they're too strong!" thing has already become stale from past Trail games. This game continues to lean hard on making your party look like they ain't much. You are repeatedly in situations where you need to be saved or where battles you should be able to win easily you can't despite an advantage in numbers. And as I've said above, you are going to be fighting the same roster of enemies in different combinations often, many of them largely unchanged except for stats vs how they were in TOCS3. Many bosses and hidden bosses are also ones you have already fought in TOCS3. And as I said, you'll be fighting the same boss enemies in different combinations a lot. A LOT.
Also, no one can stay dead. It feels like there are no stakes. Millium died at the end of TOCS3 and it felt like a huge moment. Then they had her instead turn into a ghost sword that would keep appearing to banter. Then they had her come back to life if you get the good ending. Crow was supposed to die, but he ends up being saved. Olivert, Victor, and Toval were also supposed to have been killed in TOCS3, but they lived, albeit with some injuries. Angela was supposed to have been killed too, but actually she was spared it turns out.
I will say that the events just before the final dungeon are a lot of fun. There are also some great character interactions, which is fun to see.
The difficulty scaling isn't great. By the end of the game, unless you nerf yourself, you will be wrecking more often than not. There are also a number of simple ways to break the game if you want to, such as using any brave order with Accelerate + Chrono Burst on an enemy that is under the Break effect.
The final dungeon is a big let down. Both the music and aesthetic of it are, IMO, inferior to past final dungeons in the series. Most of the boss battles throughout the dungeon are all enemies you've already fought either in TOCS3 or in this game (sometimes repeatedly). Then there is a battle against a powered up McBurn that isn't THAT different from your previous McBurn battles, and he's overly spongy. It isn't a very fun fight. Then there are three phases to the final boss, assuming you get the good ending route. The first phase is against the Chancellor who is almost the same as he was when you fought him earlier in the game, but with buffed stats and you have 3 parties fight him. The second phase is a divine knight battle which is alright, but the music for both battles really didn't get me hyped for it. The 3rd phase actually does a good job with the music and the way they handle it, although the difficulty may be lacking for most at this point.
The ending credits are great with the music and art and whatnot.
So overall, this is a game that is still worth one play through, but that is full of flaws and disappointments that could have been rectified without too much trouble if the developers tried.
This is already a very rambling review, so here is how I would have improved the lamer boss battles below:
1. Instead of vs Rutger/Leo/Xeno is Act 1, have it just be against Leo and Xeno, and the condition to win is that you deplete the health of just one of them to near critical. This way people don't get tired of fighting Rutger, and it would still be seen as an accomplishment that New Class 7 was able to injure one of them.
2. Instead of vs Zector for the divine knight battle in Act 1, have the battle either be against Ouroboros panzers. This prevents the later Zector battle from as boring from already experiencing all of his attacks and whatnot.
3. Instead of vs Campanella, Kreuger, and Lechter in Act 1, have the battle just be against Campanella who continuously summons different monsters until defeated. This prevents New Class 7 from seeming like they suck because they keep fighting all these battles they can't win, and it also makes the battle more interesting vs "reduce everyone's HP to a certain amount" and prevents you from getting tired of fighting the same enemies all the time.
4. In the Black Workshop, instead of having Georg and Angelica be solo (minus Goerg occasionally summoning a small bot) and having the party somehow have to run from them later despite their numerical advantages, have Georg backed up 2 or 3 bots that each use different abilities in coordination with one another so that the battle is harder, and it also isn't possible to fully defeat Georg until the bots have been taken down. After the battle when you think you've won, replacement bots appear, so old class 7 tells new class 7 to run on ahead. For Angelica, have her backed up by the homunculus bots, and same thing, more appear when you think you've won.
5. For the Black Workshop battle between the Chancellor and Sandlot, reduce variety of attacks Chancellor uses, and have use a different sword vs the sword of the end, explanation being that it isn't complete yet or something. Or just give him a different skill set vs endgame Chancellor. Have the result of the battle be a stalemate so that Rean and his class aren't losing and getting saved again.
6. For the Crow and Duvalie battle, have the "Radiant Star" formation that keeps getting referenced be an actual Brave Order that the two use in the battle that gives them some kind of buff. Also have Crow do that thing where he throws mines like he did in TOCS1 and 2, and have him occasionally use his Azure Destiny ability to buff his stats which he can follow up by using a wide area art which means you need to be ready with reflect or to disrupt his art or you'll take mega damage.
7. For Craig and Neithardt, instead of having everyone gang up on the two, have some other soldiers in the battle and just say they are elite soldiers.
8. For Claire and Angelica, buff her Disorder and have her use it more often. Have Angelica use an impede art often if one of your characters try to use Arts to further add difficulty to the battle.
9. Instead of having Aurelia and Vita fight separately, have them fight you together.
10. For Krueger and Georg, add robots again but different ones from before that in some way require more strategy.
11. Instead of Rutger, Xeno, and Leo all fighting you separately, have them all fight together. Give Rutger a new attack of some kind, and have them also use support on one another at times.
12. Instead of Sandlot, Ennea, and Innes fighting you all separate, have them fight together and give a new skill each. Also have use Radiant Star brave order.
13. Have all final dungeon bosses leading up to final boss have at least one new attack, use disorders more, and/or be able to summon backup (dog monsters, combat shells, etc)
14. Swap McBurn ailment for dif mechanic
15. Give the Chancellor attacks he didn't have before and his own Disorder.
