I don't take any issue with downer endings in tv shows or movies, but after having spent so much time playing a game, I prefer that the story ends on a brighter note. Still, the endings are as competently written as the rest of the story and dialogues, and all three of them are the right endings for this kind of story.
Since I spent too much time exploring every inch and grinding, it took me 30 hours to complete my playthrough. My main party was still only around level 55 towards the end. I probably would have grinded even more if I hadn't played at 50% difficulty. Whenever I tried out the 200% difficulty setting, battles were nightmares that took forever. Despite battles yielding thrice as much EXP and Gold at 200%, 50% still features a way better cost-benefit ratio (especially when considering the limited usage and recoverability of skills). Money was a constant issue, too: I would have needed to grind for more money towards the end if I hadn't gotten all weapon drops from the monsters residing in Maoh's Palace (and I still spent over a million on the rest of the best equipment pieces). Still, I like this kind of game design that excels in incentivizing and rewarding hard-working players.
Playstyle-wise, I liked the dual guns wielding thief (Hodaki) the best, while character-wise, Crackos had some really good moments throughout the story (provided you like black humor). Regarding the dungeons, the Tomb is a really interesting and diverse dungeon early on, but I enjoyed Maoh's Palace the most (despite the limited visibility, which I hated), since I really love hunting monsters for their strong loot.
A few random things I didn't like:
- Not being able to dash inside all houses (though it seems the most house owners wishing for peace and quiet can be found in early-game stages).
- Not being able to save during the game's final part.
- Non-active party members not gaining EXP.
- Gems raising the ATK/MAG of weapons by a random number between 1-3 (which in turn means it takes a lot of save/reload to achieve optimal results).
Those were just minor annoyances, though. I had a lot of fun and will gladly recommend this game to fellow JRPG gamers. :)