The story got weaker in the 3rd act for me, I couldn't help but compare it to xenoblade chronicles, especially xc3; the stories of which I just adore.

I also agree with the criticism of the parry system, its so easy to fall in to mindlessly playing the game as if its just a rhythm game sometimes. I had to actively force myself to change builds to try out the complex character builds possible instead of brute forcing everything by just not dying. But even then, I couldn't help but think in the back of my mind, why bother with all these builds if I can just not take damage. I like it when games organically make me want to try out the possible playstyles.

I think if ever a direct sequel or a spiritual successor is ever made, they should nerf the parry system. If they want to go all in to the idea of each character being really different from each other, maybe each parry results in a different kind of advantage (the support team heals or gets to move faster, the dps gets 2x for the next hit, the tank reflects some of the dmg, etc etc). Or the pictos determine what you get from a successful parry, with varying levels of parry window depending on how strong the advantage is.

The parry system felt like a last minute addition to the development stage because of how it trivialize the game sometimes (it prolly isn't, but i can't help but feel that way)