This game is okay.

Beautiful art, especially the sprite designs. Was a little disappointed half the party turned out to be boring humans rather than cool animal people like most of the NPCs are.

Animations are not on the same level. Running and talking could be better, considering how often you do both, but what I'm really missing is body language or at least facial expressions during dialogue. The text effects are nice, but not really comparable.

Gameplay didn't really require engaging my brain much, and quickly became pretty boring. I don't want minigames or anything, in fact removing the cooking minigame would improve the game for me, just need something more complicated than hitting enemies with the right element.

Story is consistently light-hearted or outright silly in presentation, even the few times when it feels like it tries for something more serious, like a character reuniting with parents or a loved one after being separated for years. There's also not much build-up, emphasis, or aftermath in the presentation of these major moments. I don't feel interested or emotionally invested in the characters or story just because someone says "I'll always love you", especially if it comes out of the blue and ends just as abruptly. It's a little frustrating, if anything.

Music is... good, I guess? Since the rest of the game didn't make me feel anything much, I also didn't build any attachment to the tracks. It's a shame, since music is a recurring theme in the story.

The main thing that kept me going was novelty and exploration, hoping that there would be more depth to the game in the end than it first seemed. But alas, everything novel it introduces is just a cool idea that doesn't get any deeper exploration of cause or consequence.

Ultimately, the game has some strengths, but I can't in good conscience recommend it or say I was satisfied. For what it's worth, I wish Steam had a milder option than a big red thumbs-down.