This is a JRPG in both a good and bad way. I definitely agree with Susan on the grinding, it's freaking ridiculous. Even when the enemies runs away from you, that still doesn't mean you are high enough level for the next boss, you need to chase them down to grind some more! Eventually I cheated and looked for place to grind, turns out there's a particular place where you can get 2k+ per battle, that cut down the frustration a lot. If anyone is thinking about playing this game, grind minimally before you get the ship, then go grind on the Ugly Duckling Isles. The sidequests (aptly named Errands) are really just that, errands. You don't get any exp after completing an errand, you only gain exp on the way of doing the errand. Another thing that bothers me was the lack of voice acting, I'm about 33 hours in, and voice acted cutscenes are getting scarce. I wish all the story quest cutscenes had voice acting.
That said, I still enjoy playing the game for the most part. Oliver and the gang are funny and charming. The cell-shaded artwork looks great. The story is good even if a bit predictable. It's like playing through a children's book. The characters you meet along your journey is mostly likable. The (Japanese) voice acting is excellent as usual. I kinda know what to expect going in, Level5 games are known to be grindy, but I'm ok with that. So I'm enjoying it more than Susan did.