GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

+
Huge selection of weapons
+
Shooting things
+
So much customization

Cons

-
Every level is the same
-
Utterly sedate
-
Melodramatic as all hell

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Japanese games love their dull, heroic cutscenes. It%26rsquo;s not enough to be fighting on the frontline of an interstellar war, defending the united peoples of Earth against an irrepressible enemy. Oh no. You have to find your long-lost brother, or discover your true self through the death of a teammate, or learn that your Dad is the leader of the baddies and your Mom was a robot made from car parts.

We%26rsquo;ll chalk this one up to the quirks of Japanese narrative - the insistence upon personalizing every massive conflict is just the way things are done in their fiction. Every mission is rammed with unrelenting chatter between your wingmen about their issues, and when they%26rsquo;re not arguing amongst themselves in the midst of a dogfight, Sylpheed weaves its seemingly endless tale in a trademark Square Enix movie show. Go make a sandwich, you%26rsquo;ll be here for a while. It%26rsquo;s unfortunate that it need be so intrusive because the story gets in the way of some decent shooting action.