I agree that XB2 has the best combat out of the three XB games, but the game does a really shitty job in explaining its mechanics to you. I had to watch an exhaustive youtube video to breakdown the combat for me to actually enjoy what they were going for. I also dislike the unnecessary gacha system, but I agree that it wasn't done with nefarious/predatory intentions...otherwise they would've given you the option to pay real money to make it faster.
As for the cast of characters, sorry but I greatly dislike anime tropes and this game really basks itself with those anime tropes. XB1 had some of them, but none of it was as cringey as XB2. I did enjoy the twist in XB2 in comparison to XB3. XBX is my to go game, even though that game is plagued with problems itself.