Zero no Kiseki beated. Some thoughts in spoilers and then some general rankings.
Pros: -The SSS have a really nice dynamic as a team - in part it's probably due to the size, but no one feels extraneous, and even though Randy jokes around a lot his serious side is a lot more apparent than, say, Olivier's or Crow's. The guest party members are also great - I'm not big on Rixia (though that could easily change in Ao) but I really like Noel and Wazy, and it was nice seeing Dudley slowly warm up to the SSS even if he's kinda tsundere about it. Having Estelle and Joshua be playable at the end was really cool too. -Supporting cast is also really good - lot of just likable characters. Favorite was probably Grace, though as far as more minor characters go Jingo is about as entertaining as she is in CS3, which is to say she's great -There were some very good heartfelt moments - Tio opening up about her past and the Hayworths' story of what happened to their daughter both hit pretty hard (though overall I'm not the biggest fan of the Estelle/Joshua/Renne plotline). -The OST, but I mean of course I'm listing that as a pro. Weird hearing the non-Super Arrange version of Inevitable Struggle considering the SA is one of my all time favorites but the original is fine. Some favorites would be Intense Chase, A Light Illuminating the Depths, The Will to Protect Until the End, Ancient Pulsation and Firm Strength. -Chest quotes definitely gave me some chuckles as well as some big groans, good touch on the translation team's part. Actually overall the translation was pretty good for the main story (I noticed maybe two errors?) - only part that seemed a little rough was the books.
Cons: -Crossbell is TOO BIG for a hub and I very quickly burnt out on going around talking to everyone. Mostly stuck to characters I liked. -Pacing had its ups and downs. Chapters 1 and 3 seemed kinda weak in that regard. -Probably had the weakest antagonists in the series? Which kinda makes sense given that the game focuses on political corruption a lot so you aren't gonna be fighting a lot of interesting people (aside from Garcia, he was alright), but still. The big bad ended up being very one-note after the reveal and honestly the entire shift to dealing with an evil cult felt a bit abrupt.
Overall, I would probably say CS3 > SC > CS1 = CS2 > Zero > 3rd > FC for my series rankings. Zero certainly does a good job establishing Crossbell as a nation and while I'm familiar with most of the story beats of Ao it'll be interesting to see how a playthrough of it goes having now also done Zero.
SSS ranking is probably Lloyd > Randy > Tio > Elie.
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