>>15400623
I'm replaying it on PS2 atm so I'll bite.
I don't like how enemy design is compromised for the sake of reusing assets, especially the oni that are designed to look like centaurs because they wanted to re-use Crimson Helm's model, that just looks stupid.
It's a alternate take on nip mythology but some enemies don't look the part all that much, the Karasu Tengu has nothing to do with a crow and is clearly more similar to a crane, the Ubume has nothing to do with the mythological one, there's no reason for the Jorogumo to look like The Ring girl etc.
The localization is kinda botched, some names are translated while others get simplified because gaijin's are too stupid to remember a two syllable name, this ends up hurting the story because it cloaks the historical/mythology references.
There's a lot of breaks that kill the pace like every time you pick an item, the game stops to bring up its name and description; this would make sense if you picked for the first time but it happens every time and it's even more nonsensical when every item has a large and unique model. Likewise, when you're fishing there's constant breaks and every time you catch one, Issun makes a little speech about how you're on a roll and if you want to continue - you should just be able to leave by your own volition. In the main story, you're constantly being reminded about things two or three times in a row but maybe they wanted this game to be played by kids so I can yield on that even if I find it annoying.
Speaking of the pint-sized devil, Issun's kind of a twerp.
I think the game should have taken a page out of Odin Sphere and not rank boss fights because as is you have to brutalize them in seconds to get a good rank because I like taking my time with them, most are pretty fun.
This isn't a game I'd call easy but rather it handles the player with kid gloves because there are times when the difficulty spikes at absurd rates like fighting the 8 doggos or the special devil gates. So it would have been nice if the difficulty got a bit more balanced out. Gravity Rush and Onimusha are other examples of this.
All that said, as >>15400819 says, it's a super comfy, just wandering about is very enjoyable and has tons of memorable moments like the trigger to the Ninetails/Kyuubi fight, that shit is just genius. I love the constellations in general, they're very well thought of and a lot of the following cutscenes are great, the monkey somersaulting flat into the camera always makes me laugh.