I've played the classic version before so I wanted to try the new EE version. Apparently, the EE version added enhancements (not sure what this means), full voiceovers (fine, mostly, except Madora, whose voice I thought was hilarious and amazing), new game modes (I tried Tactician Mode, which was fun), and new skills / enemies and better loot and balancing.

Since I don't quite remember the classic version specifics, I don't know which are the new skills or enemies, but I do remember having more fun with the battle system this time around. There seemed to be less chunk down health bars and summon trading and more management of enemies via CC.

That said, I'm not a fan of the home base / party system, the inventory system, and the crafting system. The home base is grand and has some great backdrops but it's annoying to run to various sections of it to sell off loot or buy items or get companions, who you can add or remove via dialogue. I wasn't fond of hunting through the inventory by visual, and even separating them into smaller types of items or sorting by type or time added only does so much. Moreover, that sorting only seems to apply to the party members. Specifically, it'd be nice if it'd apply to containers or shelves. And the crafting system is convoluted and finicky and for equipment, doesn't really seem to produce better items than normal loot drop to warrant messing around with it. It's fine for consumables (potions, food, etc) and arrows, and it's ok for modifying some resistances onto already existing equipment.

The plot is serviceable and companions have some bare bones personal quests, and I didn't really feel any strong connection to either. But the strongest part of this game is its battle system / encounters, and if you enjoy that like I did, you'll have a great time with this game.