I guess I will be quite in the minority here, but in good conscience, I would not advise to get Ara Fell- unless you are really craving for a game reminiscing of old JRPGs, and even then, I think a good dose of tolerance and nostalgia is required.
So let's break down why one could give such a harsh statement, shall we ?

I- STORY

You begin with Lita and Adrian spelunking in old elven ruins, in search of an old ring. Lita gets it and naturally it is an
old artifact of power that she cannot unequip, morphing her into an unwilling chosen one.
That's a good thing because the world is apparently dying (zero clue of that is shown) and vampires, who vanquished the elves long ago, are still a menace.
Well the elves aren't really gone : as they were defeated by the undead, they hatched a very convoluted plan to turn themselves into stone, hoping for the blood drinker to die without the appropriate supplies or be decimated by a hero who would then break the curse by gathering the required Mc Guffins.
So therein lies Lita's quest to save the world...

The plot is quite baffling and while it indeed makes you think of old JRPGs like the first Final Fantasy, with a very minimalistic story, this is no excuse to present such simplistic and flawed premises. Did it never occur to the elves that they should have left a small group behind to ensure the artifacts would be gathered, instead of randomly putting them in hope someone able would wear them and help the elves ?
How come the vampires never enslaved the humans - which are weaker than the elves - in the one millenia (another cliché...) that elapsed since the elve's demise ? Why did he take such a long time for the vampires to act ? Well, that one is explained by the Big Bad : it took him 500 years to know that the elves sealed the Sunstone (necessary to break the curse) and another 500 years to locate one of the artifact of powers.
Once you the size of Ara Fell, such claims are beyond ludicrous and make absolutely no sense. But the story is riddled with inconsistencies and illogical moments, like the heroes not bothering to check if a boss is really dead.
One of the worst moments is when the Big Bad, unable to touch Lita's ring himself, declares they could just sever her finger. Yes indeed. Now why did you not do it yourself at the very moment you realized she had the ring, as anyway you can teleport ? The why, of course, is because there would not be a plot to follow otherwise.

All in all the story is what you might call classical old JRPG stuff- but without originality, low level of epicness in a shallow world filled with (mostly) boring NPC and quite predictable. Even the search of the artifacts is not linked that much to the core quest- you found some by pure chance, like fighting a wyvern in possession of it "because it is shiny".
Then the game is advertised as such :
" When you join Ara Fell's unwitting heroine on her quest to save her homeland, you'll discover a world filled with vibrant characters who laugh, cry, crack jokes, lose their tempers, and even their will to go on as the size and scope of the curse that plagues Ara Fell becomes apparent. "
Like this is some sort of feat. Main characters themselves are OK, even if describing them as deep is quite a stretch. Having Lita experience breackdowns because of all the pressure put on her shoulders does not make her deep.

II- GAMEPLAY

The more robust side of Ara Fell and the game can be praised because he removes the need to hoard a zillion healing items : your party get all their HP and MP back after every fight. If a character is downed, he will sustain an injury (stat debuff) until you heal it at an inn or with Talani the travelling merchant, conveniently following you everywhere.
Even on Normal a little grinding is advised, especially to get crafting materials : you won't buy new equipement but upgrade them until tier IV. It gives the good ol' satisfaction of mowing down monsters in order to get what you need to keep mowing down monsters.
As long as you reguarly level up and craft your gear (plus enchantements : life boost, damage boost etc.) bosses should not be too much of a problem either ; combat can get a little dull sometimes, but if you are into JRPGs of that kind, you know that some passages are filled with a combat routine.
You can also craft your potions but only some boss fights will require you to use them, on Normal difficulty still. The world is OK to explore but you soon feel the limitations of the engine and graphical assets.

Puzzles often feel arbitrary (sure vampires, let's have a door that can only be opened by placing the right paintings otherwise scattered in your lair), the characters pointing out this fact doesn't make it more palatable. Nothing really creative here, no memorable dungeon.
One could have wished for more (you soon get all character's skill and their ultimaes) like bonus attacks, elementary weaknesses but this is serviceable.
Quests will bring you some useful relics, gold and experience points, while not being riveting themselves.

III- CONCLUSION

Ara Fell is a little ball of JRPG tofu. It doesn't do anything so bad that you will grind your teeth and chew it out, but on the whole it is uninspired and without much flavor. I surmise than playing on Expert would mainly mean more grinding : the combats are not brain-racking.
And as for any review for any media, if despite all that you liked Ara Fell- great ! The important part is to have fun and you should not let anyone's informed opinion to lead you astray from this. It did not click for me mainly for the story : I hate lazy writing and while I do not mind simplicity, there is just too much nonsensical moments here.
On that note, have a nice day !

I guess I will be quite in the minority here, but in good conscience, I would not advise to get Ara Fell- unless you are really craving for a game reminiscing of old JRPGs, and even then, I think a good dose of tolerance and nostalgia is required. So let's break down why one could give such a harsh statement, shall we ? I- STORY You begin with Lita and Adrian spelunking in old elven ruins, in search of an old ring. Lita gets it and naturally it is an old artifact of power that she cannot unequip, morphing her into an unwilling chosen one. That's a good thing because the world is apparently dying (zero clue of that is shown) and vampires, who vanquished the elves long ago, are still a menace. Well the elves aren't really gone : as they were defeated by the undead, they hatched a very convoluted plan to turn themselves into stone, hoping for the blood drinker to die without the appropriate supplies or be decimated by a hero who would then break the curse by gathering the required Mc Guffins. So therein lies Lita's quest to save the world... The plot is quite baffling and while it indeed makes you think of old JRPGs like the first Final Fantasy, with a very minimalistic story, this is no excuse to present such simplistic and flawed premises. Did it never occur to the elves that they should have left a small group behind to ensure the artifacts would be gathered, instead of randomly putting them in hope someone able would wear them and help the elves ? How come the vampires never enslaved the humans - which are weaker than the elves - in the one millenia (another cliché...) that elapsed since the elve's demise ? Why did he take such a long time for the vampires to act ? Well, that one is explained by the Big Bad : it took him 500 years to know that the elves sealed the Sunstone (necessary to break the curse) and another 500 years to locate one of the artifact of powers. Once you the size of Ara Fell, such claims are beyond ludicrous and make absolutely no sense. But the story is riddled with inconsistencies and illogical moments, like the heroes not bothering to check if a boss is really dead. One of the worst moments is when the Big Bad, unable to touch Lita's ring himself, declares they could just sever her finger. Yes indeed. Now why did you not do it yourself at the very moment you realized she had the ring, as anyway you can teleport ? The why, of course, is because there would not be a plot to follow otherwise. All in all the story is what you might call classical old JRPG stuff- but without originality, low level of epicness in a shallow world filled with (mostly) boring NPC and quite predictable. Even the search of the artifacts is not linked that much to the core quest- you found some by pure chance, like fighting a wyvern in possession of it "because it is shiny". Then the game is advertised as such : " When you join Ara Fell's unwitting heroine on her quest to save her homeland, you'll discover a world filled with vibrant characters who laugh, cry, crack jokes, lose their tempers, and even their will to go on as the size and scope of the curse that plagues Ara Fell becomes apparent. " Like this is some sort of feat. Main characters themselves are OK, even if describing them as deep is quite a stretch. Having Lita experience breackdowns because of all the pressure put on her shoulders does not make her deep. II- GAMEPLAY The more robust side of Ara Fell and the game can be praised because he removes the need to hoard a zillion healing items : your party get all their HP and MP back after every fight. If a character is downed, he will sustain an injury (stat debuff) until you heal it at an inn or with Talani the travelling merchant, conveniently following you everywhere. Even on Normal a little grinding is advised, especially to get crafting materials : you won't buy new equipement but upgrade them until tier IV. It gives the good ol' satisfaction of mowing down monsters in order to get what you need to keep mowing down monsters. As long as you reguarly level up and craft your gear (plus enchantements : life boost, damage boost etc.) bosses should not be too much of a problem either ; combat can get a little dull sometimes, but if you are into JRPGs of that kind, you know that some passages are filled with a combat routine. You can also craft your potions but only some boss fights will require you to use them, on Normal difficulty still. The world is OK to explore but you soon feel the limitations of the engine and graphical assets. Puzzles often feel arbitrary (sure vampires, let's have a door that can only be opened by placing the right paintings otherwise scattered in your lair), the characters pointing out this fact doesn't make it more palatable. Nothing really creative here, no memorable dungeon. One could have wished for more (you soon get all character's skill and their ultimaes) like bonus attacks, elementary weaknesses but this is serviceable. Quests will bring you some useful relics, gold and experience points, while not being riveting themselves. III- CONCLUSION Ara Fell is a little ball of JRPG tofu. It doesn't do anything so bad that you will grind your teeth and chew it out, but on the whole it is uninspired and without much flavor. I surmise than playing on Expert would mainly mean more grinding : the combats are not brain-racking. And as for any review for any media, if despite all that you liked Ara Fell- great ! The important part is to have fun and you should not let anyone's informed opinion to lead you astray from this. It did not click for me mainly for the story : I hate lazy writing and while I do not mind simplicity, there is just too much nonsensical moments here. On that note, have a nice day !