In games with limited dialogue space, I really value the concepts of "environment as narrative" and "gameplay as narrative." Regarding the former, the excellent screen detailing and somber music really help to set the tone and emotion. With the latter, I think there's a lot of significance in playing these two characters as a team, and the fact that they each excel in different situations. You end up really feeling the relationship between Ito and Nita through the way you lean on one or the other of them at different times, just like they have to trust and depend on each other to get through all the challenges. I also found the dramatic stuff from the end of the third dungeon through the ending to be quite effective.
Spoiler
The relationship of the brothers is at the center of this game's story, and it's done really well.There were a few design choices that hit me a bit wrong, and I think some players will be put off by the challenge level and unorthodox save system. For me, the only thing I found truly frustrating was the moldorm boss. The twin patras were challenging at first, but approaching them with different characters and weapons made for a much easier fight. The moldorms just always felt irritating, and with a rematch tucked behind a mandatory 3 blue wizzrobe kill ... it ain't great. I think they would be better if they had better checking as they surfaced so they didn't appear too close to the player, and if the shots either moved slower or had a hesitation before they moved. A slight HP reduction also wouldn't hurt, imo.
But overall, I found it to be a great experience. Highly recommended.