When you get to the Sweet Blossom Orchard quest, the game layout changes; specifically the battle layout. I spent some time giving it a chance, hoping that it made things clearer or more linear, but instead after getting used to it I've found it very tedious and unpleasant to work with. Is there a way to change back to the older layout on later missions?

Thanks! -Storm

it's because the whole of regions 1 and 2 are programmed differently from region 3 onwards, because Krinadon was learning. It isn't just a visual difference, so I don't think it'd be any kind of easy to make a different... 'skin', so to speak, for the new areas.
I think you're the first person I've seen saying the old one is the clearer one, though?
Is there anything about the newer one in particular that is hard for you to intuit? or is it just... everything?

I, too, find the old layout more pleasant to work with.

One of the biggest issues I was having was that after using a support type move (say, the water ability "Ice Barrier") there was no longer a way for me to just simply click the enemy and continue, which made the process slower. I assumed that it was either broken, or there was something I wasn't understanding yet.
I had gotten used to clicking the key on my keyboard for the move, clicking the enemy, then clicking next turn. it took me over an entire mission of fiddling to find that it was simply changed to: with support moves, you need to click the pet as a target instead. After that everything became a lot smoother, and I'm enjoying the new layout now.
T.L,D.R: I didn't understand the layout enough

Pardon the trouble, and thank you for responding so quickly!

ah, if it's Ice barrier that's an issue, then it's that specific move (and ice sphere once you get that, and restoration, on Light, ) which is the issue at hand.
Since Ice Barrier can be placed on any of your pets, it wants you to select which pet you put it on (whereas the old system I think just defaults to putting it on the pet that used it?)

New regions automatically set self-directed moves like Thorncoat and attacks that hit all enemies to their respective targets and move on to the next pet, and you can use the 1/2/3 keys to select enemies with offensive moves, but yeah, the moves that can affect any member of your own party you have to actually select which pet to use it on.
Having them work with the 1/2/3 keys also would perhaps be helpful? You could make a suggestion thread about it

That's a good idea, I may make a suggestion thread. Thanks again!