Shows there is alot of life left in the series...
At first I was skeptical of the action based fighting system, but once you get used to it, it is one of the most interesting concepts in the game. It allows you to move freely around your opponent as well as pick and choose your fights. The pace is fast and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Another cool thing is you can choose to control any character in your party in the 3rd person, and set up default actions or "gambits" for the rest.
Also there are alot of side missions to do. This means you don't have to waste time trying to level in order to beat a certain boss. Instead you can play the hunting missions and level at the same time, which means the game is fun the entire time. The game is very involved. This is a good thing to some. But for some who are unfamiliar to rpg's, this game may be difficult to get into at first. This is especially because of the liscensing sysytem. This requires you to use a set of points acquired during battle in order to have the ability to equip a certain item, or even get an ability. Unlike the older final fantasy's, you cannot just learn a skill by leveling up, you must choose what kind of fighting style your characters have and then build them around that.
Overall this is an awesome game worth getting. If you have played any of the other games in this series, you will love this one. It is a refreshing and challenging game that definitely deserves to bear the famous final fantasy name.