All show and no go.
Gameplay: 7.0 The battle sequences are very good, however, this game losing A LOT of credibility due to its linearity. You can only basically go in one direction the WHOLE game. Seriously, the WHOLE game. There is little to no side-quests, no towns, no real money. This is so different than any RPG out there. They took all the elements that made Final Fantasy so good and removed them. WHY????
Sound: 6.0 The music in this game is so off it's embarrassing. At one point you will be fighting a large king behemoth in a breathtaking landscape with a teen girl singing love ballads in the background. The voice acting is top notch, but there is one character who is so annoying you might want to jump out the window. Overall, I was extremely disappointed in both the music and the characterization.
Storyline: 7.5 The storyline is good but a bit cliche. Group of teens are branded with a curse, have to save the world, blah blah blah. Been there done that. There is no real antagonist like Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7 or Semore from X. Nothing really compels you to want to finish the plot. It is also broken down into chapters, which makes it a bit weird.
Replay Value: 9.0. This game is VERY long. I am 45 hours into it and still have about 10 left. There is also endgame content and side -missions you can do. Plus there are enemies on chapter 11 that you can go back and beat which were previously unbeatable. This is one of the game's strong points. You get a lot for you buck.
Overall: 7.5. This game is big disappointment. Coming off of X and XII This game just doesn't fit. XII was open-world, non-linear. X was so good on many levels. This game just is missing a lot of key elements which make RGS great. Square-Enix, I have a message for you, and I hope you listen--IF IT'S NOT BROKE, DONT FIX IT. You used to make great games. Go back to what made you so great, not what you can do to be better.