Hmmmm....the bliss that this game creates is boarderline illegal.
I'm a huge chess player (yes I know geeky...leave it alone and no one will bleed) And this was honestly the first thing that appealed to me. It was a "wide range-you have to watch EVERYTHING - understand your strength and weaknesses - know how to spread the EXP throughout battles so you don't over compensate for one and leave the rest to die - yet brutalize your opponent to reach the ultimate goal - DaVinci of a chess game!!!"
I love the game play to death, once you play through, you will (I PROMISE) want to play through at least a few more times to see if you can find a better team or a faster play time or see if you can handle hard (I wish they'd put maniac in the U.S. version). Seriously, I loved the ending body count ranking!!! Oh man, I saw that and I had the new goal of individually getting my favorite characters on the top five! ( A feat I dare anyone to attempt...mainly because I just accomplished it on like play through 18!)
The music is awesome. I've, for some odd reason, gone through the play list in the extras and just for kicks and giggles listened to the intricacy of it and was honestly astounded by it's brilliance! The attention to detail in this game will really blow your mind, I had only one complaint after all was said and done. I'd wished there were a few more chapters or optional battles to beef the rest of your team up, only because I'm of the cut where I like to thoroughly beat the game and have everyone in the system be semi-strong. That was the only thing though, that you have to find you main characters and use them religiously to find them the right amount of Exp to become giants among men. (I know about the bonus EXP but I feel cheap using it to boost my weaklings, I like to crank them the old fashion way. Plus, I used all the bonus Exp to fill in the gaps when one of my main team couldn't make it into the battle number limit!!!)
The only thing left to talk about is the storyline, which bythewayrockedmyfaceoff! There is a smooth transition from one sub-plot to the next, but they never overshadow the real plot! I am truly in love with this game!! The only other game I've ever fallen in love with this deeply was Tales of Symphonia, which will be my next review victim!
Hope this gets you to buy this game, however, if you've even played it once, I don't think I've said anything that anyone else hasn't already.
Peace!
Jon