Hooks you quick and holds tight - until you notice all the battle filler.
Ironically where this game soars is also where it falls: the battles. The battle system is fast paced and feels like a breath of fresh air. Turn based? Yes. But the way it is done… It is operating on a 360 degree battlefield. When it’s one of your characters turns, you can choose one of several actions including magic, techniques, items, attacking, etc. Yet just using a move doesn’t fire it off right away. You might have to run towards an enemy, charge up a spell, etc. So before you even get it off, an enemy could attack you cancelling it. Or if you time things right you can combo by having a different party member land a certain attack in a way that coincides with your first. Timing things just right gets more and more complicated as the game goes on.
Fighting is, obviously, the way to improve skills and magic. I don’t intend to go into the nitty gritty details of the games system here, just to give an overall picture.
The reason I said the game falls short due to the battles as well is because as you progress farther into this disappointingly short game, they seem to be filling 80% of your play time with combat. Getting through some areas can take FOREVER and all you are doing is fighting. You quickly notice that character growth is very limited and customization is even more so. Another big stressor is this games complete lack of side questing and extra content. Once you are near the end of the game and realize this is going to be it and you have just spent most of your game only hacking up monster for hours to get a 30 second blip of story, you might wonder if you are really playing an RPG and never actually finish your game out of irritation.
Truth be told though, that would be a shame. Because despite a lot of battle filler, there is a nice (albeit linear) storyline. If feels… anime without the anime. Like the same old idea, yet with a crisp fresh quality to it. It is a fun ride, just don’t let it get you down thinking all there is are battles. It might feel that way, but a good story needs to be ended, just get through the frustration. You will be happy you did.
To wrap up, only having one big stressor in a game is a good thing. All in all a good RPG. Could it have been better? Yes. But it could have been sooo much worse. ^^