Perhaps one of my favorite games on the PS2; and an excellent strategy role playing game to boot!
Your actions may save your friends from death, acquire their trusts and personal events, cause their distrust in your abilities, or even have them infatuated with the the main character, Wein Cruz. In addition, your character will rise in rank depending on your actions and will unlock future events and additional endings for those who manage to acquire the highest rank of Imperial Knight, which is incredibly easy to get if you merely get a "Complete" mark on all your quests as opposed to a "Mission Clear."
One perhaps bad thing about this game is that it is incredibly easy to beat; one could get all mission completes without even knowing there was a mission clear to get if they're experienced in Strategy RPG games. In addition, leveling up your character and maxing their stats to all 999 is a simple matter of just winning awards at the Secret Arena, which is available relatively early in the game.
Exploration is key in this game and must be vigilantly pressed on to acquire the best endings for each character, and to even save the lives or recruit some of them. Though, the one thing about this game is that the more time you put into it and the more you explore the world each time you are able, the more it will give back to you in the form of superb story and indeed, even character developement and items.
There are many different paths one is able to take throughout the game depending on their actions and their own abilities, and different stories to tell with each play through; in addition to the old story that most all tend to love upon the completion of the game the first couple of times. It is perhaps one of my most favorite RPG games on the PS2, and I'm still thinking if I like it more than I did even Xenogears itself on the playstation.
The battle system, all though having strategic elements, is unlike most other strategy RPG games within the genre. It is like a real-time battle field where your characters are always moving to attack or whatever you told them to do once you input the commands on the windows that open. The best way to describe it to those who have no clue to what I'm talking about is the whole "Pheonix Tower" battle system on Final Fantasy VII when you protection the Pheonix or Condore, or whatever from the enemy army.
The voice acting is acceptable and fitting with it's characters, and the characters are almost all likable to a degree, and each have their own personality and catch phrases that occur both in and out of battle. There are indeed several love triangles as well depending on your trust factors and the responses you give people along with your actions. If you're courageous, honest, serious, and always willing to press on even in the most dire circumstances your allies will grow to respect you more.
In a closing statement I'd like to put in my own two cents about this game; it's just plain great.