A fun diversion from the serious RPG but this one won't win any innovation awards.
1. Sprites are excellent.
2. Great Music (none from the anime).
3. Plays very smooth.
4. Feudal Japan, Blond haired American... Ganguro jokes aplenty.
The Bad
1. There is a frackin "exclusive" character to the game (Janis aKa Mary Sue).
2. It's difficult to learn, as there is no in game tutorial. The documentation is as helpful as most manuals.
3. It feels like they did nothing special for the DS. You can literally never pull out your stylus and be able to play the game. Except for the second screen, it could have been a GBA game. The Ugly
1. Janis' origin story is so frackin complicated!!! Mary Sue used to live in Japan, but Dad was transferred to the States. Janis is American. Janis speaks fluent Japanese and Dad is now being transferred BACK to Tokyo. So She should be just fine, but no, she's only got one friend in all the world.. Kagome? Again, this jumps logic because Kagome is always "out sick" when did they have time to become BFF?
Seriously, I've seen lots of cartoon tie ins do goofy stuff like add new characters, and there must be some executive memo that says games require gamers to leave 30 IQ points at the door, because I signed on to see the Wind Scar (awesome in game graphics BTW) and use the DS to its fullest. If it was a GBA game it'd be a 8 of 10 and I'd give Janis a pass... As a DS game, it's really only a 6/10 because there's no real need for a stylus, it isn't wi-fi (wi-the heck not?) and it doesn't even use the Mic to make you shout out "Wind Tunnel" when you select a special attack. If you are a fan, it'll be annoying but good. If you're a rpg fan, it'll be a nice way to rest up between FFIII sessions. If you're a general gamer, wait till it hits the 9.00 racks.