Xs and Os are not hugs and kisses for this rpg.
"I LOOK GOOD. BUY ME." (i know that sounded wrong but that's not what i meant)
initially, i bought it for the graphics, yes, and the fact that it says at the back that its war, love, betrayal. And that caught me. my thought was, "is this like gonna be a suikoden?"
the answer: NO. HOWEVER, it is good in it's own right and here are the reasons:
-GRAPHICS. (but i already emphasized that)
-intricate, and sort of ambitious gameplay. (i'll say more on that later)
-interesting story line about the never ending conflict of races.
-flamboyant looking characters ---- WARNING SPOILER!!!!!!! ---
the two people in the cover is a BOY and a girl and not TWO girls!!!!
(well, that wasn't really a spoiler... ^_^)
well, really interesting character designs that really defines their characteristics, strenghts and weaknesses (HAREN with his bulgy muscles definetly makes him your pounder/monk dood)
anyways... there are some BAD of course and the reason for that are probably some of the stuff that i listed as the good part of the game-----mainly the gameplay/battle system.
basically it's like shadow hearts meets ummm xenogears.
you are given 8 elements and they correspond to a combination of X and O.
Now, this is where the shadow hearts and it's judgement ring kicks in. basically you have to time it specifically to match the alloted spot that you have it hit it in. And for you to be able to do a stronger move than what you did before, you have to do the weak attacks first before you can learn/do the stronger ones (that's where xenogears/chrono cross comes in)
it doesnt sound that tough right? well, there are alot more stuff to learn besides that and i think what made it so OVERWHELMING to play at first is that all the complicated is thrown right at you right at the very beginning and you barely get a chance to practice it to see if you get it.
OTHER THINGS THAT ARE BAD:
-fixed camera angle. sometimes can't see where yo uare going or if there is an enemy coming soon.
-linear story (which is a bit understandable, since you do play as a mercenary and you have to go where you are told by your officer and it plays more on the idea of war and we move along the map like RISK people.)
OVERALL... really, it's a really good game. You just have to buckle down and get used to it and once you get the idea, you will feel such a good accomplishment on being able to do the combos and even predicting what the enemy is about to do next and counter them! but, a word of caution,THIS GAME IS NOT FOR BEGINNERS.