An unforgettable experience
Gameplay is pretty straightforward - you've got various swords and spears which you can level up, and a variety of magic spells. You can also equip words which effect various aspects of combat - do you want more armor penetrating power, or do you want your slain enemies to drop more loot, or do you want to level up faster, etc. You'll fight tons and tons of small and medium enemies, and there are ample numbers of boss fights as well. The boss fights are just plain fun, some of the best I've played.
The world is pretty large, with several towns, wide open plains, and plenty of sidequests to take on everywhere. It's definitely a game for people who like item collection and leveling up weapons. You also get to do fishing and gardening as well. Hope you're in the mood for some relaxation.
Overall I loved this game. It's quite different from other stuff on the market these days. It can be relaxing, it can be a exciting and fun, it can be cinematically impressive, but most of all it's emotionally involving. And I think an experience that makes you hope that one of the endings is going to have everything turn out well for everyone because you really care about these people, well...that's pretty darned rare in gaming these days.