A sleeper hit rpg with a deep combat system.
The developers of Resonance of Fate (ROF) took a different turn than most rpg makers. First they took away all the shiny swords and staffs and replaced them with guns. Then they put in a combat system that takes you at least an hour or two to understand. Then a few more hours to explore what the limits are. There are two types of damage. Scratch damage from machine guns that rack up damage fast but are not permanent. And direct damage from handguns and grenades which have a lower damage output but permanent damage.
Story: The weakest part of the game is probably the story.This is not a story driven game. It is very mission based. I'm not going to lie I am disappointed just due to the fact that it is an JRPG with a weak story. But in it defense if you end up not caring about the storyline you might still have a hell of a time with the customizations and combat system. Nothing is worse than playing a game which is story heavy and you don't give a crap about it. However, concept wise Tri Ace does a great job at bring out that steampunk atmosphere.
Graphics: Graphics are very similar in style to Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria. (VP2) But the frame rate is solid even during the high action "gun kata" scenes. The cutscenes are all in game graphics. Similar to how Mass Effect 2 was. The customization of all the character appear in the cutscenes. The dungeons are bland but after playing the Tales series I really can't complain. Personally the VP2 like graphics didn't bother me cause it didn't affect the gameplay at all but I wish the developers took more time to smooth out the edges.
Sound: The soundtrack is forgettable. Nothing that would stick in your head. However, the sound effects are vivid. You can hear it when your guns are devastating the enemy and when they are like bb guns. The English voice acting was a huge surprise. It wasn't just passable it was actually good. I'm normally a purest when it comes to RPGs but I decided to keep the Eng dub on for the whole play-through. Nolan North's performance of his character Vashyron (Vash) was top notch. The voice acting really brings out the characters which is important because the story doesn't help at all.
Control: The combat system is very similar to VP2 with a semi-real time combat. When your characters are not moving or attacking the enemies are not doing anything too. When you are attacking an enemy there might be a chance that you are breaking a "part" off of them. But that's where are the similarity end. I'm not going to explain the combat system because I'll need to write a thesis to explain it. But I guarantee that it is a very deep system. Here is link that kind of explains the combat system.
http://rpgland.com/sega/everything-youll-ever-need-to-know-about-resonance-of-fate-part-1-the-battle-system/
Final Comments: This game is probably going to the way of Valkyrie Profile Silmeria. The average gamer is probably never even going to hear or play this game. Like both Valkyrie Profiles it has a combat system that is like no other. Due to it's high difficulty and loose story it's not going to appeal to casual and/or story driven rpg players. I personally enjoyed this playing this game. But due to it is so different from other JRPGs I would recommend renting it before shelling out 60 bucks.