Not the best or most original RPG, but certainly worth playing for fans of the genre.
Gameplay:
(Good): Combat is quick and fast-paced
(Good): This isn't much downtime as battles, though random, are seamless and save points act as teleporters allowing you to get anywhere, fast.
(Good): Combining weapons and unique skill trees for each character keep you engaged in your characters' development
(Bad): Combat can get boring after a while; Dungeons are long and repetitive
(Bad): The combat is also awkwardly balanced in that healing potions are cheap, but enemies can kill your characters in 2-3 hits, meaning that you'll be spending a lot of time in your inventory. Spells are also very overpowered and MP is very easy to get.
(Bad): The camera is often hard to control during battle and can get stuck in awkward positions in narrow dungeons.
(Bad): Very limited AI customization (four options: attack one same target, fight separately, stay back, and go all out. That's it.) and party AI dies constantly
Graphics:
(Good): Character models are really well designed. Costumes and weapons are displayed on the characters and they look amazing.
(Good): The anime-like CG cutscenes are beautiful.
(Bad): Though the set pieces of the dungeons look good individually, they are constantly repeated.
Sound:
(Good): Voice acting is nearly flawless all across the board. Sound effects are spot on.
(So-so): Background music is fitting, but not memorable.
(So-so): The active chat feature, which makes your party members utter various remarks related to the situation, is often used well and enhances the immersion. Sometimes, however, it does just the opposite: "Shouldn't you save soon?", asked one of the party members when I hadn't saved in a while.
(Bad): The dialogue itself is inconsistent. The lines range from very-well written to flatout bad.
Value:
(Good): The main story arc takes around 30-40 hours to complete and there are a wealth of sidequests and mini-games to undertake, including "insectron", one of the deepest mini-games I've seen since Blitzball.
(Bad): The storyline has some really interesting ideas, but for the most part, it's pretty cliched and does not really warrant a second playthrough.
Last Words:
Overall, Rogue Galaxy maybe didn't quite live up to my lofty expectations, but it was still a very solid game. If you liked the Dark Cloud games or just enjoy Action-RPGs in general, this is definetly a game worth picking up.