This game is good ignore the demo!!
Alot of the game depends on how you play it.. If you play on easy then you can jus sit there and mash the button and win, but if you play on hard you can mash till your fingers are blue and you will not live that long. If you set control to manual then u cant aim and hit mostly since its all user control, but if you set it to semi-auto you can actually do combos and fight normaly. However in manual you can do strategic things like powering up and using projectiles from far away.. As I said, it depends on how you play it.
Now the bad.
It takes a while till the game picks up and u are having alot of fun. You need the characters to get together before you are playing the real game. Also if you are new to the Tales series, you are gonna have to get used to the battle system before you can enjoy the roles of the characters and get the combo system down.. Its real time combat, and on hard they will fight dirty and double and triple team you.. no honor in computer AI.
If you hate anime, or if you dont like rpg's but like action games, you should rent it and see how u feel.. just give it time to get going.
If you like rpg's or like the tales series, then what are you waiting for?! This is the best in the tales series. Yes it is even better then Tales of Symphonia, but not by alot. Thats a whole differnt discussion.lol If you arent sure dont be swayed by the demo, try out the game. Rent it or whatever but that demo sucks man, I admit that. That is all I have SPOKEN^.^