A great game, though not without its faults of course. Specifics as follows:

PROS:
- Fascinating and engaging storyline with very little in the way of plot holes and the like.
- Some of the best dialogue I've ever seen in a JRPG - period. I don't joke when I say the writing puts most of Square Enix's work to shame.
- Outstanding characterization. This game has some of the best developed characters I've seen in an RPG. After about 15 hours of gameplay, you start to feel very close to the characters and you'll smile or feel saddened when they succeed or fail. And it's not just the main protoganists either, but also the supporting cast.
- Gameplay is easy to get into and is fun to play around with.
- Charming art style

CONS:
- Though the dialogue is well written, sometimes conversations can go on a bit TOO long and wind up coming off as padding for the game's running time.
- Occasionally buggy user interface. IE: Sometimes an item's description won't show up in the text box so you wind up wondering what the hell that item does.
- Map design is a bit linear.
- Not a whole lot in terms of extra things to do like mini games or what not. A small gripe.
- The music (most of the time) is mediocre at best and flat out teeth grinding at worst. The tracks play on a very short loop and do not age well after the 20th time you've heard them. The game does have a FEW good tracks though.


Overall, I highly recommend this game to anyone, especially if you're a fan of old school style JRPG's. It includes all the tropes one would be used to with the genre and expands it to make something unique. I'm looking forward to starting the sequel, which I purchased immediately following the ending to this game.

A great game, though not without its faults of course. Specifics as follows: PROS: - Fascinating and engaging storyline with very little in the way of plot holes and the like. - Some of the best dialogue I've ever seen in a JRPG - period. I don't joke when I say the writing puts most of Square Enix's work to shame. - Outstanding characterization. This game has some of the best developed characters I've seen in an RPG. After about 15 hours of gameplay, you start to feel very close to the characters and you'll smile or feel saddened when they succeed or fail. And it's not just the main protoganists either, but also the supporting cast. - Gameplay is easy to get into and is fun to play around with. - Charming art style CONS: - Though the dialogue is well written, sometimes conversations can go on a bit TOO long and wind up coming off as padding for the game's running time. - Occasionally buggy user interface. IE: Sometimes an item's description won't show up in the text box so you wind up wondering what the hell that item does. - Map design is a bit linear. - Not a whole lot in terms of extra things to do like mini games or what not. A small gripe. - The music (most of the time) is mediocre at best and flat out teeth grinding at worst. The tracks play on a very short loop and do not age well after the 20th time you've heard them. The game does have a FEW good tracks though. Overall, I highly recommend this game to anyone, especially if you're a fan of old school style JRPG's. It includes all the tropes one would be used to with the genre and expands it to make something unique. I'm looking forward to starting the sequel, which I purchased immediately following the ending to this game.