STeelMyst

Playable, but not worth the full price of a newly released game, would sum up my opinion. After playing for nearly 8 hours already, I can say that the game lacks direction in any meaningful sense. I will admit that the combat is satisfyingly challenging, and entertaining. It's just complex enough (later on) that having the same 3 fights over and over isn't a complete bore. Unfortunately, the game is an unbreakable montage of exactly that: with the exception of the now-and-again boss monster, the mobs are repetitive. It would not be so bad if the level grinding were not such a dice roll: there is no indication of progress, and leveling anything up at all appears to be based at least halfway on chance. To lend credence to this point: I currently have one character with over 20 unlocked/learned skills and spells, and the remainder barely have 10, despite having been in all the same battles and, in one case, used all of the same equipment. Many people have mentioned that the story is transparent, if there at all, and the characters are bland. I agree completely. Nothing will attach you to the characters beyond their individual opening scenes, which only play for the one you select as the main character. The world has lore, though all of it is given as relatively vague poetry, and explains nothing of note. Be cautious of reviews giving high marks and downplaying the vast 'emptiness' of this game by claiming "it will not hold your hand, the game is challenging for a reason, etc." I have played many games with much more difficult and frustrating content, and even games with much more useless (or utterly missing) tutorials and explanations. Those sorts of games can be fun, as long as they have redeeming traits, such as interesting characters, a story (any would be a plus), rewarding grinding (not a lottery of skills and spells you might level up or master at random), or something other than a unique combat system. Final score. 3/10. It's a pretty game, has good music, and an interesting combat system. It lacks very nearly everything else, unfortunately. If 'JRPG' stood for 'Japanese Repetitive Pointless Grindfest,' I would give it a perfect score. Buy this game for a unique combat system, and nothing else. Definitely buy it used, or borrow it from someone unfortunate enough to have already paid for it, like I did.