The story won't blow you off your feet when it comes to originality. Especially in the beginning of this epic game it looks like all possible clichés will pass by. Memory loss, the archetypes of heroes (An average Joe Schmuck, a princess and the necessary fighters) and a lost kingdom, you know the drill. After a couple of hours, however, things start to become interesting and you keep playing because you get to know your characters better and deeper, something you don't often see in a game. Of course it is and remains a JRPG so don't expect the freedom of f.i. Fallout 3 but for that you've got... Fallout 3.

That the game manages to interest isn't the slightest thanks to the very goodlooking graphics that bring the even more beautiful art to life. Especially the characters with their very detailed, colorful and sexy outfits could please me. Also the animations are done really well and you finally don't get to hear the conversations from two talking heads but you constantly get your entire party on the screen. The surroundings don't do worse either; sharp textures were used to bring these to life and there's also no lack of colors, variation and a unique style. The music itself may be a bit less succesful but still qualitatively good enough in its genre, and the sound effects are really well-defined.

Another strong point of the game are the real-time fights that for me are using one of the best systems I've got to use in this type of game. The makers have found a very good and balanced solution where you can go forward quickly, there's plenty of action to be found, but where you still get to use enough strategy. It's also easy to start a fight, or evade or even stop one. Neat!

By doing standard attacks you collect Kan, some sort of energy. Once you've done enough, you go into overdrive mode which makes your attacks a lot more powerful. However, you'll constantly have to switch between different party members to prevent "overheating". If you keep a close eye on that you'll be able to use the different characters and their specific skills and perks for even bigger damage y using "chaining" where you thanks to a correct timing can recuperate faster and attack again. Very nice and it keeps the combat exciting as you constantly have to try to find the balance between overheating and overdrive.

Of course there's also other stuff can be done next to the combat, amongst others thanks to the crafting system. However, this isn't as deep as in other games where there's a bigger focus on all kinds of sidequests and alternative mechanisms to keep you occupied with. The available sidestories and missions are well worked out and often give interesting gear and weapons. A result of this is that the main story is very big and a lot of fun to play, but lovers of replayability in RPGs may be disappointed that there isn't much else to do. But of course, for that we have... Fallout 3!