f13.net

Well? Don't make me go get a review from someone who is paid to write reviews...

So far, nothing in this game has struck me as extraordinarily groundbreaking.  You have up to eight characters in a battle, often facing off against superior enemy numbers.  The enemy AI is not particularly smart and can be easily tricked into sending off one or two characters at a time to be neatly finished off. Battles are slightly more challenging because of the elemental squares, which you can create and alter yourself through the use of magic or, if you’re patient enough, from the random movement of elemental wisps throughout some stages.

Each character starts off with a certain number of passive abilities to learn, using a communal skill point pool, but the game prevents you from having ridiculous characters early on by only slowly uncapping the levels at which you can refine these skills. Also, instead of buying weapons for each character, you simply upgrade their existing ones – this system is complete with its own level cap as well.

The gimmick to this game, as far as I can tell, is the large number of playable characters.  I’ve already used 13 characters, and I just discovered 6 more.  I already have as many people in my party as I did by the end of Final Fantasy Tactics.  The problem is that there seems to be little differentiation between them, aside from “mage,” “warrior” or “archer,” and you don’t seem able to jump classes with anyone.  I’m pretty sure they’re telling me to find characters I like and stick with them. That said, the game is still very fun to play.  There are lots of short, plot-related cut-scenes, and the battles are well thought-out and can be quite challenging when you’re forced to keep certain characters alive.  Plus, the voice acting is tolerable.  That alone is nearly enough to recommend it to any fans of the tactics genre.