"Hehehe. You're too slow"
The gameplay is uncontrollably fun, I'll give the game that. Make a turn-based JRPG into a time-based game with chains for combos and you have Eternal Sonata. The learning curve is near perfect, and fans of composer Motoi Sakuraba will enjoy how much different his score is compared to his usual Star Ocean/Valkyrie Profile works. Specifically his boss pieces.
There's one big thing that hinders me from AAA this game. The story. Not that it is bad or anything, it brings up very good topics that apply to real life. However, side chatter doesn't cover the actual plot's need to be a bit more in your face. The game lacks any JRPG "wow" factor and instead has you make your own interpretation on the plot after a point.
The way they do it is near unacceptable.... though ironically interesting. If you're a fan of interesting gameplay mechanics for your role playing games, try this game out. Either through rent or through purchase. Seeing that I cleared the game in 26 hours on my first go and could easily master it in another 10 hours, I can't say it's a "must buy" for me.