Very deep, with tons of character customization, weapons, armor, clan attributes...truly the best tactics entry to date.
A lot to do and find in job quest format. Huge variety of armor, weapons, items to 'collect'. Over 50 distinct job classes to try out. Tried-and-true tactics format.
The Bad:
Judge rules can be annoying at times. "Random" equipment making can be tedious.
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Leave it to Square Enix to improve on an already great format. When FFT was first released, I thought there was little they could do next that would be better than that tight format. While not a perfect RPG for the DS, I cannot understand GS's official review being so tepid, considering that this game really does have it all in a Tactics title:
-tons of quests in a semi-open format,so you cherry pick what to do from a list at the 'pub'
-55 job classes to try means you can play the game at least 10 times with completely different job classes all around.
-lots and lots of stats for the players/clans that have large effects on how the battles play out
Despite the fact that there are tons of numbers and figures to pay attention to, Square has made it easy to ignore these things and just jump into battles. Switching jobs is as easy as clicking a menu button, provided your character has the prerequisite skills, and the brilliant mixing of skills from different job classes is intact here, allowing you to have spell-casting soldiers or melee-heavy magic users.
Suffice it to say that this is a very very deep and long-lasting tactics game, with plenty to keep you busy from the get-go. Add to that the fact that the game is very easy on the eyes (approaches PSP-quality pixelization), and the soundtrack is appropriately medievel, and you have a recipe for 50-100 hours of questing tactics-style. It comes as close to Tactics Ogre for depth of customization that I've seen so far.
The .5 off a score of a perfect 10 is due to the fact that if it isn't a game named 'Tactics Ogre', it just isn't quite perfect. No, OK, it's the judges rules that put me off a bit, some of which are impossible to satisfy (no hits for more than a miniscule amount of points, for example). Although it doesn't appear in my version that the enemy can violate the rules for you, thankfully, it does mean that at times you will not be taking home the extra goodies promised for following the rules. Note that this doesn't mean you fail if you break the rules, so this one is not a deal-breaker by any stretch.
In summary, if you feel like you're burned out on FFT titles, you will be missing something special by avoiding this title. It really actually truly is a step-up from the other turn-based rpgs out there (including other final fantasy games), and is a must-own for tactics hounds, if only for the sheer volume of possibilities of party mixes.