I don't get the bad reviews...guess I'm just a sucker for these type of games.
The story is pretty nonsensical....I still don't know what the hell it's about, but I really don't care. I just have a good time with the gameplay and building my character. After you beat the game on normal, the hard mode is unlocked and so on. That way, you can continue advancing your hero and finding more powerful items.
My recommendation is to start the game with Leinheart (the pretty boy vampire). He is nimble and quick while still being decently strong (use a sword that recovers SP fast for one weapon (for up close battles) and one of the sickle and chain(for distance) for the other weapon slot. The other characters are either veeery slow or very weak (the elf girl really sucks in my opinion). Ok...that's about it for this one. Peace.