First off, this game came out the same day as Super Mario Galaxy in Japan. Koei had alot of confidence in this gem, especially when going up against a Mario title. I didn't get to buy this until a year after it had been released in America and I finally got around to playing it and WOW, was I crazy for waiting this long!
-Story-
Opoona's story could be summed up as the usual "cliche" RPG beginnings, although I highly disagree. I'm not gonna go into the story since I don't want to spoil anything. I will say, it takes a few hours before the the story gets interesting. There are no voice overs which in my opinion is a good thing because they probably would have given goofy voices for these characters and that would have been a letdown as Koei tends to get sometimes bad actors.
-Music-
What can I say, the main reason I bought this game was because Hitoshi Sakimoto who in the past has composed many beautiful scores such as Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, Tactics Ogre, Ogre Battle, Radiant Silvergun, Gradius V, Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter, FInal Fantasy XII, and the most recent Valkyria Chronicles. His friends from Basiscape, including his best friend Masaharu Iwata, lent a hand and they created something unique and special. It's a shame no official soundtrack was released because this is some of the best music I've heard in awhile and from Basiscape for that matter. I had to track down a Game rip soundtrack from the internet. The music has this futuristic, Phantasy Star Online feel to it which is a wonderful thing because that game was amazing.
-Gameplay-
This is probably what turned alot of people away from Opoona. "Who wants to play with just the nunchuk!?" Well, if you give it a chance, the battle system become quite fun and not a chore. Although to my knowledge, you can't run away from battles, which is kinda a letdown but the fact that you can wipe the enemies to the floor in a matter of seconds, is no big deal to me. There is also a 2:00 timer, which if you don't finish a battle within that time frame, your party is defeated and you return to town.
-Control-
You have the option of using the Nunchuk or the Classic Controller. I prefer using the default which is the Nunchuk. Moving around is smooth, although one complaint is that the camera can be a pain sometimes, you have the option of controller the camera, but you have to come to a complete stop, then hold "C" then move the camera around, although it's nothing to complain about really. Another thing that is kind of a letdown is no Time Clock. Most RPG's have some sort of time you've spent playing a game but not here, which is kind of weird.
-Extras-
Let me just say that you could probably finish the main quest in about 30-35 hours if you pace yourself pretty good. If you want to establish a 100% completion rating, well, have fun because it could take you around 100 hours or more. There are a TON of sidequests from the dozens of licenses to backtracking. I tried to complete everything and I made a second save file to go back and attempt more sidequests. From delivering food, to fishing, drilling for minerals and even catching sand weasels! If you are a completionist, then Opoona is your calling card!
-Finale-
I paid $20 for Opoona and I have to say, this was one of the best experiences I've had with a game since Shadow of the Colossus. I'm tired of these rehash First Person Shooters and Maddens every year, a game like Opoona, we may never see again for along time. Koei has a thing for sequels "Dynasty Warriors, Kessen, Samurai Warriors". Those were made by Omega Force, Opoona was made by Artepiazza but I hope they get together for a sequel. This game is now rare to find but if you're looking for something different, this is your best buy. My overall rating for Opoona is a 9/10 and that's because of a few things but nothing to ruin the game experience.
~Strong Points~
Good Story
Amazing soundtrack
Colorful cast of characters
Fun battle system
Tons of sidequests!
Crazy rogues (Monsters)
Simple controls
Long game
~Weak Points~
Sometimes awkward camera
No in-game clock
Somewhat of an "Easy" game
No running from battles
Sometimes you're left wandering where to go next
A lot of Backtracking
Battles can get hectic at times when you have a full party