Better than expected, and good for father-son gaming
It's cool to be able to collect the different magic spells and ninjas as you go through. I especially like the nature scenes, like the rivers and forests, etc, and the combat all of which is very fun (but very kid friendly, I mean the enemies turn into animals when you defeat them). you never get lost b/c there's an arrow function that always tells you which way to go. The spells are very fun to use and collect, even though some of them are used far less (or never), but you want to collect them all for sure.
You'll like this game better if you have any affinity for Japanese culture, which we do b/c my wife is Japanese and my kids are half and half. Also, like I said my kid is going through a ninja phase although I would have a hard time believing that any kid, really, would not like this game. My adult brother and I also liked it a lot, so it counts as adult-friendly as well, I mean entertaining for adults. There is some Japanese language going on, but with subtitles (usually).
My only complaint is that the game is a little short, and some of the bosses are very easy to defeat, but then again I didn't want to spend that much time on the latter.
Overall, for the price, and considering the amount of entertainment that we're still getting out of it, it was an excellent purchase and rates 5 stars. As far as suggestions to improve, I think they should make it longer, and add some type of co-op at least, ideally some kind of online play as well. Aside from that, stick with what works, but regardless of what they do, if there is a sequel there is no question that this household will purchase it.