Rogue Galaxy is amazingly appealing in a diverse range of aspects.
The gameplay in Rogue Galaxy is one of the many qualities that has drawn me in, "immersed me" I guess. The combat is real time, and full party yet some how feels RPG-ish. This game is no normal "hack n slash"- because if one just starts to button mash, and not think through his moves, he could die in a matter of seconds. A lot of the battles in the game, including some bosses, last less than 60 seconds because of the pace of the game. And, like a said before, although it is real time, it feels like an RPG.
The character development is also very intriguing. Some say that the way of developing abilities is very similar to the License Points in Final Fantasy XII, they're wrong about that as well. The characters learn abilities through their Revelation Flow. Each character has his Revelation Flow where that character's specific abilities and traits can be accessed/ earned. The chart starts off being filled with lots of empty spaces, with only about three spaces that resemble the shape of an item in the game. Drop the right item into the box, and it lights up and you're that far away from learning the new ability. Some abilities and attributes may only have one box to fill while others up to 10. But once you unlock the ability more empty spaces open up, allowing access to newer attributes and abilities.
Along with this entertaining way of developing abilities, there's also a weapon fusion section that lets the player level up two current weapons to their max (which I believe is around 20 victories for one weapon), and create a new weapon out the two. Very much like the Dark Cloud series. There are also factory systems (which are much like the diorama) and there are insectron tournaments which are much like the fish races in Dark Cloud as well.
Rogue Galaxy is over-all visually stunning using beautiful cel-shade art and amazing in-game graphics. Cut scenes are just as good. The C-G's are astoundingly brilliant, radiant with wonder and magnificence, which are very pleasing and enjoyable.
Tomohito Nishiura did an excellent job in Rogue Galaxy as far as composing music that captured the feel and mood of each location and event (Tomohito Nishiura has also worked on the Star Ocean series as well). The music never really got annoying or repetitive and frankly my only complaint is the music that plays while in combat may seem a little repetitive and arid after a while, but who cares about that because we should be focusing on playing not listening right?
The Cast in Rogue Galaxy, in my opinion, could have been a little better. Mostly through the game I found myself not playing with some of the characters mainly because I found the others more "self gratifying", having better abilities, characteristics, and story. But this is all in my opinion. Jaster Rogue is the main protagonist of the story. The all-around guy, who's mainly well balanced, raised an orphan by a priest, Jaster dreams of going into space and seeing the galaxy. Zegram. The "Lone Wolf" kind of guy, who is mysterious, and we don't know much of his past. He enjoys being a mercenary and he's the damage-dealer, Bushido kind-of guy.
Simon. The friendliest pirate one would ever come across in the galaxy. He doesn't like to talk about his past much, but other than that he's very sociable. C'mon people he has a freakin missile pod launcher and a Scottish accent! How cool is that? Unfortunately, his awesome dialect and arsenal do not make him a trustworthy party member, being short, slow, and uneasy.
Steve. Steve is a robot A.I. who tends to be more of a defensive character, being he has abilities that strengthen defenses. But in my opinion I found him down-right annoying just because of his being so sucky at attacking air-borne enemies, and his naïve personality. I got annoyed of him real fast. But hey this is all in my opinion. If you like him well than more power to you. To each his own.
Lilika. She's a primitive- tribal warrior whose main weapon is a bow and hatchet. Go figure. She's some-what o.k. because of her team-buffing and status-effecting abilities which make her a well- rounded support model. No wonder she's so good, she has a whole team's worth of artillery.
Kisala. The Captain Dorgengoa's daughter. She fights with short-ranged daggers, yet swift, agile, and aggressive. Although being a pirate, she seems very compassionate and kindhearted. I found her a very trustworthy ally.
Jupis. Gosh I hate this guy. He's a five-foot lizard and an over- all coward. I found this guy even more annoying than Steve, and really his abilities/attributes suck. I'm still wondering why level 5 thought about making such a crappy character. "too each his own" (one more time).
Deego. One thing to say: BAD-***. This guy's amazing. He fights with a giant double edged axe, he weighs probably 700 lbs. (1400 kilos), and about 8 feet tall. He has amazingly good reach, and hits freakin hard. Disregarding his frame, he's not lacking in speed at all. He also has some amazing abilities that can really help in tight situations.
I found the story surprisingly good, (I won't spoil anything in any case). The game was very addicting to me, with an enjoyable plot and design. The game should take minimally 40 hours to pass. But if you want EVERYTHING, probably around 100 hours.
I really hope this review will "spur" you to buy the game….and play it. I'm just trying to share the beauty.