A fun and challenging strategy experience.
The story of Rondo of Swords has it's moments but it's mostly just an excuse to get into the battles. The controls work quite well whether you're using the dpad/buttons or the stylus. The gameplay is a bit different than most strategy rpgs as you can move and attack multiple enemies at once which is great because the battles in Rondo of Swords move quickly. And that's a good thing because you might be repeating some of them a few times. The good thing though is that you can restart battles and you will keep all the experience points that you have earned unless the main character dies. This game is the most difficult strategy rpg I have played in quite some time and it is refreshing after all the easier games that have come out recently.
You need to think ahead because a wrong move will have your characters being slaughtered. Throughout the course of the game you will recruit many characters and you many choices of how to use your party. The characters that you don't send into battle are useful as well because they can be sent to go shopping, take on quests, or train during battle.
One unusual aspect here is the shopping as you can't choose what to buy yourself. You choose a character to buy/sell and they may or may not be successful. They can lose items/money on the way or get you much more than you might expect. The system works alright but I prefer being to able to choose what items I spend money on.
There is quite a bit of replay value to Rondo of Swords as there are multiple endings and it will take a few playthroughs to see all the game has to offer. Overall the game is very good but could have used some extra polish. I really hope there will be a sequel that is more polished because the gameplay is fun and there isn;t much like it. The game has unique and satisfying gameplay but if you're looking for great visuals or an epic story than you out of luck.