A fresh turn from turn based styled RPGs? Or Repetitive boring game structure?
Lets see why:
Firstly i have to mention this game is VERY big, it therefore will happily last you quite awhile. Even nearing the end of the game theres a ton of secrets to do which require a bit of levelling up so all these taken into consideration, length wise its VERY nice.
However, on first glance this game is EXTREMELY fun with its free form battle structure and nice graphics(for a GBA conversion anyhow). The techniques and maneuvers you can use are really cool at first and you really think you have a winner in your hands in the first 1/3 of the game.
However then it goes all horribly wrong. First of all you notice your party is extremely retarded. They cast either the WRONG spell or just stand there doing nothing. So thats bad point number 1...not that big because its really all down to luck if your characters perform better etc and what spells they have.
The second MAJOR problem with this game is all the battles are PATTERNED...that is...if i meet the same set up of monsters i just fought and attacked them in the same way, the battle will play it JUST 100% like it did when i fought them the last time. So repetitiveness is a problem here.
Thirdly, however not a major problem, is the voice casting and translation. For FANS of the series this is going to be a major problem since alot of the names and text was translated...oddly. Also they replaced the voices with this English dub which sounds like some Lady whos going through a sex change...its horrible(in anycase most of its inaudible anyhow, like what the HELL does Mint say anyhow if she wins a battle!?)
So graphically, for the DS its quite cool, sound wise, very bad unfortunately. Also the story is fine, translation is a bit dodgy...repetitiveness of events or battles and the "where do we go next" problem can be REALLY annoying at times.
All-in-all, if you want something that is different from Final Fantasy and will last you awhile and dont mind bad english voice acting, then go ahead buy this, but if your a fan of the series...then prepare to shoot yourselves!
p.s...Mint...the healer in the game, NEVER bothers to heal you...what an idiot.