Currently Online 
I played it for four hours today. This game is just as I expected it to be, so far. A polished open-world Xenosaga game with decent gameplay and slightly better pacing (so far.) The pacing and writing are more like Xenosaga than Xenoblade Chronicles or Xenogears, but a few of the problems with Xenosaga are fixed, while a few I can tell will remain. The barrack room reminds me of the conference room in Yggdrasil in Xenogears, and the mechs give so much Xenogears nostalgia when you see them in game. The characters are very down to Earth and normal, rather than explicitly special, which was a trait of Xenosaga that I distinguish from Xenogears/Xenoblade Chronicles. That can be a good or bad thing.
I am not bothered with the customizable NPC to be honest. It helps fit the plot and gameplay to have one (everything can be introduced as if it is new.)
Since I already spoiled myself on most of the story twists months ago, it is interesting to me how early they are foreshadowing some things in-game, but that is Monolith Soft for you. (Non-explicit spoiler/hint) Also you can kind of see foreshadowing in the character designs. That is all I will say about that.
