Yea I have to admit some of the information given to get from a to b is very vague and can leave you stumped for a while... when in fact its actually pretty simple task.
Some of the fetch quests you do for people are boring, and getting to activate a lot of them requires you to use the CONNECT system in town.. Basically you have to try with as many different characters as you can when talking to villagers because (as the saying goes) people react differently to other people.. so this is done through trial and error.
The game also got bad reviews because it mentioned that you have a lot of people joining your team and therefore the micro-managing is monotonous.. but if they actually read the manual those reviewers would have discovered that if you press the Y button it automatically equips characters with the best equipment...
it took me 36 hours just to do the first disc but then I was spending a lot of time exploring, farming enemies for rare item drops, levelling up characters, levelling up battle skills, magic, creation skills and fetch quests.
Yes the game does have a lot for you to dislike but once you get used to it, it does become enjoyable. It is possible to button mash but if you don't use some sort of tactics then it will end up becoming frustrating.. ie players when it gets mobby you should use hit and run tactics rather than just charging in..
Also I quite liked the way some of the monsters don't get along with each other and you can sneaking hide behind something and watch them fight.
the games graphics do get better the further you get along in the game.. and I think the humour has a really nice charm to it. I'm also really getting into the story and I really starting to like all the characters but you do wish some of them would get fleshed out as equally as the main ones .. Although you can get some small details to appear from them if you take them around town talking to people and getting different reactions but that is a little time consuming.
I also really like the battle system and even though you don't have a button to block attacks.. as your characters level up more and more they will improve the chance to auto guard some of the normal attacks although it IS quite rare for them to do this and parrying (using the DEFLECT DRIVE system) attacks really requires precision timing which is impossible to pull of a lot of the time unless you really do eat and sleep with this game.
Anyway I think the game still has lots to unlock but that mileage depends on the individual playing.. and I don't want to make this wall-o-text much longer than it needs too.
But anyway I personally would give it 8/10. Its not perfect but its not broken either. Just need to dig a little deeper to see its treasures. Also the first couple of hours of this game feels like its some of the worst game designs you'll ever encounter.. once you get past this ordeal it starts to pick up.
(mostly)
