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Probably the finest JRPG not made in Japan. Its strongest asset is writing and world-building in the tradition of the best western adventure games, with plenty of wry humor to make it a delight to read, hear, and watch, and yet tells a serious and engaging plot and builds a compelling and endlessly original sci-fi universe. Cut-scenes, of which there are many, are fantastically directed with the in-game camera and scripting system, and not one second of them is a dull or otherwise wasted moment. Semi-realtime combat uses a tactical positioning system that pleasingly resembles Panzer Dragoon Saga, and like Chrono Trigger, it has no random encounters or distracting fight scene transitions; battles occur on the same terrain that you explore. Adventure portions owe plenty to point & click adventures, though are fully 3D and still have the usual JRPG trappings. Tempo is quick, with varied and numerous locales, random NPCs always have something interesting or funny to say, the game never drags (after the somewhat slow opening world) with forced grinding or poor pacing, and side quests are consistently well thought out and worth doing for the experience. Shame it's a tad too easy, even on the hardest difficulty setting, and short, with an abrupt cliffhanger ending halfway into the story. Allegedly much of the late-game content was cut or unfinished thanks to budget and deadline issues.
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