Think I might pick that up, Jman. Love the sound of a tough JRPG.
You've been warned
Its probably not the hardest JRPG ever, but the learning curve is very very steep... if you keep with it you'll find one most intriguing and unique JRPGs to date... I picked it up for £8ish for a like new copy on ebay.
Been playing it like crazy today, I think I can say I've mastered the battle system now.. probably took me a lot longer than it should, but my defiance to not go back to the training arena was finally worn down.. and I realised I'd been playing like a n00b for the past 10 hours... I've blasted through chapters 5, 6 and 7 today.. and Im hooked. The story is fairly nondescript so far, in fact its only in the last few chapters I've actually seen any of what you would call the main plot and its told by flashbacks at the end of each chapter... but I have chuckled quite a few times at some of the cut-scenes, in fact, the dialogue is brilliant - some of the best... and some of the characters are brilliant too.. theres a mentally challenged Cardinal called Master Pater (lol) who is just hilarious.
I thought the battles were getting easier earlier after I mastered the system.. but the difficulty is rising all the time and some of the battles are a real challenge. The only thing I dont particularly like about the game is that you have to customize your weapons regularly and its a chore and I havent quite fully understood how all the parts fit together on the guns... I will probably have to read a bit more about it online as it does make a big difference. I love the world map system, its brilliant, the only thing I would change is the time it takes to get from one level to another as it does become a chore going from a lower level to one of the higher levels to pick up a quest which sends you back down to lower levels.. using elevators are quick and easy but you have to use the core lifts quite a bit and they take too long imo.
Definitely recommend it.. I dont think its as good as Lost Odyssey but I think I prefer RoF to Blue Dragon... its so different it feels refreshing.. so glad I picked this title up.
Edit - a good professional
review here.. like it says - if you like RPGs and can stick with this game - it gets a 9/10.. otherwise its a 7/10 because of the inaccessibility of it. I literally cannot wait to dive back into the game.. I havent been this hooked on a JRPG since Lost Odyssey/Blue Dragon - Im going to do some weapon customization tonight - I really need to sit down and work out what Im doing with all that before I continue on.