Also for the record…the reason this game gets shat on so heavily is BECAUSE of how unique it is…it doesn’t meet people’s standards of platform adventures or RPG’s….and if you bother to equip Layle with some better gear, his “inaccurate” powers actually do become more accurate, and grueling battles will go by much faster (especially if you experiment as the game encourages and find ways to exploit hidden enemy weaknesses).

The Wii controls are great; they just demand mastering. This game requires that you get as familiar as possible with every aspect the Wii-mote and Nunchuck have to offer. After getting used to the ambidextrous controls, manipulating the camera while pointing at a target, holding the B button, and running around with the nunchuck and using the Z button there to also manipulate the camera, all in a fast paced battle environment, becomes an intuitive challenging joy.

Clearly whoever wrote this review simply played the game for the sake of having something to write a review for, and did not approach this game with an open mind…pegging the music and voice acting like that was definitely unnecessary. The review also managed to neglect the fact that this game sports some of the best graphics the wii’s ever seen to date.

And the characters do NOT speak poorly or in broken sentences…it’s much better than what you’ll find in most anime translations and dubs, that’s for sure. I’d say it’s definitely better than the voice acting job done in FFX.

If you enjoyed any post N64 and beyond Zelda games and the intrigue and rush of Sonic Adventure, you’ll love this, bottom-line.

And here’s some of that “unmemorable” music – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4WdYTlC-Dg

Don’t listen to this snob, or any other snobs for that matter; give this game a chance (for more than 15 minutes), through the story. You won’t be disappointed.

I greatly enjoyed the game beginning to end, mainly because I didn’t come in with any expectations. It is true that the controls and gameplay are less innovative than the other Crystal Chronicles games, but it also takes some of the guess work out. Charged attacks and magic were a bit of a liability, and while fun, could lead to frustration in later levels.

One thing that was left out of this review is that while battles involve mostly point-and-grab attacks, there is a bit of stategy behind it. Yes, you can beat the monsters by just throwing them back and forth until they die. But many times, they either have a weak-point that must be targeted (usually a large one), or can be taken control of to attack. An early example (to avoid spoilers) is in the Forgotten Woods, where Roller Bugs can be smashed together to form balls that can be used as weapons. Also, attempting to waggle Flans to death only results in them splitting apart, and they reform quickly. Other strategies have to be used to defeat a lot of monsters in time besides the grab-and-toss method.

This is admittedly not a game for everyone, but I would suggest at least renting it long enough to get a feel of it. And the 25 hour 100% completion may be a bit too quick of an estimate. Maybe if you know where everything is (all the medals, items, etc.), but most monster encounters have two campaigns – one with more basic monsters, and another with a Boss thrown in.

Not at all ligh a main series Final Fantasy, for sure, but to me that’s part of the appeal.