Woah, holy shiznit… I had to come back to place another review, as the one prior was entirely premature and I am in awe. I have just finished this game – wait until the half way point prior to making any judgments. It is FREAKING AWESOME. There are so many ideologies wrapped in this baby, and as long as you choose the hardest possible option you will love this for sure if you are a JRPG fan (of the jap fantasy kind) – or call me crazy.
There are some bits borrowed from other games here – but not enough for it to feel like a rip off, and lets face it many JRPG's share either Japanese mythology, ideologies and/or a mix of nature elements with future tech for balance (fantasy ones anyway).
This took me on so many turns after around about 70% into the game, and the small amount of anime movies (very short and not inclusive of cut scenes), were very well done.
Have only played through as Mila, but will give it a crack as Jude to fill in some of the blanks (but not just yet), I need to have a break and gain some of my life back. Keep pursuing with this, set it on hard and enjoy the ride – by the time its over you will not regret it. 9/10 – Awesome. (Only reason it is not getting a 10 is that the spot is reserved for Xenoblade in my heart!!!)