Keep in mind this is a quick review to help people decide if the game is worth a look at this price. I've played about thirty minutes or so thus far, but I will keep updating this review as I come across more parts of the game.

Agarest is a fantasy tactical role playing game, much like Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem. Straight out of the heart of Japan with its flashy style and exaggerated character designs, this game drew me in right away with its setting and characters. It leads to a slow start; the game making sure that it introduces the characters and teaches you about the combat for thirty minutes minutes before FINALLY getting into the good stuff in regards to the story and character creation wasn't a good call, but it lays the groundwork for the story ahead.

The real problem isn't the length of the opening in and of itself, though. It's the tutorial segments. The tutorial is drawn out and doesn't teach you anything you wouldn't know from playing any tactical role playing game. The characters and writing are on full display as you're taught the mechanics, making sure that you're at least slightly entertained, and they give you what you should well expect: flashy and fun attacks with all of the functionality you should expect from a game like this. But it's only exactly what you'd expect, and if you're going to demand total attention from the player like this, you need to be introducing things that players wouldn't know off the bat, and it just doesn't have any features like that in that first segment.

Eventually, it does get into some new features, but at the time of writing, after going at this game for nearly an hour, I'd only just finished the tutorial and I'd only learned two things from the game that I wouldn't have known otherwise from playing other ones. Just two. When this game says 60-80 hours, it means it, but if this is the way that they're going to stretch out the playtime, I'm a bit wary. Still, they were able to cram a good bit of story in that time, too, and I actually rather enjoy it so far!

This is a story-driven game, and make no mistake, it shows clear signs of the style it was drawn in. From only being voice acted in Japanese, to the tropes that are made evident from the first moments of the game, it is made clear from the get go that this is a game that's going to follow the trends of anime in regards to its story and characters. If you aren't fond of that, you may be better off looking elsewhere for your fantasy tactical role-playing game fix. But I am, and trust me, you have never seen a game that makes you think that you're watching an episode of anime more when you get past that tutorial and start the first boss fight. It's surreal to watch.

From what I can tell, you're going to be in for an anime style game with stylish combat and a kickass story. If the story doesn't grab you, you're going to be waiting a long time for gameplay to kick in, because you have to go through a LOT of dialogue, but the gameplay itself is solid , and I can already tell the combo system is going to lead to plenty of fun down the road.

First impressions? Grab it.

Keep in mind this is a quick review to help people decide if the game is worth a look at this price. I've played about thirty minutes or so thus far, but I will keep updating this review as I come across more parts of the game. Agarest is a fantasy tactical role playing game, much like Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem. Straight out of the heart of Japan with its flashy style and exaggerated character designs, this game drew me in right away with its setting and characters. It leads to a slow start; the game making sure that it introduces the characters and teaches you about the combat for thirty minutes minutes before FINALLY getting into the good stuff in regards to the story and character creation wasn't a good call, but it lays the groundwork for the story ahead. The real problem isn't the length of the opening in and of itself, though. It's the tutorial segments. The tutorial is drawn out and doesn't teach you anything you wouldn't know from playing any tactical role playing game. The characters and writing are on full display as you're taught the mechanics, making sure that you're at least slightly entertained, and they give you what you should well expect: flashy and fun attacks with all of the functionality you should expect from a game like this. But it's only exactly what you'd expect, and if you're going to demand total attention from the player like this, you need to be introducing things that players wouldn't know off the bat, and it just doesn't have any features like that in that first segment. Eventually, it does get into some new features, but at the time of writing, after going at this game for nearly an hour, I'd only just finished the tutorial and I'd only learned two things from the game that I wouldn't have known otherwise from playing other ones. Just two. When this game says 60-80 hours, it means it, but if this is the way that they're going to stretch out the playtime, I'm a bit wary. Still, they were able to cram a good bit of story in that time, too, and I actually rather enjoy it so far! This is a story-driven game, and make no mistake, it shows clear signs of the style it was drawn in. From only being voice acted in Japanese, to the tropes that are made evident from the first moments of the game, it is made clear from the get go that this is a game that's going to follow the trends of anime in regards to its story and characters. If you aren't fond of that, you may be better off looking elsewhere for your fantasy tactical role-playing game fix. But I am, and trust me, you have never seen a game that makes you think that you're watching an episode of anime more when you get past that tutorial and start the first boss fight. It's surreal to watch. From what I can tell, you're going to be in for an anime style game with stylish combat and a kickass story. If the story doesn't grab you, you're going to be waiting a long time for gameplay to kick in, because you have to go through a LOT of dialogue, but the gameplay itself is solid , and I can already tell the combo system is going to lead to plenty of fun down the road. First impressions? Grab it.