After about a month of "um"ing and "ah"ing over this, I impulsively decided on the day of its release to cave in and treat my PSP to a long-overdue escape from my desk drawer, and I have to say that I'm glad I did. I've been casually playing it for a week now and in my bid to keep some kind of 'order' to the game have been playing through the heroes in order of Final Fantasy number and am currently on Cecil.
My verdict:
Storyline - For the most part it seems to be the classic good vs evil story which is hard to get wrong. The presence of crystals adds a classic Final Fantasy feel to the game which is always a comfort when you're facing a completely new battle system. I also like the fact that the plot actually seems to be three-dimensional. It's not so much, good guys get crystals, good guys win, there's something that we don't know and have to try and draw out through the course of the game. HOWEVER. I am annoyed at some of the inconsistencies within the storyline. As some of the heroes carry out part of their journey in groups you'd expect to see certain events replayed which aren't (e.g. Play as Warrior of light and then Firion and you'll see what I mean). It's also a little tedious to watch the same cutscene after the completion of every character (this may change as I've only completed 3 and can't say for definite).
Battle system - Instead of the classic two people enter, beat the **** out of each other until one person dies, using a variety of different moves, you have instead a bravery system. The amount of bravery dictates how much damage you do to the opponent. You increase your bravery by using bravery attacks to steal bravery from your opponent and deal damage through offensive attacks (O and X buttons respectively). It sounds a little complicated but it's really easy to get the hang of and it actually works pretty well so I'll give them credit there. Summons are awesome but I'd have loved to see some cutscenes for them. Once again there is an overdrive mode, which requires EX Points to activate and a successful hit with an offensive move to execute. Sounds complicated, I know, but it isn't and once you get the hang of it it's really fun.
Levelling - Slow in my experience which means it takes an eternity to learn some new moves but I didn't find my level that crucial to victory.
The stages - Interesting set-up with a map laid out so you can plan your ideal route from start to end. Can't say I'm fond of the Destiny Points (which you spend to move spaces), they honestly seem like a waste of time. Either you'll be bother to collect / kill everything on the map or you won't, the strategy element seems wasteful. The downside, however, is that it feels a bit repetitive after a while.
And those are just some of the basic aspects of the game. The rest is better left to discovery if you decide to buy this game. It can seem very overwhelming at first (they throw a lot of different things at you pretty quickly) but once you get the hang of it, it's a great game and a fun way to kill a few hours replaying as some of your favourite FF chars (good and bad) in a new environment.
Personally, I really enjoyed the game and would recommend it.
8/10!