Well it's a strategy RPG; a cross between Riglord Saga and Dragon Force. The main character is a female warrior who must bring up a young prince and at the same time rid the world of the bad guys. The characters are something of the European type with knights, witches, goblins, pikemen, guys with wigs etc and are a refreshing change from the usual stereotype RPG characters.

The intro is one of the best I have ever seen. Not in terms of quality but presentation. You definitely have to see it for yourself. I watch it every time before I play to get me in the mood. Traditional bitmapped graphics here, no polygon is sight. Everything in the game is very detailed though sometimes the graphics can be too dark. Some more colors would have helped a lot. Doesn't really look 32-bit but it's not 16-bit either. However, the characters are drawn pretty well during the battle scenes. The artwork is not anime type but looks like something from the renaissance period. (Realistically drawn characters).

The music is pretty good and is well suited for the game, There's a lot of speech. The soldiers shout before they charge, you can here the springs being released when the catapults are launched, etc etc. You can even hear the sound of the characters' feet crushing the leaves when they walk! The characters always say something before they launch their spells.

The gameplay is really incredible. Like Dragon Force, each character has a group of 'soldiers' with them. You choose them yourself and they really influence your range, speed, power, etc. Examples of 'soldier' are cavalry, catapults, giants, crows, and monkeys. The battle field is divided into squares like Riglord Saga and each character, along with his men is limited to a certain amount of steps. However each character can move a few times depending on the formation used and the 'soldiers'. Some formations put more emphasis on defense, attack etc. Your range is also affected. So you have to choose your formations wisely. Where your character faces is also important. In the Riglord Saga/Shining Force games, you could face anywhere and no matter where you're enemy attacked you from, you'll always be facing them. Well, in this game can only face one direction when you stop. That means that your enemy can attack you from the front, left , right or back! To retreat, you need a square to move back on so the enemy can trap you and attack you with projectiles. Terrain plays an integral part of the game and really influences the battle. For example, it is ideal to situate your catapults on high ground so that it is easier to hammer any approaching enemy. You can only see the enemy when you are close to them and they appear as shadows when you are far.

Also movement attacking, etc, basically everything you do drains your elan, which is sort of like your spirit meter. This plays an important role in your damage as well as your movement. You always have to conserve your elan and sometimes you have to restore your elan instead of attacking.

There are no healing or MP recovery herbs in the game. Instead, the makers have opted for something more strategic. On the battlefield, there are certain stones on which you have to stand on to heal. Unfortunately, you are only healed 100 hp and 100 elan per round. Secondly, these healing stones are situated near the enemy and expose you to danger.

There is really a lot of strategy involved in this game and the battles last for more than one hour, sometimes reaching two hours. The down side is that there is no exploring, only dialogue between battles. You can also choose your path but basically it's one of two choices.

Another good thing about the gameplay is that the game is divided into campaigns and each campaign consists of 4-6 battles. Any character who dies will not be rejuvenated until the campaign is over. So you cannot take risks or make sacrifices.

During the game you have to educate the young prince which adds a bit of variety.

Because the battles are very, very long, I doubt anyone would want to play the game again. However you have to make certain choices in the game which will affect the outcome.

Since the game is in Japanese, I don't really know the story but basically it's just battle, some chatting with your advisors, the young prince and then off to battle. Nothing exceptional.

Overall : an above average RPG and highly recommended to any RPG enthusiast. Some may be put off by the lack of eye-candy but those looking for a strategy rpg with a difference and excellent gameplay will be pleased. Knowledge of Japanese is not essential to play the game though it would help. A lot of the options are in kanji so it was easier for me to understand the game. However, I cannot seem to kill the final boss even though I've managed to weaken her to her last drop of energy. Can somebody help me with this? IMO definitely the best RPG ever in terms of battle gameplay.