I have a lot of love for Level-5, that much is obvious. With that out of the way early, let’s talk about Rogue Galaxy.

This is NOT Dark Cloud 3 in space, like you (read: me) were probably hoping for.

At the same time, it kind of is! This is much more of a spiritual successor/influence relationship. Complicated, but not really.

Visually, this game isn’t taking home any prizes. It also isn’t screaming “HD remake.” so don’t hold your breath there. Granted, some of the environments might take your breath away with their shear size, but don’t expect the mind blowing particle effects you’d have found in any of Square Enix’s games. You’ll be playing this gem for the story, the combat, the factory and the weapon synthesis…yo, this is a finely polished game. Everything from the menus to the collision detection is crisp. Gameplay feels like a much more fast paced, action-oriented variation of the style seen in the Dark Cloud titles, complete with secondary weapons.

The game features character development similar to Final Fantasy X’s Sphere Grid, called the Revelation Flow (above), which definitely sounds like a Lupe or Mos Def song. The Revelation Flow allows one to unlock abilities with the use of items rather than experience. This can either put you ahead of the game with a couple of lucky finds/drops off enemies, or put you behind, but the game is balanced enough to give you the items you need when you need them. You’ll very rarely find yourself under OR overpowered, unless you want to be. It’s far from perfect, but it doesn’t quite hinder your progress like many of its detractors might believe.

I’m bored though, so let me get down to brass tacks: this game is LONG, and it can get a bit droll at times. You might find yourself at a loss if you’re looking for sidequests, but the story more than makes up for this. You’ll love it if you need a good and hearty action JRPG to sink your teeth into.

Get it for cheap! Don’t sleep!