[quote name='thelonepig']
I picked it up from Kmart for $7 and it was an enjoyable, if somewhat overblown, 45 hours of gameplay. For some reason the characters/story really grated on me, but there are others that swear by it.[/quote]
Wow, it's like you're reading my mind--this is exactly how this game rubbed me, too. The characters were pretty stagnant, the story was pretty dull, and the combat became VERY monotonous; however, the fantastic graphics, addicting dungeon crawling, and simplistic crafting system kept me plugging along until I finished the game.
IMHO, Level 5 is one of the few JRPG companies to rival Squenix, and I sure wish that they'd get moving on their next-gen offerings!
In summary: well worth $20, but not a ton more.