It really isn't THAT bad. Oh, it's horribly flawed, but it's rare that a game's plot has me this hooked. That mid-game twist is pulled off awesomely! And the moments where your party is depleted are awesome. If you have a full party, you can bash through everything...but if you're only controlling 1-2 characters, enemy luring and combo-working become essential. The section where Flece rescues Joseph is simply awesome because of that!