The story is extremely simple - the appeal is in the details. The game's takes place in a colorful, detailed world. The cartoony characters and enemies have sprung to life; the setting makes it all look so natural. Nene may be purple and wear a dress, but he breathes out a believable malevolence not seen in RPG villains for years, as he calmly details his plans to manipulate the entire planet's population for his own personal gain. The expressiveness of Shu and pals, and the action-packed cinemas cement the sense of wonder.
The most important thing about RPGs is that two-sided coin: how your characters grow their abilities and how that plays out in battle. The key here is Shu's own blue dragon and the beasts the others control. Each one starts off with a single job (say Sword, which turns your shadow into a powerful warrior, or White, which governs white magic.) These jobs lead to new abilities as you earn shadow points. You can switch between jobs, mix and match abilities... and eventually, create a force to be reckoned with. The battles are extremely traditional and turn-based; you'll be navigating menus and selecting enemies with a cursor. The abilities of the shadows play into this, with magic and many attacks requiring you to charge them, while paying attention to how this affects your standing in the turn order.
