You HAVE to play with the 4 characters they give you. And those marble puzzles to unlock treasure boxes are beyond stupid. This is just an awful game, with ZERO replay value. I feel sorry for you poor souls who payed full price for this crap. Combat switches to a hex grid.
Trouble is, during a long combat with many monsters, the game slows to a crawl.
The plot twists and turns as it leads the characters chasing a mystery through a vivid land full of incredible detail. I felt drawn into the magical world of the Waste, foreign princes, messenger birds, and especially the rangerlike Grrlf. Tons of great, optional side quests. The characters flirt and argue, coming astoundingly to life. They're teenagers, like many gamers, and they discuss daily problems in an amusing yet straightforward manner.