It's a beautiful game, SE did an impressive job on capturing fine facial movements and each area has its own distinct feel (although some parts are a reminiscent of FF12 but in HD).
A big change in this game is that there are no towns! But fear not, there are still some areas full of people although there is less interaction compared with other FF games.
While some may find the beginning slow and linear (maps are also linear, not much exploring but saves time going through repetitive maps like 12) it will eventually grow and become more complex as the story progresses and at a certain point in the game, massive areas will be available to explore and get lost in (and missions!).
The battle system is fun, different, and very challenging at times. It'll probably take a while to get used to. You can only control one character at any time and cannot switch during battle. Members of the party are given “roles” and the actions they take correspond to that. If you have played Dissidia, there is also a break bar like that for each enemy. An interesting change to battles is that you cannot run away once you start but if you fail there will be a chance to retry where you can choose to run away / try again or return to the title screen.
Characters are a bit cliché but nevertheless likable. Here's your chance to play as a cool female main character in FF!
Story: ~8/10 Characters: 8/10 (lol snow/hope) Gameplay: 9/10 (better than 12! Wooo!) Graphics: 9.5/10 Soundtrack: 9.5/10 (addictive as always) Eng VA: ?/10 (JP: 9001/10)