reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Although Eurogamer's Simon Parkin praised the graphics and range of mini-games and side-quests, he felt the game's release after Final Fantasy XII placed an unrealizable burden of expectation upon it: "Many players will be expecting that game's new lessons in design to have been absorbed and even evolved here". He concluded, when "viewed objectively and set against the newest highpoints of the genre, aside from its gorgeous aesthetics and removal of load times, Rogue Galaxy just isn't the marvel it's been set up to be". Game Revolution's Tim Tackett was critical of the plot, writing that "the characters lack backstories, and the emotional pitch never leaves the realm of Saturday morning cartoons". However, he praised the range of side-quests, the battle system, the graphics and the Revelation Flow, which he found superior to the License Board of Final Fantasy XII. He concluded: "The plot is a little dry and chewy, but the surrounding game is juicy and sweet. With a fairly lengthy, if substandard, main storyline crammed with lots of action and neat extra tidbits, Rogue Galaxy is a taste of the holidays, with none of the hassle". GameTrailers was also critical of the plot: "What you have here is an unending parade of threadbare anime tropes predictably matched by bland characters. You've seen every one of these stereotypes before, acting out the same quests and forcing out the same emotions they do in just about every other RPG", but praised the gameplay and variety of side-quests, and concluded that "while it has plenty of problems, anyone who can get beyond the banal storytelling and stale level design will find something addictive and worthwhile in Rogue Galaxy. Grinding out levels and looking for items is rarely this rewarding, and it's obvious that Level 5 knows the depths of the role-player's mind all too well". GameSpot's Greg Kasavin had mixed feelings about the combat system: "The combat gets to be repetitive after a while. Since you only have direct control over one character, who'll mostly depend on the same basic attacks regardless of which weapons you've equipped, the battles don't feel particularly varied from one to the next". He concluded: "The PlayStation 2 has delivered an almost countless number of high-quality Japanese role-playing games, so all the past competition is really the main reason why Rogue Galaxy doesn't come off as a stunning