Tokyo at dawn, a school uniform, and a double life that pulls you in for a whole year.

Picked on gut instinct, no thinking, it lands ahead of 99% of games. And for once the details back the instinct instead of fighting it. Its soundtrack sits right at the very top, ahead of every other game. Its art style ahead of 99% of titles. What you'd take to a desert island, what you'd dream of experiencing fresh again, what you get attached to: everywhere, it plays in the very top tier. Only one line drops its voice, the feel of the controller in hand, barely above average. The lone reservation in an otherwise dazzling profile.

In a turn-based RPG, the raw thrill of combat matters less than style, pacing and attachment to the characters. That's exactly where this one crushes the field: it turns a sometimes austere genre into a daily appointment you struggle to walk away from.

So, who's it for? For you if you love a game that settles you into a routine, a cast, a look that stays burned in. A lot less if you chase controller-first nervy action above all else.