One look at Radiata's lead character Jack Russel and it's clear that, on some level, the crew over at tri-Ace agrees with me. Energetic, carefree and impatient, Jack isn't your standard protagonist. He's not incredibly strong or resourceful, he can't even get past the first round of the Radiata Knight entrance trial. However, he is funny and filled with personality. Instead of running around and inspecting various items to find anything of worth, he'll literally kick something and assume that anything worth having will pop out. Not content with just running or walking, Jack can also powerwalk, shaking his bottom and pumping his fists as he moseys along the path.

It's not just Jack that's bursting with personality, rather, it's the entire world of Radiata. Simply put, the game is charming in almost every way, from the watercolor-esque landscapes to the music to the character models. This makes it very easy to fall in love with Radiata Stories, but sadly, it's an ill-fated affair as Radiata starts out quite strong and grows progressively weaker.

But first, the good points. Radiata's real-time battles are fun, rarely so hard that they're frustrating but rarely so easy that it’s just mindless button mashing. For the most part, your three AI party members tend to take care of themselves, as long as you keep their levels up, usually only requiring careful monitoring during a difficult boss fight. In fact, the battle system is the only aspect of the title to actually improve as the game wears on, with more party formations and members becoming available with progress.

Numerous characters inhabit the world of Radiata, and of these, a bit over 175 can be convinced to fight along your side. Of course, getting them to actually join you isn't always easy - sometimes it's a matter of just talking to them, other times you may have to hunt down a lost contact, find a stray cat or perhaps fetch some pet medicine. Determining exactly what needs to be done can get tiring, as short of a strategy guide or the internet, the only way you'll figure out what someone wants or needs is to talk to them at the right time and place. So if you really want a person in your party, you'll end up following them across town, talking to them, waiting a bit for them to move to the next location, and so forth. On one hand, this abundance of sidequests is welcome, providing incentive for multiple playthroughs, on the other hand, following someone around town for an hour and then running around trying to check on their wife or collecting debts can get old pretty quick.

For the most part, the missions Jack and crew embark upon are relatively straightforward, aided by the three in-game maps: one of the kingdom of Radiata, one of the world and one of Radiata Castle. Mission objectives are displayed on the map as a green spiral, with the destination usually obvious, so it's mostly a matter of running to the spiral, fighting through a bunch of enemies and running back. But there are a few missions where the lack of a dungeon map presents a large issue. Take, for example, a mission in which Jack must enter and explore the sewer. A green spiral appears above a building, indicating that the entrance to the sewer is within, though with no indication of where. After running around the building for an hour, I was unable to find the entrance and only discovered it by accident. Turns out it was hidden in the back of a jail cell, the ladder not even visible on-screen. Navigating the actual sewer was difficult as well, at one point I became so lost that I was tempted to sketch out a map. Though I eventually found my way out without sketching a map, there comes a similar point in the final moments of the game where drawing a map, or finding one online, is almost a necessity.

Despite the carefree, lighthearted atmosphere of the first half, drama eventually envelopes the kingdom of Radiata. As the easily predictable events unfold, Radiata throws away the fun atmosphere that kept it entertaining, leaving the player to hope that the ending will redeem things. Unfortunately, even with two endings, both do a poor job of resolving things, which is all that more disappointing after navigating the infuriatingly-designed final dungeon. It's almost as if Radiata Stories suffered an identity crisis and suddenly decided it didn't want to be fun anymore.

At the end of the day, Radiata Stories is far from a bad game, but that doesn't mean it's great. There's a lot of charm in it, not to mention the gobs of replay value that come from having two endings and over 175 recruitable characters. At the same time though, that charm does little to ease the blow of the unsatisfying conclusions, nor does it help much when you run into one of the few rough patches and, let's face it, there's only so many inane sidequests one can tolerate. A mediocre game dressed as an awesome one, Radiata presents an enjoyable playthrough, but sadly, not the essential experience many were hoping for.