Well, I played it for nearly two hours in one sitting and it's really, really fucking awesome! I guess I'll try and break it down in some categories for a quick impression.
Combat: For one, there are no random encounters. This is an event/trigger based RPG where you see and must initiate the enemy on the field to launch a battle. At the start of the game the main character gets a sword swipe field action that lets the player get an advantage on the battle, which is always welcome.
Combat is also extremely fast yet simple and engaging. Players have the usual attack, skill, defend, item commands, but they implemented a really interesting push and change subsystems into the combat. Push allows the player to basically group up enemies to deal more damage. Enemies spawn on a 3x3 grid, basically a back, middle, and front row. So far I have learned a push forward, left, and pull skill that allows my characters to group up multiple enemies to deal extra damage.
What's even cooler is that the play has the option to CHANGE your turn with another ally or even an enemy. This provides a chance for the player to unleash devastating combos on the enemies. You can basically exchange turns with enemies so that they go first which can allow you to say take 6 turns in a row instead of 3. However, by doing this the player enters a state called BAROQUE where you take more damage. What's cool is that by having your characters in this state they can use those 6 turns and basically push & pull every enemy on the screen in one shot while throwing in spells and other special skills. The higher the combo the more EXP, money, etc. you receive after battle too. It's hard to explain, but once you try it the battles will instantly click.
Equipment is weapon, armor, and 3 accessories. Skills so far seemed to be learned at level up so I am not sure how much customization there is in the game.
So far the game hasn't been difficult, but I am only 2 hours in so I have no idea how much harder it's going to get. But as I said, battles are really fast and it's really fun grouping enemies together and completely decimating them.
Music: Yoko Shimomura rarely misses the mark and so far the music in Historia is really good. Put those head phones on and hook up some external speakers because the soundtrack is pretty bad ass so far. Thankfully the game has a good battle track as well. No complaints so far in this department.
Story The story is direct and gets to the point immediately. It's basically about two waring nations over fertile land in a world that is basically fading to sand. Main character is cool and serious. It definitely seems like a more mature title, no annoying kid characters or whiny allies, etc. Pacing of the game so far is quick, as I mentioned, you gain access to the White Chronicle extremely early and decision points are thrown at you within 2 hours of play.
What's really cool is that there seems to be a degree of dungeon/environment backtracking, which I did not expect. As you progress through different plot points through the White Chronicle the main character is granted field abilities that allow the player to access treasure chests or areas in various history points that were previously inaccessible.
For example I ran though an area one time and there was a cave with a treasure chest in it that had big metal boxes blocking my way. I proceeded with the game a bit and was granted an ability that let me push and pull boxes. I ran back to that spot and used my new found ability to access the chest. Pretty fucking cool! To what extent this is used I have no clue, but I hope to see more of it! =)
I guess that's it so far for impressions, I really like the look of the game too. Art style is nice, character portraits are good, translation/text seems fine, camera angle in towns and dungeons are good. Overall, there hasn't been anything really bad to say about it. =)