No one else talking about the game so I might as well post my semi-final impressions.
I finished the game in about 11 hours. There are 6 episodes in total, and it's about a general length for a short action game. I liked the boss fights a lot, and the game in general is fun. It's more of a Japanese action game than a real full fledged shooter, and the camera does get in the way sometimes. The game is most certainly not a RPG. There's really nothing RPG about it. Definitely a pure action game which happens to have RPG-like elements in the mechanics.
I started a NG+ on Hard, and basically everything in the game carries over. You level, your DNA Boards, your weapons, all your BP, etc. In fact, the first time through the game, there are no costumes at all. The only equipment available will be the black leather and the white jacket. When you beat the game you get costumes unlocked depending on the difficulty you beat, and you can get more outfits by interacting with stuff in the HQ area between missions. You can also get a costume from the S-E Members thing.
For those getting it in English, you might want to consider a rental instead, because honestly the game is short enough to beat in 2 days, and I don't really know what long term play value a PSP shooter would have. It's also not a RPG, and the story sucks donkey balls. The ending is so stupid that I don't even want to think about the plot in the game at all. This is also not a Parasite Eve game. It's just some wacky stupid S-E action shooter which happens to star Aya Brea.
Production values are great, action is fun, bosses are great, there are some pretty nice set pieces in the stages, and the music is amazing. I'm going to try and unlock as many outfits as I can, and probably try and score all the achievements to get my money's worth out of the game. But, coming from the expectation of them actually delivering a half-decent Parasite Eve experience, I would say the game completely disappoints. It's like watching a new movie being made of some TV series I used to love, except the new director/writers fuck it all up. Kinda like Mission Impossible. :/