I owned this on the PS2. I would play it for a little while, become bored, and then forget about it for weeks. I'd eventually remember it and what stellar reviews it got, and try it again. Still boring.
None of the characters interested me, I found the art generic and uninteresting, the voice acting unremarkable, and (most of all) the gameplay boring. I can forgive much if the mechanics of gameplay are stimulating, but I could not have been more disappointed. I sold this back to Gamestop and never regretted it.
I've gotten the sense from many of the people who liked this game that a rebuttal to my review might be, "but you didn't play long enough to get to the good stuff!" Perhaps that's the case; I didn't finish the game. But I agree with Zero Punctuation: why can't the game be fun NOW?