I found the plot and philosophy confusing and hard to follow at times, but I really love the game. What it does best is to find and develop the connections between the characters, which is what any good story should do.

As has been mentioned, like FFT, it delves into the influence of institutional religion on society. Although both games use real-life institutions as inspiration, they are not anti-religious as such.

The Gears are great. A lot of games that feature mecha are shooters and I just don't care for that. Essentially they are extentions of the characters themeselves.

I also liked the way that secondary characters, especially the Elements, are handled. Comperable perhaps only to the Turks as worthy and fun antagonists.