I mentioned this (in a spoiler) in a prior thread, but the game hadn't really started out with the greatest pedigree. Each game from the Japanese developer has turned out derivative and mediocre, and the localization company has a history of poor/awkward localization. Both trends are in full force in this game, from what I've experienced. Though perhaps the best thing about the localization is that you can, in fact, turn the voices off.

The game itself isn't half bad. It's just like it's trying hard to hit all the main points of what it thinks a JRPG should be, and that's all it aspires to. So I guess it's kind of honest in that regard.