Agarest War, the first one, stands as the best in the series.

This one is okay, but none of the combat changes feel like the matter in the slightest, though they did try, and the characters all feel like less interesting versions of the other ones.

Also, as a Prequel, you already know how it ends and see pretty much every plot twist in advance. Though were you to beat this first, it would spoil some of the best parts of the first game.

It was a really nice attempt, but just fell so short of the first title.

Agarest War 2 is dumb and you should just avoid.