I completed Dark Dawn earlier today (it would have been sooner if I could stay up all night playing it, like the first two games), and I've gotta say it was awesome, despite a few frustrating drawbacks.
The music keeps up with the high standards of the first two games, though there aren't many catchy / amazing tracks like there were in the first two games. The battles and graphics are amazing, and surpass the first two games by miles. I was worried the absence of the art style in the first two games I'd grown to love would drag this game down, but they really made the game's own style shine through.
Anything below this point could be a spoiler, so don't read anything below this if you don't want anything spoiled.
I found the ability to do some storyline missions out of order very convenient. Because I like to roam a lot and examine every possible thing before moving on to where they want me to go next, I often took on harder parts of the story before doing the easier parts that come before them, putting me at a level advantage most of the time. For example, going through Port Rago and setting everything up for later when Briggs arrives (without even knowing he'd do so), and then going to Kolima and beating Sludge before even stepping foot into Belinsk (or whatever that beast town is) really made the game more fun. I can recall a few times where I did a part of the storyline far ahead of when I was supposed to.
Leveling up is far easier in this game, thankfully. Experience point output is amazing, and there were plenty of places to level grind and get ahead 10+ levels from where I should have been. Did anyone else find the part where you're fighting Tua Warriors at the Apollo Sanctum really odd? They gave out so much experience and dropped a Water of Life after every battle.
The biggest flaw of this game is definitely the fact you can't go back and collect Djinn and Tablets past certain points. I've got to start a whole new game and sit there reading a guide just to make sure I get them all, then make sure I get all the same items and extras I got the first time through, then make sure I level up and go through the story the same way... It's a nightmare. They could have easily let you access the earlier parts of the map after you complete the game. And when you continue from a completed game, it shouldn't still be under the effects of the Eclipse. That's just ridiculous.
End of spoilers.
Anyway, I guess I've gotta play through the game again, this time with a guide by my side. This game would be pefect if they'd just let you go back and get what you missed, but I guess that's asking too much. :/
(Serves him right!)