This story has a smart Lloyd, stupid Genis, abusive and arrogant Raine, womanizing and silly Kratos, wussy Sheena, emotional Presea, more-emo-than-usual Zelos, homicidally destructive Regal, and a very slightly changed Colette (couldn't really think of much to do with her, although she's slightly less naive in some scenes). The villains also have some oddities, sometimes to the point of total stupidness.
Prologue
"A long, long time ago—now I mean long ago, now—there was this tree and it…made mana, some way or another. There was a war, though—you know how these old stories go—and the tree died. Some fruitcake of a hero sacrificed himself, though—you'd have to be a fruitcake to sacrifice yourself to replace a stupid tree. So this goddess was really sad and ran off into the sky—you know how women are—yelling to the angels as she went. Wake me up, she said, or the world's screwed—I'm bad at paraphrasing. The angels wondered what the hell she was talking about but still bore a kid—the Chosen One, y'know—and this kid grew up halfway and headed for the tower that was way too tall. That was the beginning of that long-butt journey to regenerate the world…"
Short, sweet, and to the point. Remember, reviews are a part of a healthy, balanced diet...