I explained smackdowns to you already, right?
Ah, Resonance of Fate... I remember my first experience with that... as I was leaving the town an old man advised that I go play the tutorials before I do anything.
"back off!" Thought I. "The day I need a tutorial to use a JRPG battle system is the day monkeys tapdance on the moon."
I left the town, pumped with my dynamic hubris, and within minutes found myself in my first random battle.
....
six consecutive defeats later, I reset the game, apologized sincerely to the old man, and ran straight for the tutorials.
The game's battle system isn't really "hard" per se, it's just very complex and idiosyncratic. You need the tutorials just to give you an idea of how it is you're supposed to go about fighting, but you learn the basics quickly enough, and they're more than enough to beat the main story of the game.
---
As to the English dialogue, it's true that you'll hear a lot of soundbites over and over again, and this can indeed be headache inducing. All the same, the actual english casting for main characters and villains (with one annoying exception, who has the decency to die within the chapter he's introduced) is solid, and each chapter will have the main characters exchange dialogue during battle. This is usually for laughs, but later on will also include character developing conversations as well.
Because the japanese with english sub option does not provide subtitles for these battle conversations, my personal advice is to tough it out in english for one's first playthrough.
---
Aside from that, I can't recommend this game enough, as I'm sure everyone knew, back when I wouldn't shut about about it for all those weeks. The central story is a little light, and because the game wanted to sequel hook something awful, the ending will leave more questions than answers. However, much like Bleach, the game is a character driven story, and the characters are all charming and quirky in their own way. Especially Vashyron, my candidate for best JRPG character of the past decade... even if he is a sociopath.