The game received mixed reception in both Japan and in North America upon release, though over time it has developed a loyal fanbase.

Radiata Stories places great emphasis on its persistent world and non-player characters (NPCs) each with their own lives, lifestyles, jobs, personalities, homes, dialogues and schedules, which are controlled by the game's Day/Night system.

Kicking furniture and other inanimate objects will occasionally turn up items or dagols (the local currency).

Jack gains experience, money, and possibly items when he wins these duels, but will not lose the game if he is defeated.

Jack is the only character the player controls directly; all other party members are run by the in-game AI.

Some need only to be talked to, while others must be placated with fetch quests, dueled, recruited after Jack or a certain character has reached a certain level, or during certain moments in the game's story.

After recruitment, they are placed on his "Friends List", at which point the player may include most of them in Jack's party at almost any time.

In the center region is Radiata City, where the story starts and may continue, given the human path is chosen.

The three main characters of Radiata Stories are Jack Russell, an insubordinate and happy-go-lucky teenager; Ridley Silverlake, a composed female Knight who was trained to be a warrior since birth and feels the pressure of expectations from others; and Ganz Rothschild, the polite and gentle Captain of their brigade who is prone to becoming overexcited.

Every time a character is unlocked, he or she shows up on the player's Friends List, which also provides a summary of their history or personality.

Due to the game having two mutually exclusive story branches, it is impossible to recruit every NPC during the same playthrough.

At this point, the player must choose to either follow Ridley, or attend a meeting at Radiata Castle with Larks.

If the player follows Ridley to the elf city, Jack joins the fairy creatures in the war against the humans.

Ganz wears Star Ocean 2's Claude C. Kenni's clothes when he is part of the Bandit Guild.

Of these, only Valkyrie is recruitable and her armor can also be spotted inside the kings' chambers in the Radiata Castle, as part of the background.

[6] Keeping in line with their tradition to refer to past games, three of Sakuraba's original compositions were rearranged by Iwadare.

[10] One month later Iwadare released "Radiata Stories: Arranged Album" which rearranged 16 songs from the original soundtrack.

[11] The Sacramento Bee said the music was "peppy and cheerful, if unmemorable" but that the sound effects were "largely recycled from the developer's previous games, all the way back to 1999's "Star Ocean: The Second Story".

[15] In 2004, all Japanese preorders of Radiata Stories came with a bonus audio disc, "tri-Ace Battle Sound Collection".

[18] A music video with scenes from Radiata Stories and her dressed in her character's clothing was released in January 2005.

[21] This song is found in her second album Make Progress, which also includes "Reason", the first ending theme for Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny.

The character's name was changed to Rachel in the English version and "Fortune" played during the ending credits.

[30] A Japanese reviewer noted that the game had humorous dialogue but a simple battle system which made it suitable for beginners.

[47] Two 5-issue manga series were released based on Radiata Stories: The Epic of JACK[48] and The Song of RIDLEY.

A limited run of a boxed set of 6 figurines from Radiata Stories and Star Ocean included Jack and Ridley.