The Japanese ones have become legendary, but I'm afraid it IS a bit of a legend. They're quite nicely made, but nothing really special, pickups are pretty characterless, and pots are garbage. They were regarded as pretty good value at the time as there weren't many good guitars in the low/mid price bracket, but it's nostalgia rather than stunning quality which is fueling their current prices.
The one pictured is a later Korean model, so although it's riding a little on the (not particularly well-founded) reputation of the earlier Japanese models, it really is exactly what it looks like, i.e, a perfectly ok, slightly boring modern Asian guitar, a category they pretty well invented.
FWIW I have a 1980 Aria 335-type, with varitone, gold hardware, and a deep, bookmatched, flamed violin burst. It looks lovely, plays well, and overall is just, well, ok really.