PSP

Ys I & II Chronicles

March 10, 2011

PSP / Reviews / by Mike Clark Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Following Ys Seven and The Oath in Felghana, Ys I & II Chronicles is the third PSP Ys title to be released in the North American region since August. Much like The Oath, I & II Chronicles is a remake of the first two titles in the series. Playing as the series’ hero Adol Christin you set out to discover the Books of Ys, which in turn help unravel the mysteries behind the titular land. Unlike the other games of the series, I & II Chronicles actually takes place in and around the Land of Ys (pronounced as Geese minus the G) and is the starting point of Adol’s adventures.

Despite being a remake the games stay true to their roots, to somewhat of a detriment. The gameplay in the titles has remained very consistent between versions and this is no exemption. Most of the combat in the games is done using the “Bump System”, a heavy contrast to other top-down titles of the genre. Where those would advise against touching enemies, Ys I & II embraces this as the only way to damage enemies in Ys I and one of the only ways for Ys II is to run into enemies. Quite literally, bump into them. There’s a strategy to this as running into them head-on will damage Adol so attacking from sides or behind is the way to go. Ys II introduces offensive magic for long-range fighting to supplement Adol’s bumping attacks. This part of the game translates well as the combat is fast-paced and intense. 

What doesn’t translate as well is the rest of the gameplay. Like RPGs of old, the games are vague on what your next goal is. Subtle hints are given here and there but for the bulk of the games you’re left backtracking around constantly to get new items, activate plot progression points and just try to get ahead in the game. In fact, XSEED even bundled a walkthrough for Ys I into the instruction manual because of how vague and confusing Ys I is!

The pacing also feels odd in contrast to earlier versions. In the TurboDuo port on the Wii’s Virtual Console, there was a constant flow to gaining levels. But here in this version my level was maxed before I reached the halfway point in the first game.

While the gameplay might not be received as well by newcomers of the series compared to long-time fans, the rest of the game’s assets shine and are appealing to all. When starting a new file on either Ys I or II, you’re given the option to choose from two sets of portraits and cutscenes: PSP release or the 2001 PC release. At any time during the game the player can switch between the PSP’s soundtrack, the PC version or even the PC-88 original. 

With an incredible trio of soundtracks supplementing gorgeous and sharp visuals, Ys I & II Chronicles stands out as a title that looks and sounds great but might take some getting used to when playing it.

 

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

March 9, 2011

PSP / Reviews / by Graham Russell Make a comment! / Tweet it!

At the time of Tactics Ogre‘s original release, the strategy RPG genre wasn’t exactly a powerhouse. The Fire Emblem games hadn’t left Japan, Final Fantasy Tactics wasn’t around yet and Shining Force didn’t exactly fly off the shelves. Now, though, these games are everywhere, and the PSP is the metropolis in which they all seem to gather. Somehow, though, the game stands the test of time and the modern competition.

In the game, you and your tight-knit crew of fighters take on increasingly overpowered and rather unfairly positioned armies, making decisions along the way and trying to make the world a peaceful place. The core gameplay is a lot like Final Fantasy Tactics, which makes sense since this game is its spiritual predecessor. The real difference here is the sheer breadth of choice available. Each character has many stats, many equippable skills, many classes to change to and… well, there’s just a lot you can do. In addition, you can make legitimate plot decisions in the game too, and none of them is really the “right” way to go. It’s rather open-ended, and while many will enjoy being awash in such freedom, some will be over their heads and drown in the complexity. 

Visually, the game doesn’t impress, as many elements from the SNES original are intact, but menu systems and other polished elements make everything seem as much like a modern product as it’s going to. 

Unlike many remakes, Tactics Ogre includes some streamlining elements that make things a bit more manageable. Units level up by class rather than individually, which makes keeping a balanced team a lot easier and replacing dead units a less painful endeavor. Besides that, there’s a new system called CHARIOT, which essentially auto-saves the last 50 turns so players can rewind and try again. In a genre known for making use of the reset button as a core mechanic, this is very refreshing.

Despite the streamlining, Tactics Ogre isn’t the most accessible game for genre newbies, but for players that love strategy games, this one will make them the happiest.

Pros: Incredible depth, engrossing story, polished interface

Cons: Oh-no-so-much-to-do-I-can’t-breathe syndrome

Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle

March 8, 2011

PSP / Reviews / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

The PSP is a veritable gold mine for RPG lovers. You can even get more specific than that. It’s a gold mine for SRPG lovers. It’s even a gold mine for people who had a large SRPG collection on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 and would like to own those games again and also be able to play them on the bus. Between Front Mission 3, Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, Jeanne D’Arc and Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions I didn’t really think I had more room for SRPGs on my PSP. Then I remembered how much I enjoyed Phantom Brave on the PS2 and I have enjoyed it all over again on the PSP.

Marona’s parents were monster-fighting mercenaries who were killed by a demon named Sulfur. Now Marona is an orphan doing the best she can with the help of her parents old apprentice Ash. Ash is no ordinary apprentice though – he’s a phantom. Everything is going okay (not great, the locals don’t trust Marona since she can talk to phantoms) until Sulfur’s minions start showing back up. At that point it is up to Marona and Ash to defeat Sulfur and save the day.

Things get interesting in a couple of key places. First, Marona is not a great fighter. Her primary role in battle is to confine phantoms to ordinary objects to create warriors. Your phantoms each have their own level and stats, their weapons have their own level and stats, and the object to which they are confined affect those stats each time they are confined. If you confine a phantom to rock, for example, he is going to turn into a warrior with a high defense rating and a low speed rating. Confine that same phantom to a plant, however, and he will have a low attack rating and a high intelligence rating. It’s important to keep track of who you’re confining where as the phantom you’ve trained up to be a mage won’t do a lot of good confined to a rock. And you shouldn’t necessarily just confine everything you’ve got in the first turn. Phantoms can only remain confined for a finite number of turns before they leave the battlefield. It’s an interesting system that forces some different strategies than a more traditional game might suggest.

Second, Phantom Brave eschews the traditional grid for a more free-form movement and attack system. Characters can be moved around the battlefield in three dimensions confined by a radius. This means you can jam fighters right up next to each other and need to pay attention to how close you are to your enemy as attacks are less effective the further away you are. Just because you connect doesn’t mean you’ll knock the enemy on his backside.

Like other NIS SRPGs, Phantom Brave has enough depth to either keep you occupied for hours upon hours or drive you stark raving mad. There is a ton to do here. There is the main story, there is leveling up your phantoms and their various weapons in randomly-generated dungeons, there is combining weapons to create better and stronger weapons, there is fusing weapons to phantoms, and there is fusing phantoms together to create better and stronger characters. If you run out of things to do in Phantom Brave then you’re not looking hard enough.

Phantom Brave has a lot going for it. There is a mountain on content here, the main characters are likable, the loss of the typical SRPG grid is refreshing, and the character and item fusion mechanics are sufficiently different from other SRPGs to make Phantom Brave worth your time even if you’ve already got a strong stable of games on your PSP. If you’ve never played Phantom Brave, or are just looking to replace your old PS2 copy with a version that can be played on the go, you won’t be disappointed. 

Pros: Endless supply of randomly-generated content, lack of grid is neat, confinement system makes for different strategies than a different SRPG would suggest

Cons: Like other NIS SRPGs, Phantom Brave can be daunting

 

Lord of Arcana

February 24, 2011

PSP / Reviews / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

The PSP is an RPG gamer’s dream. The genre is well-represented on the system, and the portability of the PSP has convinced most developers that shorter doesn’t mean worse. You can get you turn-based battles, healing potions, and giant dragon enemies in a reasonable-length game designed to be played in small spurts instead of for multiple hours at a time. Lord of Arcana embodies everything that is right about RPGs on the PSP, except it’s not any fun, so it doesn’t matter that I only have to play for 20 minutes at a time.

After a typical “all-powerful” tutorial you find yourself stripped of all useful armor, weapons, and abilities in a temple in the town of Porto Carilo. To prove that you’re worthy to be the next king you have to work your way up from zero to hero again (why the first time wasn’t enough is never explained), only this time it feels like knock-off Monster Hunter. To move the game forward you’ll speak with the woman at the Slayers Guild, pick a quest, and be magically transported to the quest’s starting point (this is actually fairly nice, and I wish more RPGs had a fast travel system). From here you’ll push through the clunky combat until you’ve killed six mandrakes or taken out a boss monster or gathered enough precious herbs. 

Combat with regular monsters is dull because they all act the same. Skeletons all block forcing you to move behind them and strike where they’re vulnerable. Goblins dance like idiots to telegraph their attack which makes timing your blocks and attacks simple. This would be forgivable if combat was quick, but you’ll watch the goblin dance, smack it with your sword, sidestep the attack, watch the goblin dance, smack it with your sword, and sidestep the attack more times than you’d care to count. You’ve got the pattern down, and it feels like the game is just trying to wear you down. You’ll cramp your hand as well. To stay locked on to an enemy you have to keep the left trigger held down. A toggle would make more sense here, and at the very minimum there should be an option. Boss monsters aren’t any better – they’re just bigger, which means more health, and their attacks are more annoying. You’ll run into foes that shrink you to miniscule proportions. That sounds neat. Maybe I have to attack some small soft part and being small in inconvenient but the only real way to claim victory. Nope. Being small just makes avoiding attacks harder since you move slower and increases the time of the fight because you’ll spend all of your small time looking for the artifact that makes you big again so that you can inflict some damage on the enemy. Both regular battles and boss battles culminate in a flashy move, but it’s not enough to save the combat system from boring you to tears.

There are an impressive number of weapons and armor available though. You’ll always have something new to pick up, equip to try out, and realize that you’ve broken the game because your firelance has a longer range than most enemies’ awareness ring meaning that you can safely stand back and chip away at their health in absolute safety. (How that made it past the testing phase is a mystery to me.)

Lord of Arcana supports 4-player local multiplayer which could be neat, but enemy patterns don’t change so you’re just sharing the tedium with friends. Combat and monster patterns need to be scaled for multiplayer a la Bionic Commando ReArmed’s co-op boss fights. Instead you’ve just got four swords plinking away at the same regular enemies instead of one. To make matters worse, only the host can save his progress. Everybody else is just along for the ride with nothing to show for it at the end of the session. The concept of Lord of Arcana is a good one, but the execution is off. You’ll be better served with a Monster Hunter game if deep, real-time RPG combat is what you’re after.

Pros: Tons of armor and weapons, fast travel to quest start locations

Cons: No reward for non-hosts in multiplayer, unalterable lock-on mechanic, dull combat

 

Auditorium

January 24, 2011

PSP / Reviews / by Mike Clark Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Ambient, relaxing, improvisational and free-flowing. Auditorium is filled with these qualities and uses them to deviate from your average puzzle game. And now you can take this experience wherever you go by snagging it from PSN directly onto your PSP. 

Each of over 100 different stages all give you a layout containing the same items: streams of light particles, color-coded containers, a selection of tools to use, and various gimmicks. Your goal is to manipulate the light streams and fill the containers. Upon filling the containers pieces of the musical track behind the stage play and your efforts are rewarded with great songs.

The stages are divided into musical sets that introduce various concepts and build on them. The first stage will just show you that there are black holes present, while the final will leave you puzzling how to keep the particles safely away from the black holes. The best part of this gradual difficulty and stage progression is that there are no definitive answers. Cipher Prime gives the player a challenge and a set of tools and all the time needed to figure out a way to solve the puzzle.

While it doesn’t have the HD visuals that the PS3 version has, Auditorium still shines in a standard definition that you can bring anywhere with you. An immersive musical puzzle experience that doesn’t force you to figure out their answer but rather discover your own, Auditorium is a great game to have on a PSP.

Pros: Incredible visuals and audio, immersive puzzle experience

Cons: Lack of a hint button or stage tips

 

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →