Tiny epics: PSP picks up the role-playing gauntlet
The role-playing game is one of the most popular genres of video games and, personally, it’s my favorite. I can think of few things more enjoyable than parking myself in front of the TV for an eight-hour session of exploration and monster slaying in the sprawling world of “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” or one of the “Final Fantasy” games.
Portable game consoles don’t lend themselves to that kind of dedication. Yes, there have been a few Game Boy classics that flirted with role-playing elements -- some Web sites classify the “Pokemon” monster-collecting games as RPGs, for example. But I can only stare at a portable screen for so long, preventing the kind of immersion a classic RPG demands.
Nonetheless, Sony’s PlayStation Portable has seen a flood of role-playing games recently.
RPGs may not have the pick-up-and-play appeal of popular puzzle games like “Lumines” or “Brain Age,” but that doesn’t mean they can’t work on a portable system. And the games reviewed here can be played in short spurts or in longer stretches; just make sure to save your game before the battery runs out.
--”Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth” (Square Enix, for the PSP, $39.99): When “Valkyrie Profile” appeared on the PlayStation in 2000, many gamers didn’t know what to make of an RPG based on Norse mythology. It sold poorly but has since become something of a collector’s item, and Square Enix has been gracious enough to revive it for the PSP. As the end of the world nears, Odin, the leader of the gods, has an odd mission for Valkyrie Lenneth: She must recruit
the souls of the newly dead to fight in a climactic battle of good and evil. Recruits then have to be trained in battle before they can be sent to help Odin. The battles are really fun: Each of your four characters is assigned a different button, so you can launch combo attacks by pressing more than one button at once. “Valkyrie Profile” has held up surprisingly well, with its mostly 2D graphics translating perfectly to the PSP. “Lenneth” doesn’t add much new, but if you missed
this sleeper the first time around, you’re in for a treat. Three stars out of four.
--”The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch” (Namco Bandai, for the PSP, $39.99): Has there ever been a more generic title than “The Legend of Heroes”? (Why not just
call it “Role-Playing Game”?) And as you might expect, “LOH II” is about as generic as they come. Teenagers Chris and Jurio are booted out of their village on a coming-of-age quest in which they must visit five shrines scattered about the world of Tirasweel. During the pilgrimage,
however, they learn of the Moonlight Witch, who predicted the destruction of their world by a giant wave. Can the kids stop Armageddon? Will they have to fight hundreds of beasties before saving the planet? If you have to ask, you’ve never played an RPG before; if you’re an RPG veteran, you’ll find nothing new here. Still, the battles move quickly, and the story moves along smoothly enough that you’ll find yourself wanting to find out what’s around the next corner anyway. Two stars.
--”Astonishia Story” (Ubisoft, for the PSP, $39.99): At least Ubisoft deserves credit for giving this game a unique, if barely pronounceable, title. Otherwise, “Astonishia Story” is your standard tale of a knight on a mission to recover a stolen relic. Naturally, the theft is just part of a larger plot by an evil queen who wants to destroy the world. The battles are a little different,
reminiscent of the tactical strategy of “Fire Emblem” or “Advance Wars” - albeit simplified beyond the point where they might be interesting. “Astonishia” is also marred by blocky graphics that just don’t cut it in this era. And the quest only lasts about 15 hours, which is OK for a portable game but well below what you’d expect from a $40 RPG. One-and-a-half stars.
On the Net:
”Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth”: http://na.square-enix.com/valkyrieprofile/
”The Legend of Heroes II”: http://bandai.namco.com/games/legend--heroes.html
”Astonishia Story”: http://www.ubi.com/US/Games/Info.aspx?pId
(c) Lou Kesten
Associated Press
Portable game consoles don’t lend themselves to that kind of dedication. Yes, there have been a few Game Boy classics that flirted with role-playing elements -- some Web sites classify the “Pokemon” monster-collecting games as RPGs, for example. But I can only stare at a portable screen for so long, preventing the kind of immersion a classic RPG demands.
Nonetheless, Sony’s PlayStation Portable has seen a flood of role-playing games recently.
RPGs may not have the pick-up-and-play appeal of popular puzzle games like “Lumines” or “Brain Age,” but that doesn’t mean they can’t work on a portable system. And the games reviewed here can be played in short spurts or in longer stretches; just make sure to save your game before the battery runs out.
--”Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth” (Square Enix, for the PSP, $39.99): When “Valkyrie Profile” appeared on the PlayStation in 2000, many gamers didn’t know what to make of an RPG based on Norse mythology. It sold poorly but has since become something of a collector’s item, and Square Enix has been gracious enough to revive it for the PSP. As the end of the world nears, Odin, the leader of the gods, has an odd mission for Valkyrie Lenneth: She must recruit
the souls of the newly dead to fight in a climactic battle of good and evil. Recruits then have to be trained in battle before they can be sent to help Odin. The battles are really fun: Each of your four characters is assigned a different button, so you can launch combo attacks by pressing more than one button at once. “Valkyrie Profile” has held up surprisingly well, with its mostly 2D graphics translating perfectly to the PSP. “Lenneth” doesn’t add much new, but if you missed
this sleeper the first time around, you’re in for a treat. Three stars out of four.
--”The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch” (Namco Bandai, for the PSP, $39.99): Has there ever been a more generic title than “The Legend of Heroes”? (Why not just
call it “Role-Playing Game”?) And as you might expect, “LOH II” is about as generic as they come. Teenagers Chris and Jurio are booted out of their village on a coming-of-age quest in which they must visit five shrines scattered about the world of Tirasweel. During the pilgrimage,
however, they learn of the Moonlight Witch, who predicted the destruction of their world by a giant wave. Can the kids stop Armageddon? Will they have to fight hundreds of beasties before saving the planet? If you have to ask, you’ve never played an RPG before; if you’re an RPG veteran, you’ll find nothing new here. Still, the battles move quickly, and the story moves along smoothly enough that you’ll find yourself wanting to find out what’s around the next corner anyway. Two stars.
--”Astonishia Story” (Ubisoft, for the PSP, $39.99): At least Ubisoft deserves credit for giving this game a unique, if barely pronounceable, title. Otherwise, “Astonishia Story” is your standard tale of a knight on a mission to recover a stolen relic. Naturally, the theft is just part of a larger plot by an evil queen who wants to destroy the world. The battles are a little different,
reminiscent of the tactical strategy of “Fire Emblem” or “Advance Wars” - albeit simplified beyond the point where they might be interesting. “Astonishia” is also marred by blocky graphics that just don’t cut it in this era. And the quest only lasts about 15 hours, which is OK for a portable game but well below what you’d expect from a $40 RPG. One-and-a-half stars.
On the Net:
”Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth”: http://na.square-enix.com/valkyrieprofile/
”The Legend of Heroes II”: http://bandai.namco.com/games/legend--heroes.html
”Astonishia Story”: http://www.ubi.com/US/Games/Info.aspx?pId
(c) Lou Kesten
Associated Press
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