Games you should play in a nutshell

Hello, its been awhile, and I freaking mean that. Its the 1st day of 2012 for crying out loud, my last post was like in July or something? Bah, whatever.

Moving on, ive decided to do something a little different. I'm going to run through a slew of games available for the PSP that everyone should play. Why? Well the PSP is going to 'die' sometime this year, but before you go out and Vita it up consider all the great games still out there. Tbh there are still games coming out for the PSP that I'm eagerly awaiting for (Black Rock Shooter, Final Fantasy Type 0, Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom). So without further ado, the games everyone should play in a nut shell....sort of.



Disgaea Hour of Darkness

Why Play?
1. Its fun, the mechanics are simple and effective
2. The characters are amazing and well though out
3. Though sometimes completely ridiculous at times this game had some genuine tearjerker moments


















Disgaea 2 Dark Hero Days

Why Play?
1. Just as fun as the first one
2. Gameplay had improved quite a bit
3. A more lighthearted story but still great

 
















Fate/Extra

Why Play?
1. Fresh battle system that is so simple its unique
2. Amazing characters that you can enjoy regardless of your knowledge of the Fate series
3. Tons of replayability

 
















Final Fantasy Tactics War of Lions

Why Play?
1. Will keep you going for awhile
2. Very deep plot
3. A must have for any Final Fantasy fan or a fan of strategy RPGs

Harvest Moon Hero of Leaf Valley

Why Play?
1. Very pleasing graphic wise
2. A nice wind down relaxing game
3. Again, tons of replayability

Jean D'arc

Why Play?
1. A fun twist on history
2. Just plain fun to play
3. The art is very well done

Knights in the Nightmare

Why Play?
1. The game play, though having a steep learning curve, is the most ingenious thing you will ever encounter
2. There are 3 different Heroines to choose from
3. The storyline is neither happy nor bittersweet, its depressing but you love it none the less

Lunar Silver Star Harmony

Why Play?
1. Very simple and addicting gameplay
2. The commentary the characters give is hilarious
3. The battle graphics are oh so pretty

Phantom Brave The Hermuda Triangle

Why Play?
1. Fun battle system
2. The characters are incredibly loveable
3. The music is amazing

PoPoLoCrois

Why Play?
1. A nice old school rpg
2. A lighthearted story that spans over several years
3.Quirky but very easy to love

Riviera The Promised Land

Why Play?
1. A very different type of gameplay that you'll learn to love quickly
2. The affection system is a hilarious perk to the game
3. Quite bit of replayability

Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Portable 

Why Play?
1. Deep enthralling story
2. Well fleshed out loveable characters
3. a good amount of replayability

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 

Why Play?
1. Another deep enthralling story
2. The battle system is the highlight of the game
3. A joy to play

Yggdra Union We'll Never Fight Alone

Why Play?
1. Very Challenging
2. Gameplay is fun and unique
3. Theres a fast forward button (you'll want it trust me)


And heres a list of games I'm currently chipping away at that you shouldn't count out either:

-Dragoneer's Aria
-Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
-Fate/Unlimited Codes
-Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 - Innocent Sin
-Harvest Moon Boy and Girl


-And thats all folks. I realize I only really scraped the surface of good games for the PSP but these are all personal picks of mine.

I'll do a proper review later this month

-Anna

Princess Maker 4 (DS) Review

Okay, you know what? Ignore the banner up there, I DON'T update daily. I really only update when I feel like it to be honest. Plus, I've been playing a lot of games lately that consume most of my time when I'm not at work or sleeping. Anyways I feel like doing another import game today because I find their so much more fun to write about.

Today I'm going to review the feminist hated Princess Maker 4 DS special edition. The original PC version was released back in 2006 with a PSP version to boot a couple months later. I'm not exactly sure when the DS version came out but I bought it in 2009 as soon as I heard about it. I always wanted to play a game from this series, a simulation game where you raise a little girl and see how she ends up. Sounds kinda fun huh? Oh it was.

WARNING: I'm most likely going to be giving away MASSIVE spoilers (maybe not, Its kind of common sense if you ever pick up this game and watch the prologue) so beware! ALSO, everything I will be talking about is based on my poor knowledge of the Japanese language and understanding this game. Please be patient with me if I get some stuff wrong mmmkay?

Story:

Okay here goes. This story takes place in a magical medieval human kingdom where they are at war with the demons. To stop the madness a lone hero from the humans, a woman, goes to take on the King of the Demons, the Mao and end the war, hurrah! BUT THEN SOMETHING HAPPENS. Instead of beating each other to a bloody pulp they fall in LOVE(.......Seriously? Thats some love at first sight.) and have a child, but tell NO ONE and make the humans think their hero perished in the battle and the war still rages on. Now YOU apparently were the hero's best friend and you set out to go search for her and guess what? You find her along side a handsome tanned butler holding a toddler. She basically says that she wants you to adopt the girl as your own and have you raise her to be a normal kiddy despite the demon blood running though her veins. For some reason you agree and you take the little pain home. And you get to keep the hot butler too! SCORE.

Points: 8 its not the most original thing a game has thrown at me but it gets points for amusement factor

Characters:

There are too many characters in this game to go through so I'll narrow it down to the ones that appear most often ingame. First we have your daughter's 3(4 if you choose to unlock the last one) friends, Marie, Rize, and Elizabeth. Marie is the stereotypical shy girl with glasses, yawn. Rize is a hot headed tomboy who longs of going off to the war someday, getting better. And Elizabeth is a rich upper class snob who for some reason takes a liking to your daughter and the other girls, thats a little better. The other girl, Karen, will only appear if your daughter is into studying magic. Karen is.....well just strange but definitely the most interesting companion of the game. In other words, forget the other chicks and follow Karen around, she rides dragons and is friends with fairies. Okay now for the 3 princes in the game, and I don't remember their stupidly Japanese names so I'll refer to them as their ingame race they belong to. We have the Human prince who almost runs your daughter over when they first meet. He's sweet, blonde, and wearer of puffy clothes. Then we have the Dragon Prince who's a creepy cute stalker who exposes too much skin. An finally we have the Demon Prince who's a purple skinned Tsundere(just.....Google it please). Finally we have Cube, your loyal handsome butler who has a personality thats completely devoted to your daughter. ALL of the above characters if explored completely in their particular storylines will ultimately end the game with them being paired up with your daughter. Exploring each character is interesting but in the end most if them are a little bland.

Points: 7 a little more originality wouldn't of hurt, at least Karen is cool

Sound:

The music in this game...... is very forgettable to be honest, but it fits the game. The voice acting is well done. Theres really nothing else to say here.

Points: 8 yeeeeeep

Mechanics:

This game plays like a hybrid of simulation and otome. The top screen on the DS shows your daughter and anybody else who converses with her. The bottom screen is her status, monthly activities, her dresser, you get the point. You as her father decide what she does for months at a time by picking either schooling, work, or free time. Each of those 3 are divided into several activities to choose from. The game is surprising realistic here because if you over work your daughter she'll go into delinquent mode and hate you or if she does go to school a lot she gets super smart and if she does nothing but explore the city for her whole life she's got absolutely no attributes and no stamina so she gets sick often. I'm basically saying if you don't balance the 3 your going to have a crappy play through. Thats the simulation part, now the otome part. You can pair your daughter up with tons of different bachelors, including yourself, which is not incest but still quite disturbing if your asking me. Of course each bachelor has standards and won't go after your daughter unless she has the proper stats. Like, Chis the millionaire(who looks to old for her) won't take any liking to her unless she has a super duper great charm stat and the Dragon Prince won't want to marry her unless she has a brutally high strength stat, you get it. You don't HAVE to even play the otome part of this game if you don't want to but it does make things more interesting.

Points: 10 Its pretty unique

Graphics:

The are graphics are simple and 2D but the art work is gorgeous, for anime that is. Thats all I got.

Points: 8 Simple is still impressive

Lasting appeal:

I played this game through probably around 20 times. Its very easily completed in a full nonstop hour of playing. However theres just so much to do in this game its insane AND with well over 30 endings it'll have you going for awhile if you want to beat this game completely 100%. It just gives you good motivation to keep playing!

Points: 10 you had me at the over 30 endings

Overall:

Good game but not for everyone, the feminists hate this game for a reason you know. But if you like simulation games from Japan then go for it. Also this is classified as a visual novel so don't expect it to ever some to America, because the VG market doesn't take to kindly to Visual novels. But hey if your looking for something different give it a try

Points: 9 I like visual novels now, gimme more!

TOTAL: 60/70

I have a friend who I played this game with because she found out you could get her married to the butler. She's a giant butler fan so she refused to let me go home until I got her married to Cube. Ah good times.

-Anna

Persona 3 Portable(PSP) Review

I'm a little tired today but I haven't updated it awhile so I'm going to push through this. Today i'm going to do a game I just finished recently and really enjoyed; Persona 3 Portable. I had long been pushing the Persona series away because of its Mature rating label(which is rightfully placed trust me) but I finally went and got myself a copy of Persona 3 Portable because I wanted something fresh and new to play and boy did it deliver.

This is the 3^rd version of this particular game and its exclusively for the PSP unlike the other two PS2 versions.

Story:

The story stays the same regardless of the gender you pick at the beginning to the game. Basically theres an extra hour in the day refereed to as the Dark Hour. During this time everyone transmogrifies into a coffin, except you and a select group of people. Also during the Dark Hour a giant tower called Tartarus emerges from your school. Your role in this story is to climb to the tops of Tartarus with your buddies and discover the secrets behind the Dark Hour while balancing a regular school life in the day.

Points: 9 Its a good combo

Characters:

Definitely the one of the best things of this game. All the characters, major and minor alike have distinct personalities and back story(some more than others). I don't want to go too deep into anyone because I don't want to spoil but the characters are a treat in this game that I won't soon forget.

Points: 10 All video game characters should be this awesome

Sound:

I'll have to admit, I didn't like the music at first. The mix of pop, jazz, and rock didn't really speak to me but after awhile it really grew on me and I wanted more. An interesting this is depending on which gender you play as in this game the soundtrack is completely different which was a nice touch when I switched over to a boy file after beating the game twice as a girl. The soundtrack is truly unique. The voice acting is also very well done in this game(Liam O'Brian *drool*). The only character that had a bad voice was Fuuka. My GOSH if your going to have her narrating battles at least have her sound slightly ALIVE. Alright, alright putting Fuuka aside everyone was cast well and sounds great. As for sound effects I saw/heard nothing wrong so lets move on

Points: 9 Friggen Fuuka

Mechanics:

YES. THIS IS THE KIND OF GAME I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. Okay so this game go through a cycle of one year. In the daytime you must go to school(except on Sundays and other holidays) and make friends. Doing so you will obtain social links that power up your Personas/get you more Persona fusions(more on this in a bit). Now in the nighttime you go to Tartarus and beat up Shadows(the enemies of this game) and get as far as you can to the top. School life itself plays like a visual novel where you interact with people and saying different things will change the outcome. Tartarus exploration on the other hand plays like a fantasy RPG. You will be placed on a floor and the Shadows will be placed throughout. You have the choice whether to battle them of not(YES!) but if they catch you BAM! Battle time. The battles are turn based but hardly boring, you won't be disappointed. Okay, right, Personas. A Persona is like a mirror of the character and are summoned out of you by shooting yourself in the head with an 'Evoker' a gun like object. Your Personas are your magic spells in this game, simple.

Points: 10 This is amazing <3

Graphics:

Again, these are well done too. While at school everything is flat and 2D (which works well) and exploring Tartarus is a full 3d environment. They blend well together and compete the game as a whole.

Lasting appeal:

I played this game through (almost) 3 times. Its that fun. My only beef with this game is that Tartarus gets a little redundant near the end of the game, just a little.

Points: 9 Fun times

Overall:

This was a good game despite all of its blood and foul language, I wouldn't recommend it to many of my friends though because this game may not be that enjoyable to them haha. Defiantly do not buy it for small children, nightmares will follow I guarantee it. It was a great combination of two genres and had me wanting more. I'm patiently awaiting the day we get a Persona 4 Portable because the rest of the series is now available on the PSP and its not. I can dream.

Points: 10 This was a great experience

TOTAL: 67/70

If your looking for something new and different give this game a try, just be wary of the Mature rating because its there for a reason.

-Anna

Avalon Code(DS) Review

Today I’m going to review a game that has mixed reviews. It was a game that you either loved to bits or hated it so much you wanted to run it through a wood chipper. Avalon Code is its name. Which was released by Xseed 2 years ago in 2009. I didn't pick it up until last year because I heard absolutely nothing about it until a year later. So I took a trip to EB games and I found it on the new shelf for about 20$, and apparently it was the last copy because this game is out of print now. A shame really, because this game is something most JRPG fans need to experience.

Story:

So I was expecting some “save the world!” plot but its actually the other way around. The world is ending and you have been chosen to create a new one with the book thats been given to you. So you spend the whole game slapping people and things with your book, basically deciding who and what gets to be the in the new world. Your also in charge of getting all the books spirits back into the book so you have to go look for them. Later on the story gets quite a bit more serious when you find out that someone is after the book and wants to kill you.

Points: 9 Took me by surprise

Characters:

There are way to many characters in this game, each you get to know in different ways. Its either they have little quest favours for you to do or you can build a romantic relationship with the select Bachelors/Bachelorettes. I myself was a very bad girl and had a relationship with all the boys just so I could see their subplots. The downside to this is that they all break into my house to say good morning and it can get a little awkward. Lets focus on the book's spirits for the time being because they travel with you everywhere(btw, you as the main character really don't have a personality so i'm not going into them). We have Rempo the energetic loudmouthed fire spirit who had his hands shackled to the book, Mieli the happy go lucky wind(?) spirit who has her legs shackled to the book, Neaki the mute ice spirit who was her voice shackled to the book, and Ur the serious, and rather good looking lightning spirit with his eyes shackled to the book. They all travel with you and offer a good little spice to the story, though sometimes really getting on my nerves. I suggest having either Neaki or Ur as your main companion because the other two may annoy you to know end, especially Mieli.

Points: 7 they kept me amused

Graphics:

You probably can't tell from the really bad screen shot I put up at the top of the review but this game looks phenomenal on the DS. I was blown away by how pretty everything looks. This is definitely one of the best graphics for the DS out there. My only complaint is that some of the accessories you can craft and put on your character don't “fit” them very well, a small graphical error.

Points: 8 Very impressive

Sound:

Okay if there was a game that should have been bundled with a soundtrack its this game right here. The music was lovely to listen to. Now the sound effects on the other hand, specifically the sounds monsters made drove me MAD. I want to find the sound director and give him a swift kick for being such an idiot making all the monsters sound more annoying than a squealing monkey.

Points: 7 for the good music

Mechanics:

This is going to be a long one so watch out. Okay so this game used both of the DS screens quite well. The top screen is where you the character is, where you fight things, talk to people, you get it. The bottom screen though is the book which you tap with your stylus to explore. When you touch the book time basically stops in game and the top screen is replaced with the respective book spirit you've chosen to be your guide/annoyance. The book is everything in this game. Its where you get your equipment, where you can screw with people's “codes” and give them a different personality, make the enemies strong or weak, EVERYTHING IS THE BOOK. You mix codes on different items to make it something new. Like adding a fire code to an iron sword with make it a fire element sword so you can now light torches in dungeons by hitting them with your sword. Ah yes the dungeons, oh boy. The dungeons are divided into rooms where in each you must solve a puzzle within a time limit, and doing so will get you recipes for cool items and a good score. Also you can't move on until you've beat the room so get your brain ready to solve all these frustrating puzzles! Yay! The gameplay itself is a lot like Legend of Zelda games where you run around and hit things in real time. I think this is all I can really say without you having to experience to understand what I'm saying.

Points: 7 The books can be a little hindering at times but its a pretty cool system

Lasting appeal:

I loved this game to be honest. It was something original that dared to be different and it was great because of it. I played this game through 3 times (twice as a girl and once as a boy) because It was that much fun. My only complaint is that its over too quickly.

Points: 8 if it was only a little bit longer!

Overall:

I think that all JRPG fans and the fans of the Harvest Moon franchise should give this game a run, if you can find it in the stores that is. Its impressive and worth your money. I know that quite a few people didn't like this game but its all in one interests and all. But seriously this game is fun, give it a try.

Points: 8 Because it was just good plain fun.

TOTAL: 54/70

I'll leave you with the Japanese trailer today because it has good game play footage in it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfk9MxU1ZrY

-Anna

Threads of Fate(PSP) Review

Okay so I just got home from a horrible work shift. So instead of picking a game that I absolutely despised and pouring my hatred into it I’m picking a game that I just beat last week and had a blast playing. The game is entitled Threads of Fate.

Threads of Fate is a PlayStation game that was recently ported to the PSP for my downloading pleasure. It was originally released way back in 2000 and its one of my childhood faves. Threads of Fate is an action platformer (think Mario games) where the player takes control one of two characters and play through each others unique storyline. Apparently it wasn't very well received in the US because it was released within the same time as the (in)famous Chrono Cross and was completely forgotten/passed over. I'm about to tell you the fun everyone has been missing out on.

Story:

Alright because we have 2 playable characters I'll go through both of them. The boy main in called Rue and his story is a serious one with tiny comedy poked in here an there. A dear person to Rue was killed and he's now seeking an artifact that is said to grant any wish, a Relic. He wants to find it and get his friend back and then go back to peaceful living. Now the girl main is called Mint and her story is comedic with serious points here and there. Mint is a spunky spoiled brat princess that gets kicked out of her castle by her younger sister who takes away her right to the throne. Mint is TICKED OFF and she wants to find the Relic to 1. Get revenge on her sister and 2. get WORLD DOMINATION. Because both characters are after the same thing their paths cross quite often. For example they both go into to dungeons together or team up together to go to different places to obtain items for each other. Don't deceived by the cutesy graphics of this game, both stories are surprising complex (Rue's more so) and are a treat to play.

Points: 10 Awww yeah dishing out the good stuff

Characters:

Rue is always in agony because he's blaming himself for his friend's death but not so much that he's emo. Rue still remembers how to smile and has a surprisingly high tolerance for stupidity(idiots seem to gravitate to him). When he finally does snap though your more cheering him on then face palming him for falling for a stupid trick(I go no further than this, I don't want to spoil). Now Mint on the other hand is a self absorbed jerk who at first comes off as she doesn't give a crap about anybody but herself. However she surprises you with her loyalty to her friends no matter how much they annoy her. She's kinda one of those “no one gets left behind” people with a more cold demeanour. Now the minor characters were all absolutely amazing. I really mean it. Every single one of them had relevance to the story and were all completely charming in their own ways. You just can't hate anyone in this game, you just can't.

Points: 10 Yeah I love them that much

Graphics:

This is really the only downside to the game. Though they were impressive for their time they haven't help up well these long 11 years. A lot of the pixels will overlap each other and look very awkward(Ex: Mint's hair poking through her headband during storyline cut scenes. Also everyone has polygon hands which is a little funny looking(no fingers).

Points: 7 hey at least their colourful

Sound:

I love the music in this game. Its very retro and nostalgic so much I almost paid 100$ for the Japanese sound track. The sound effects are fitting too, nothing makes an annoying sound.

Points: 10 Good freaking job

Mechanics:

Like I said earlier it plays like a Mario game- think Mario 64 to be specific. This works great, a combo to platforming and free roam. Now it plays a little tiny bit differently deepening on which character your playing as. Both have side menus that are brought up via pressing the square button. Mint's is Magic where you get to decide what colour of magic and what style you want to shoot it, simple. Rue though has the ability to change into any monster he defeats (minus bosses) so if he turns into a monkey monster he can climb trees, or if he turns into a small monster he can fit into small crevices that Mint can't access in her part of the story. Its a good combination.

Points: 9 minus one point because its annoying when you find the secret places in Mint's story but you can't access them because she can't shrink into a small monster

Lasting appeal:

A nice little thing about this game is that when you beat one characters story it prompts you to save your game and start with the second. Doing this will get you a secret ending when you finish both files. Also once your finished both of them New Game + lets you keep your Mint of Rue with all of the power ups you bought for them so when you play again your pretty almighty. Simply, yes I will play this game again, in fact I’m looking forward to it.

Points: 9 if only the game were a little longer storyline wise

Overall:

Though this game really only boasts 20 hours of game play (10 for each storyline) don't pass on it. Its incredibly fun and will leave you with good memories, except maybe the Mini games you have to play with a bunch of dwarfs, those were not fun. If you have a PSP pick it up from the PSN, its pretty cheap and doesn't take up much memory.

Points: 9 -Sniff- my childhood <3

TOTAL: 64/70

Funny thing, they took out all the swear words in this game and replaced them with the word “expletive”. It makes me laugh every time.

-Anna

Ragnarok DS (DS) Review

June 1^st 2003 a MORPG named Ragnarok: Online and it quickly became popular. Its still alive and kicking today in year 2011. I really wanted to play this game because of its good reviews and pretty graphics however I didn't really want to pay/I didn't have the money to pay for a monthly fee. BUT THEN last year I saw an ad in a Nintendo Power for the oh so shiny Ragnarok DS. Was I finally going to be able to get a taste of the Ragnarok craze?

Story:

Okay the storyline in this game is pretty awful. Its incredibly predictable. Like, I knew when who was going to get hurt ,or run off, or get kidnapped, or have a temper tantrum, you get the picture. I'm not going to go into details but the story is the weakest part of this game. Don't buy it if your looking for some riveting life changing tale.

Points: 3 No originality = almost no points

Characters:

Lets see, A main character who dad is an adventurer, a valiant knight who's afraid of monsters, a witch with an attitude problem, and a thief who has a soft spot for people.

....

I give up.

Points: 3 again no originality = almost no points

Graphics:

All fine and dandy here. They look great, as long as you don't zoom in on them. The art work is very pretty too.

Points: 7 They stay original to its predecessor

Sound:

I liked this game's sound track. I can't really explain it but listening to each track fills me with nostalgia. Now If I could only find the Boss battle theme on YouTube for my listening pleasure. The sound effects in the game are quiet but hear able which is another point to my good-o-meter.

Points: 8 nice music and unannoying effects, good job

Mechanics:

Everything is stylus controlled which works really well and doesn't work well at the same time. I can control my main character no problem but when the game suddenly expects me to give commands to all my party too because the AL sucks then we run into problems. I can't point-and-click two things at the same time game! Stop trying to force it on me and FIX your STUPID AL!. Also would it KILL the game to get me a teleport spell or something to take me automatically back to town? I have to walk all the way back every. Single. Time. I don't know if maybe I chose a different class i'd learn some ground breaking spell but I was a blacksmith class because I wanted to be. The whole Mechanics of this game is tedious and boring.

Points: 4 I don't like games that feel like a chore to play

Lasting appeal:

Like I said above, this game was tedious, boring, and annoying so therefore it lost its lustre very quickly. I MIGHT have kept playing it if my ONLY healer didn't get kidnapped and left me screwed for all eternity. It always a kick in the stomach when your only healer dies, or get kidnapped, or turns evil on you or something, because your now reliant on yourself and potions which utterly stinks.

Points: 2 Ouch

Overall:

This game kind of felt thrown together so they could suck some more money out of the Ragnarok Online audience, in fact i'm pretty sure that was the only reason for making this game because it came with limited edition items only obtainable by buying the game and redeeming the code within the DS case. If thats the only thing this game is good for then I don't think it really says a lot for prospecting gamers like myself. Actually, I want my 25$ back.

Points: 3 Boooo!

TOTAL: 30/70

Do yourself a favor and don't buy this game, just don't

-Anna

Tales of Phantasia Narikiri Dungeon X (PSP) Review

I have something a little different today. Last year I was on a 'Tales of' series kick and was buying every game I could get my hands on. The 'Tales of' series is a collection of games for various consoles that are loosely related to each other storyline wise. The series is pretty popular in Japan while over here in the continent of America the fans are there but apparently not enough for Namco to release every single title they put out into English. Tales of Phantasia Narikiri Dungeon X is one of those unreleased gems that America will most likely never EVER get because its a direct sequel to the overly remade Tales of Phantasia which came over here in Game boy Advance form in 2006 and didn't really go over well with the hardcore fans due to some translation problems here and there. I myself tried to get a copy of the GBA version of Tales of Phantasia but it was so glitchy it was unplayable(my bad luck I guess?). Anyways I got wind of Tales of Phantasia Narikiri Dungeon X being released on the PSP with a bonus of the original Tales of Phantasia being bundled with the package. Score, I was finally going to be able to play Tales of Phantasia and its sequel. Today though I'm only reviewing Tales of Phantasia Narikiri Dungeon X, I'll do plain old Tales of Phantasia another time.

Note: Yes this game is in compete Japanese but its storyline events are completely voice acted. I have a basic understanding of Japanese speech and the review is based of my knowledge. I apologize if I get storyline or names wrong.

Story:

Your given an introduction scene where a lone fairy is wandering a barren wasteland and is rescued by an angelic being calling herself Norn. The little fairy's name is Etos and when she come to Norn gives her two infants- twins a boy and a girl and a house. Norn basically tells Etos that in exchange for saving her life she must raise to two children as her own. Time skips a couple years and the infants are now in their tweens living with their adoptive mother Etos who has named them Mel and Dio. During this peaceful day they hear a large sound outside and investigate. They find......a talking dresser(i'm not kidding) named Albert who gives them the power of Narikiri which enables Mel and Dio to dress up in costumes and become whatever their dressed up as. They decide to go to the nearest town for some reason(I seriously don't know why they do) and OH MY GOODNESS monsters appear! Mel and Dio decide to teach the buggers a lesson but something goes wrong. Mel's magic goes haywire and causes a “prism ring” to envelop the city and put every inhabitant in danger. In order to fix this problem Mel and Dio must now seek the help of the summon spirits AND the whole original cast from Tales of Phantasia.

Points: 8 Yeah I'm enjoying this. Keep it coming

Characters:

Mel and Dio, being twins share a lot of the same personality. Their both pretty hotheaded and don't like being told what to do. This ensues many funny conversations between the two of them. Etos is the levelheaded one of the group who, in other words she doesn't do much. Albert is a dirty old man. I'm serious. All he ever does is fantasize about Mel and all the other characters that are remotely female. This is a common humour placement in Japanese cartoons and video games but I find it very inappropriate and unneeded. I get really sick of Albert in this game, its a good thing he's barely ever around. Later on we get Kuruuru who is a fat litte green bunny thing who is only there to make fun at . And the final original character in this game is Londoline who at first kind have annoyed me at first because it feels like she was there only because she was dressed like a whore but later on I began to like her because her relevance to the story was needed. The whole entire cast of Tales of Phantasia are also playable and are completely the same from the previous game except that Klarth is now an alcoholic slacker and Chester is no longer emo.

Points: 7 Minus one point because of some stereotypes thrown in at places

Graphics:

Very well done hand drawn sprites, Namco doesn't disappoint. The environments are 3D but the sprites look good on them. My only problem that is when i'm doing a “ Hi Ougi” (special move) the camera zooms in on the sprites and they become all blurry.

Points: 9 They fit the game's atmosphere well and their very pretty to look at

Sound:

99.9% of the music are remixes from the original Tales of Phantasia game which is very welcome because the soundtrack in Tales of Phantasia is great. I'd be bold enough to say that some of the remixes are better than the originals. Also the opening and the 2 credits theme are preformed by Oku Hanako who has a beautiful soothing voice. My only complaint is that some of the enemies make REALLY annoying sounds when you hit them. Especially the horse and bird like ones.

Points: 9 Yeah its that impressive

Mechanics:

You know i'd whine about the random battles but i'm going to. Why? Well in the 'Tales of' series there is an item called a Holy Bottle that prevents you from ever getting into a random battle unless your not using one. Simply to say I stocked up on these suckers and only battled when I thought I needed to. In addition to random battles their are strong enemies represented by blobs or birds that you can avoid if you choose to. Battles themselves are on a one line screen where you can move either back or forward to engage the enemies. Its simple but it works. Button mashing is your friend in this game. Also, when your not in battle occasionally you'll get little prompts to press the select button on the bottom left of your screen. Doing so pop up a conversation between your party members. Its a nice little touch.

Points: 10 I appreciate the Holy Bottle, I really do

Lasting appeal:

I played and played this game. It was in a simple word 'fun'. I think however people who are not familiar with this series/don't know a lick of Japanese might find this game confusing and boring. But I enjoyed it fully. You play it til the end of the first arc and then you have the choice to start over OR you can move onto the next story that dives into Mel and Dio's origins. It will keep you busy for awhile.

Points: 8

Overall:

Despite this being a spinoff game its obvious that quite a bit of effort was put into this game. Every thing is highly impressive and I played this game through twice because I enjoyed it so much. I'm not so much a 'Tale of' fan anymore but this game is still in my mental list of games I would recommend people to import because their missing out.

Points: 9 If only all the 'Tales of' games were as fun as this one was

TOTAL: 60/70

If you enjoy the 'Tales of' series don't let the Japanese label scare you away. This is one of their best spinoffs to date and passing on it is an unwise decision. I'll leave you guys with a game play video today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74au0Q81b80

-Anna