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When I first got this game, I only had a handful of PSP titles. The way I figured it, any game would be better than nothing. Then I started playing, and I realized just how wrong I was.

Gameplay Overview:
The game starts with a choice of 4 warriors, and you're allowed to change the color of their clothes. All of the characters are very typical: a strong one, a fast one, a magical one, and a ranged one. The "customization" was little to none, just color. This was already bad: the majority of hack and slash games try to make up the fact that there's repetitive gameplay by providing various characters with largely different fighting styles. Having only 4 typical characters is just not enough.

Then you start going around the town, it's very small. There are only 3 people you can interact with: the woman who gives you basic items, the item exchanger, and the weapon synthesizer. When you leave you can go to dungeons where you fight off monsters and collect items. To fight you have two attacks (quick but weak, and long but strong), and you can use 4 magic spells. You also have items you can choose using the regular d-pad. Be careful though, too many items and equipment and you won't be able to pick up treasure because your weight limit will be full.

The good:
This will be very short. The good part of this game is that it's easy to pick up, and having the ability to kill many monsters so fast is great for anyone who's having a bad day.

The bad:
1.You can only choose your spells when you are in town. Imagine being against a boss and thinking "oh wow, this'd be a good spell", but then realize you don't have it.
2.You can only change equipment when you are in town.
3.The monsters don't change all that much. There isn't much variety, and even different monsters can feel too similar.
4.There's no real explanation of what some of the customization numbers mean. This makes synthesis an absolute guessing game.
5.Items. Having an item limit is annoying on its own, but usually a game will counteract that by providing you with more usable items in the dungeons, or by allowing you to heal in other ways. Not this one. If you run out of necessary items, the chances of you acquiring a replacement are slim. You do get plenty of treasure, but more often than not it's to use against enemies, not to help yourself.
6. Also who had the bright idea of making items be used real time via the d-pad? It's very uncomfortable to be running around using the analog, and just above it have to use the d-pad at the same time. This means that for the most part you'll either have to be uncomfortable, or wait until you're in a safe place where you can stop running.

Graphics:
The graphics are decent. The characters are well made and distinguishable, even the monsters. What is bothersome though is that the dungeons pretty much all look alike. There are a few good looking cutscenes, but they're scarce. It's a very bland looking game.

Sound:
This game is best played with sound off. The music is acceptable, but you're better off with your own. Also some of the special effect sounds just don't match with what you're doing. You'll hear metallic sounds when you're not hitting metal, but instead hitting flesh. Some of the sounds also seem muffled, like they were recorded with older technology. It's just not great.

Conclusion:
The game just isn't worth it. Some people might enjoy it, but most of us won't. It's a very lonely game, with bland graphics, bad design choices, clunky controls, badly chosen sounds, and not much variety.

Go pick up a Gauntlet game instead.

Learn more about this author, Caren Franco.
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