The Future of JRPGs Lies in Handheld Games

I had written a blog a few months ago in which I had expressed my general discontent towards JRPGs over the past decade or so and it was met with pretty good feedback and praise and I want to thank you all for what turned into a really good discussion. Now then, this blog is sort of a companion piece or a rebuttal to my own work if you will. While my general feelings of JRPGs needing to advance still exist somewhat, here in 2010 there seems to have been a revival of sorts that might show good signs for the genre. Good signs provided you have a handheld at least.

You see, this year I’ve spent more time playing my PSP and my DS more than my Wii or PS3 simply because this is the greatest time ever to be a handheld gaming fan. If you’re a gamer who loved the 90s and the SNES/PS1/Saturn era of gaming then you have to be estatic with the amount of games that have been being released for handhelds over the past few years. This year in 2010, was simply the greatest year for handheld RPGs ever and there’s still more to come. This then is my rebuttal as I said. I shall now direct you to some great fantastic RPGs that have come out in just this year alone and encourage any fan to try these games as examples that hey, maybe there is a future for JRPGs at least on the small screen. I will be employing a new game rating system, one that is flawless and you simply cannot argue with. The Dragon Quest slime rating system! 5 slimes equals awesomeness and if you don't buy it I will come to your house and beat you and greedily grab the gold you leave behind.

1. Glory of Heracles

The Story: While it begins with the usual cliché of the main character having amnesia, this is offset by the unique atmosphere of ancient Greece. Believing himself to be the legendary Heracles, he is believed to be immortal and descended from the Gods themselves and along the way meets several characters who also have amnesia. Once again they get embroiled in the epic clash between Zeus and the Gods vs the Titans and the plot is driven from there. Think Clash of the Titans mixed with Final Fantasy and a little God of War sprinkled for good measure and you’ve got it.

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: Glory of Heracles is like a nice mix of traditional turn based combat and strategy RPG. After placing your characters on a grid, you can select various commands that have you utilize the DS stylus to get maximum performance for attacks and magic spells. This can vary from touching circles in order or drawing the magic incantations yourself. While it does slow combat somewhat it does present a fresh take on what could have been a very boring battle system.

The Verdict: Not the greatest RPG ever, but definitely worth a look see.

2. Lunar-Silver Star Harmony

The Story: Well, being a remake of the original game on Sega CD and Playstation 1, most gamers are familiar with the plot of this game already, but if you don’t know, the main character Alex has dreams of becoming a Dragonmaster to protect the Goddess Althena. After venturing to the cave of the White Dragon and getting his quest he discovers that members of the Vile Tribe who hate Althena have been capturing girls for whatever reason, his girlfriend Luna being among them.

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: Lunar was my very first RPG ever on the Sega CD and it holds a special place in my heart to this very day. While this version isn’t quite as good as those other ones, it’s got a entirely new prologue that lets you play as the Four Heroes and updated graphics and sound to make it look even better than before. If you’ve never experienced Lunar, now is the time.

The Verdict: If you’ve never experienced Lunar, now is the time. If you’ve already played through it once, you won’t find this one better, but still, it will be a nice trip down memory lane for you.

3. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

The Story: Set in a unique science fiction setting, you and a team of UN Inspectors are sent to investigate the Schwarzwelt, a gigantic portal deep in the Antarctic. Once inside you’ll discover a portal full of demons at which point you’ll eventually have to come to a decision. Save mankind or destroy it?

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: Hell, it says “Shin Megami Tensei” on the box, that’s why. Ok, what sets this one apart from the others is the unique setting and characters. For the first time ever for this series, this game doesn’t take place in Japan and uses mostly American characters. The plot is more akin to a sci-fi action movie and feels like something James Cameron would have come up with to accompany the usual classic Shin Megami Tensei gameplay of negotitating with demons and recruiting them to make them for your own. If you’ve never played an SMT game, think of it as Pokemon with a bit more challenge and mature storyline.

The Verdict: SMT fans, you owe it to yourself to play this one. It’s every bit as great as Nocturne in my opinion and will keep you busy for quite some time. New fans to the series, don’t fret, this is a great introduction to the series and prior knowledge of past SMT games is not required. Check it out!

4. Persona 3 Portable

The Story: You are a high school student who recently moved into town with a very special ability. With a gun called an “Evoker” you can bring out our power known as Persona. You and others like you will combat what’s known as the Shadows that prey upon human souls during the Dark Hour, a hidden hour at midnight between one day and the next. Of course during the day you still have to go to school and carry on a social life. Time rests for no one.

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: Well, anyone who’s played any of the PS2 versions of this game will give you plenty of reason. Fantastic story, great gameplay and a great challenge for one of the best games in the SMT franchise. Anyone who already has played the PS2 games should still check this one out as an all new female storyline complete with new social links to develop as well as many of the improved play mechanics from P4 such as the ability to control all party members show up here.

The Verdict: The best version of Persona 3 there is. Check it out!

5. Valkyria Chronicles 2

The Story: Set 3 years after the original game (or something like that, I dunno), you play as Avan of a Gallian Military Academy who leads a squadron known as Class G. Class G is called to defend Gallia against rebels who do not like this current era of peace, nor the idea that their country has fallen under Darcsen rule. Calling themselves rebels and declaring their intent to take back Gallia, they seek to rekindle the flames of war.

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: Well, anyone who’s played the original game can see why you should play this one. The same gameplay that made the original so great returns, mixing action game elements with RPG strategy. The ability to command multiple vehicles as well as assign different classes to your troops is a natural expansion upon the original game. Everything is generally improved here and the game boasts some of the best graphics the PSP has to offer.

The Verdict: Even if you’ve never played Valkyria Chronicles 1, this game is still worth checking out as it has a plot that not only caters to fans of the original but is structured in such a way that it’s a standalone story as well. Those looking for an SRPG fix need look no further.

6. Lufia Curse of the Sinstrals ( Oh what, I just reviewed the damn thing don’t judge me! Okay fine I’ll tell you how many slimes it gets!)

7. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (Yes, you must type the subtitle as well.)

The Story: You are a Celestrian, a guardian angel of sorts who performs good deeds from upon high in the Observatory overlooking the world. The fyggs of the Yggdrasil Tree must come to full bloom before all Celestrians can ascend to the realm of the almighty. In order to accomplish this task, you must venture toward the world below and collect benevolescence or the crystallized gratitude of the humans below.

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: It’s very simple. This is in my opinion the best Dragon Quest in the series. Your entire party can be created from scratch, from their appearance to their name to what class they areto how many. You can choose to go it solo if for some reason you desire. The options in DQIX are unlimited. Random encounters have mercifully been abolished and enemies can now be seen on the adventure map. New quests and items are available through the online shop and there’s never any real dull moment in the game. It’s the perfect blend of Western and JRPG concepts and not just one of the best RPGs you can play this year, its one of the best JRPGs period.

The Verdict: Buy it if you haven’t done it yet. I told you so and that’s why, don’t argue with me.

So there you have it. There’s 7 great RPGs I’ve played for handhelds this year alone. The future looks bleak on consoles but I’m glad developers are still committed to providing a fun JRPG experience on the go and there's more to come with a new Golden Sun being released for the DS as well. Don’t miss out on this stuff!

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker Review

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker is like a delicious casserole crafted from the finest ingredients every game in the series up to this point has to offer while at the same time trimming the excess, unhealthy fat from the product. The end result is arguably the most polished Metal Gear game to date.

While the Metal Gear series was never particularly bad, there were always a few nagging issues that kept each game from being as good as they could be, particularly in the area of control schematic. Metal Gear Solid 4 completely revamped the play control style to reflect contemporary action games and the game play felt far more natural as a result. Unfortunately for Metal Gear Solid 4, the game still had that “interactive movie” feel that most of its critics site as a reason for why they don’t like it. The first PSP outing, Portable Ops had the right mindset in theory; less talk, more action, however it failed to execute as most of the gameplay concepts just didn’t work as intended. Peace Walker manages to mend the problem plaguing both games. The camera is much more user friendly. Enemy recruitment is much less cumbersome. Instead of dragging them to the truck, simply attach a Fulton balloon and they're on their way. Gone are the lengthy cutscenes. Instead of one long mission, Peace Walker is instead broken up into short, mini missions, while radio conversations and cutscenes are mercifully kept to a minimum during the mission so the player can focus on the gameplay. For those who don’t mind hearing a lot of backstory and enjoy the rich world of Metal Gear, there are briefing files before each mission that discuss the plot in detail, or reveal a bit more backstory regarding the characters and events taking place. Like Portable Ops, cutscenes are handled via comic book style visuals by Ashley Wood and they look much like the Digital Graphic Novels of the series. Most of them have interactive moments that involve the player to press the right button or make the right decision at the proper time. Such interactivity is not only welcomed, but adds a bit to replayability as sometimes failing at a juncture can produce slightly different changes in the storyline. Metal Gear Solid as a series has often been praised for well developed and intriguing plots and Peace Walker is no exception. The game further serves to bridge the gap between the original Metal Gear and its prequel, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. For all intents and purposes, the game is a direct sequel set ten years after the events of Snake Eater, ignoring most of what took place in the first sequel starring Big Boss, Portable Ops. As with most games in the franchise, playing the previous Metal Gear installments are not particularly required for enjoyment of the plot, but it is much preferred as it helps to have a background on some of what has happened prior to the events of the game. Peace Walker makes no effort to catch new players up to speed on what’s taken place in the Metal Gear universe. This game was written with already established fans in mind.



The gameplay was designed with already established fans in mind as well. Players new to the series, or even players who played the previous games on easier modes will be in for a rude awakening with Peace Walker. There are no difficulty settings and this game features some of the toughest boss battles in the series history. While this may seem a bit off putting, this game provides more options and tactical approaches than any game that has come before it. Literally every weapon and item from past games makes an appearance here, plus a few more. Different camouflage designs and set ups can be utilized. Choose camo that has an all around percentage of blending in, or one that is well suited to a specific area? Choose an indoor suit designed for optimum stealth or one designed for battle and protection? Literally the levels are designed in such a way that players who favor run and gun tactics over traditional stealth can enjoy equals amount of success. That’s not to say emphasis is not placed on stealth. Peace Walker is brilliant in that while it doesn’t punish run and gun tactics and being discovered as much as previous games, it does however reward stealth much more than previous games. Given all of the new stealth options at the player's disposal, it's honestly more fun to use non lethal ways to dispatch. CQC has been improved to allow players to take out multiple enemies at once provided they are in proximity. Attacks can be stringed together to take out at least three at once and soldiers can now be thrown into objects or against other enemies. Many times taking out a group of enemies with CQC is faster than simply gunning them down. Not being seen and dispatching enemies non lethally not only raises your score at the end of each mission but enemy recruitment is a vital part of success. Dispatching enemies using lethal means not only runs you the risk of killing them, but most captures will display hostility towards your crew and not join automatically. So be a nice guy, it helps.



Capturing soldiers is not only fun, but vital to the management of your home base. Snake is not the only one who is available to take on missions. Often times, the soldiers recruited will have to take up the call to arms and in many missions Snake isn’t even available. Almost RPG like in it’s management; your home base has a variety of areas to which your recruits can be assigned. Each soldier has a variety of statistics that show which areas he/she excels. They can be assigned to a duty they must perform to help the base grow. Helping the base grow in turn increases productivity and your base can provide items and new forms of weaponry for use in the field. Other soldiers can be deployed to various regions around the world to gain battle experience in strategic engagements. How many soldiers that are captured and how well they are utilized can make the game significantly easier to complete. New to the Metal Gear franchise, missions can now be played with a buddy at your side. While most boss battles when played solo represent an enormous challenge, most of them can be played with up to 3 other players. Should an ally fall in battle simply charging over to the body and spending a few seconds to revive them basically ensures that no one will fail at any juncture and almost makes boss battles too easy. Most missions can be played with at least one other person, but they aren’t all that particularly challenging to begin with, and most veteran Metal Gear players might get more challenge out of simply just going it solo. While fun, Co-op gameplay is wholly unnecessary and it’s just as well; the game doesn’t support infrastructure and instead utilizes Ad-Hoc. So unless you own a PS3 and Ad-Hoc Party you may not be getting a whole lot of multiplayer in at all.



Multiplayer issues aside, this represents not just arguably the best Metal Gear game to date, but one of the best PSP games to date, if not the best. This is definitely a must have for any Metal Gear fan or fan of action games in general. If this is the final Metal Gear Hideo Kojima plans to personally produce, this then is quite the swan song.

Metal Gear Solid Perfect Walker?!

Well, about a week away from Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker and I flat out cannot wait. I’ve played through the demo over quite a few times and from what I can tell the game looks uh, solid, no pun intended. But what really has me intrigued is the fact that apparently Famitsu thought well enough of the game to grant it a perfect 40/40 score. That makes Peace Walker only the 14th game and only the 3rd handheld title to garner such an accolade in the magazine’s 20+ year history. That would seem like a remarkable feat, however, a total of eight of those scores came within the past 2 years or so. My question then is, has Famitsu just flat lowered it’s standards or are these games just that good? My personal perspective rests far more closely with the former than the latter. It really started with Nintendogs in 2005. Really Famitsu? A perfect score? So you mean to tell me that its better than classics like Super Mario 64, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Metal Gear Solid 3? Really Famitsu? Let’s take a look at these eight “classics” Famitsu claims to purport are classics since 2008.

1. Super Smash Brothers Brawl: Are you kidding me? This was fun but please. This game was nothing more than fan service masquerading as a fighting game. Calling this a perfect game does a disservice to other fighting games and just flat slaps them in their collective faces.

2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots: Okay, this one I can’t really argue with too much.

3. 428: Never played it so I can’t comment.

4. Dragon Quest IX: Again, have yet to play it but if Dragon Quest VIII couldn’t make the cut I can only imagine what this game did that was so different.

5. Monster Hunter Tri: Monster Hunter is fun but is it perfect? Hardly.

6. Bayonetta: Again, good game but the plot left a little to be desired to say the least.

7. New Super Mario Bros. Wii: What? But no Super Mario 64? It only revolutionized 3D gaming as we know it today, but who’s counting right?

And finally here we are at Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker. And I would love to believe that the game earned that perfect 40/40 that has eluded many a fantastic game over the years but given the apparent bar being lowered from one of the most respected magazines in Japan over the past few years, it feels so much like a tainted victory to me.

But one thing is for sure, it will be awesome and I can’t wait for June 8th.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona Review

You know, I’ll be honest. I’m very torn about my feelings when it comes to Persona. On one hand what you have is an excellent redesigned port of an older game that addressed many of the issues that plagued it previously. But on the other hand, the game itself just had a few nagging flaws already to begin with that keep it from being fantastic.

Like many games in the Persona series, this game has an excellent, stylish presentation. Many changes were made to give the game an updated feel and it all works. The new opening video is marvelous and captures the feel of the story perfectly. Other new fully animated FMVs, with voice acting exclusively for the English version as well, and of course, the translation has been completely overhauled, in order to present a more authentic version to the English audience. To continue this update, the music has been entirely redone in the style of some of the more contemporary Persona games. It’s all personal opinion really, but for the most part the new music works and tends to get catchy after awhile, even if you have absolutely no clue what they’re singing. It just gets indoctrinated into your brain after awhile and eventually you start to enjoy it. Of course, this a problem in other Persona games as well, but the biggest problem with the soundtrack is that many of the same tracks often repeat way too many times and your growing affection for the music may quickly turn into seething hatred for the music depending on how long your play session is. 2 to 3 hours nonstop of listening to the battle theme tends to have you reaching for the volume button irregardless of how catchy it becomes. But really that’s a minor issue, even if you hate the music there’s plenty more put into this re-release to enjoy that makes it all worthwhile. But unfortunately, the visuals for the most part have remained largely untouched. It’s initially jarring to see how the graphics have aged to a degree, particularly when witnessing the stiff, wooden, battle animations, but really, the graphics overall haven’t aged that badly and while the graphics have remained largely untouched, the menus have been given a brand new look and are easier to navigate and the absolutely atrocious world map from the original game has been mercifully redesigned. Instead of a hideous 3D map, the developers wisely opted for a panned out 2D map and a simple press of the square button will tell you each location in the immediate area. Game progression is handled much more smoothly this go around. Load times have been shortened. An option to shorten battle animations has been added. Walking speed has been greatly increased and holding down the circle button lets you move even faster. All of this helps create a more enjoyable gameplay experience from the original.

This is a fun game. But it helps to remember that this game is not the same experience you’ll get from playing some of the more recent Persona games. This game settles itself in sort of a limbo between the old school dungeon crawling RPGs of yesterday (dungeons are actually in first person in this one) with the more contemporary story driven RPGs of today. Story is secondary to the actual gameplay and you’ll spend most of your time navigating the many of the labyrinths the game offers. That’s not to say that the story isn’t memorable or doesn’t have memorable characters. In fact, one of Persona’s greatest strengths is in the excellent pacing of the game. The plot is revealed in such a fashion that you get just enough information so that you’re able to figure out what your objective is and move forward with little hassle. Never does the game get sidetracked in its plot, dragging the length of the game to an unnecessary level; in fact the game is only about 20 to 30 hours long depending upon your play style and by the end it doesn’t feel like it was too short or too long, but just right.

However, like I previously stated, you’ll be walking around and navigating dungeons in this game. A lot. That’s not particularly a bad thing though. Because where this game shines more than any other area is in its unique battle system. Similar to a chess board almost, you have to place your characters on a grid and their placement on that grid, coupled with their weapon choice is what determines what enemies they can attack. Characters can choose between both weapon and gun attacks, with guns generally providing better range, but sacrificing power over weapons and of course characters can also summon their Personas in battle as well. Each of your characters can keep a stock of up to 3 Personas at a time, with each character having a different affinity for different Personas. In other words, some Personas work better than others depending on who has it “equipped.” Now a staple of any Persona game, players can create new Personas by visiting Igor in the Velvet Room and fusing them together by obtaining various spell cards from the demons you encounter, which brings up the most unique aspect of the battle system, the negotiations. Yes, in order to be successful in Persona, holding conversations and trying to pick out the right answer to please demons so that they’ll relinquish these cards and other items and money is essential. It seems a little confusing at first but really it’s just a matter of mix and matching, and eventually you’ll figure out what to say to which demon after a few encounters. To help you out a meter that displays the demons’ various emotions is displayed and shows your progress with the negotiation. If you find yourself angering it further and further, try having another character negotiate or try a different approach with the same character. It’s this interaction that keeps battles fun and fresh. They can also save your hide if you’re low on health and suddenly get ambushed from behind.

If you feel put off by things like “dungeon-crawler”, and “negotiation” because it sounds like it’s complicated, don’t be. Actually, arguably this game is perhaps the easiest game in the series, provided you do the main storyline. While the inability to attack every enemy on the screen and only those “in range” force you often times to rely on magic, your magic slowly regenerates as you move outside of battle and no matter what spells that particular Persona has learned, it costs the same amount of MP to use no matter what. In fact, your Personas level up based upon how much you use them in combat so there’s absolutely no reason not to use them frequently in combat. If your main character dies, it’s not an instant game over and while exploiting weaknesses is still a part of the strategy, it’s not as absolutely vital to success as it is in P3 or P4. In fact I progressed through the game and very rarely had to use a healing item. Not to imply that this game is a cakewalk or anything. A cheap death is still very possible. There are a lot of nasty status effects in this game that can disable you if you’re not paying attention and your whole party could be quickly wiped out because they continue to neutralize your members and attempting to flee the battle results in failure more than half of the time. Couple this with a very high encounter rate and you could quickly find yourself loading up your last save if you’re not careful. The game isn’t the hardest RPG out there, but it certainly doesn’t allow you to get lazy. Easily the worst aspect of the game is the ridiculous encounter rate. While negotiation with demons helps somewhat it’s still aggravating to take two steps and immediately be thrust into another battle.

But for all of the game’s flaws there’s still plenty of reasons to give the game at least one play through, but really to get the maximum enjoyment from it, multiple play throughs are recommended. In fact, the alternate side-quest, the Snow Queen Quest has been added to this version of the game which was cut out of the original and offers a completely different storyline from the main game. While this is intriguing, I should give a fair warning and say that this is significantly more difficult than the main storyline, although it’s still do-able provided you have the time and patience to complete it. Each story has both a bad and a good ending and which party members you can take along can vary depending upon your responses and choices as you play which makes each play experience different from others.

It’s a little rough around the edges, but overall I enjoyed this revisit to see where the Persona series began. This game won’t set the world on fire or anything but I encourage all fans of the Shin Megami Tensei series to check it out, especially if you’ve never played the original release on PSX. It’s been given a cool new look and feel and while visually it doesn’t really impress by today’s standards the game mechanics still shine and provide two things that are timeless; an intriguing story and plain good ol’ fun.

Only in a Japanese RPG could a fucking basketball do you in.

So, um....yeah. Snow Queen Quest. Much to my chagrin today I made it all the way up to the top of the first tower only to be bested by a group of basketballs and toilet seats right before the boss room. Yup. 2 to 3 hrs or so completely down the drain. Because you see there are no save points once you do a tower and if you get back attacked by a group of enemies due to a spell of bad luck and die because you weren't probably prepared you get hours of work wiped out just like that. Unfortunately such a fate has befallen me today. I likely won't be going back to Persona PSP anytime soon. That Snow Queen Quest is just plain evil man. I like old school RPGs but man, the era of playing for hours with no save points is one I'm glad we aren't re-living in this day and age......

.....That reminds me, Ashley called me and told me that my copy of Demon's Souls will be available for pick up tomorrow. Oh, well. I've got some extra money in the bank I've been saving up for any possible controllers I may throw out of the window in frustration when the first dragon I come across roasts my ass and I lose all of my equipment and items I worked for hours to obtain. I do love wasting my time with frustratingly hard RPGs. I seem to have some sort of sick, twisted obsession with it.

Hurt me MORE Atlus

Persona 3 for PSP

So it looks like another version of Persona 3 is making its way over to the PSP. Oh man, come on Atlus, how can ya just skip over P2 like that? Originally the whole reason I threatened everyone I personally knew who owned a PSP bodily harm if they didn't preorder the upcoming P1 remake was so that Atlus could take a look at it and say, "Hmm...ya know what? This game sold very well, perhaps we could finally officially localize both versions of P2 on the PSP as well." Alas, but no, this game will be the 3rd release of a game whose original version has barely been out for 3 years. I mean, I know that P3 pretty much put the company on the map in terms of worldwide appeal, but how many re-releases of this game do we need? I sadly haven't even finished "The Answer" portion of FES yet. This game is starting to turn into Ys I and II if they keep re-releasing it. Heck, they may as well just remake LUNAR for the PSP while they're at it....oh wait.

The hate craved fools just won't stop.

So I managed to listen to the entire soundtrack for Persona on PSP and I have to say I rather enjoyed it. It's easily one of Shoji Meguro's best work to date. However, I seem share somewhat of a minority opinion regarding the soundtrack as most people actually seem to hate it. I'm not entirely sure what the reason for that is, but it seems to have to do with the fact that its representative of the fact that this series has taken a recent turn for the lighthearted and isn't all dark and moody anymore. Well, actually, I find this to be a good thing as I think the new lighthearted tone that this series has taken has made it more refreshing and sets it apart from the other games in the Megaten franchise. You want dark and moody? Go play DDS. (Don't get me wrong I love DDS, but its nice for a franchise of games to be diverse.) And honestly, the original Persona wasn't all that dark, at least in comparison to the regular Megami Tensei games that came before it. Come on guys, change is good sometimes. Embrace it. Besides, at least now we get a proper translation instead of a bastardized Americanization, so chin up okay? Everything will be alright.