Phantasy Star makes a comeback, and though it wasn't the best, its still PSO! Its great!

Intro- Welcome to the past! Err, I mean Phantasy Star Portable! The fact of the matter is, PSP is a rehashed version of the beloved series. Don’t let that discourage you though, the game is just as good on the psp as it was on the PC or any console. It is a port, of sorts, of Phantasy Star Universe, with improvements. For those new to the series, this is hack and slash at its finest. There are a ton of weapons, plenty of skills, different races, different “jobs,” and dungeons galore!

Story 5/10- Most PSO and PSU veterans know that the story in these games is lack luster at best. The point of the game lies in its gameplay, contrary to some big name RPGs. Players will create a character that is automatically forced into the life of a GUARDIAN, a type of soldier that is sent out to the field to destroy threats to civilian life. The story consists of NPC’s interacting with the player, talking about the mission ahead or comments on the different races in the game. PSP takes a stab at racial difference, with the intent to raise interest in the star system of Guhral. Unfortunately, it does not pull it off very well, and I found myself skipping through conversations just to get to the next mission. The point of missions is to defeat the infectious SEED that has turned common animals into monsters. When I say the story is lack luster, I am not lying. There really isn’t much depth at all.

Music/Graphics 7/10- The music is at times very mellow and at other times very epic. But it doesn’t exactly matter, because you won’t be hearing much of it. While shopping in the menu, a very distinct noise is made when going from one item to the next, which drowns out all background music. I wouldn’t call this annoying, just distracting if you want to hear the score that the game has to offer. During battle, the music is actually fantastic. It can be both riveting and dramatic, and is once again drowned out. Except this time, by the heat of battle. The music is not bad by any means; you just won’t be hearing it really. The graphics are pretty good for a game that is based off one from the Xbox 360. Character figures are all very distinct, the weapons all glow and look rather cool when moving around quickly, and the monster designs are fantastic. The only qualms I have about the graphics are some of the TECHNIC (magic) attacks the game has to offer. The attacks seem like they were taken straight from the original Dreamcast PSO game, with absolutely no alteration whatsoever. However, the rest of the game looks great.

Gameplay 9/10- This is where the entire PSO series shines. Especially this game, because there isn’t much but the gameplay. PSP is your standard hack and slash RPG, a dungeon crawler if you will. Players create a character with a choice between four different races: humans, beasts, newmans, and CASTs. Each have their own pros and cons; some are better with close combats, others excel in guns or TECHNIC attacks. Once created players go to dungeons with the intent of killing a specific monster at the end of the mission. This can be a strong, rare monster, or a boss that no matter what, always enters the battle flying from some far off spot. Bosses come in two fashions, a dragon like monster that has a long tail and rarely flies, or a bat like…thing, with long arms and flies most of the battle. The latter can become quite monotonous, as the only way to hit it while it is the air is with a gun, and the controls aren’t the best. The camera can be tricky, the only way to truly turn it is with the d-pad. This wouldn’t be a problem, but since the only way to move is with the joystick, things can be difficult. The camera can be reset to behind the character, but it isn’t always the most effective way of fighting the enemy.

PSP contains weapons for every preference. There are slow swords, fast swords, axes, fists, guns, dual blades, rods. That is only a few. And a great thing about PSP is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. There are chicken outfits, shiskabab weapons, an axe that looks like a giant lollipop. It is comedic relief like this that actually brings a smile to the players face. Aside from that, every weapon has several special moves that can become heavy hits or elaborate combos. The special moves help break the monotony of the standard combo, and with the quick changing slot, players can have up to six weapons at the ready for when they feel like switching. It is a really great setup, and compliments the gameplay as whole.

One downside, that some might completely write the game off because of this, is the lack of online play. Yes, there is Ad-hoc. But that is limited to PS3 owners, which is a hefty price to play this game online. Aside from that, there is no online play. There is wireless with someone near you in real life, but that isn’t exactly the most convenient way to play with others, especially in this day and age. It is a sad fact, but PSP loses a huge part of its essence without online play. I guess that’s why it is titled “Phantasy Star Portable” instead of “Phantasy Star Online: Portable.”

Playtime/Replayability 8/10- This game is consuming. It is hard to put it any other way. The story is easy, but the bulk of the game comes from free missions. There are four planets to travel between, each with plenty of free missions for the player to traverse. Each mission is replayable, and with the same reward at the end. This adds incentive to replay the missions, or just go collecting for new weapons or armor. With eight different “jobs” to level up to level 10, players who love to complete the entire game will find themselves replaying missions quite a bit. As for replayability, there are four different races! Create as many characters as your memory stick can hold, try out all the difference races, find which you like the best. Level each kind to lvl 100. The game keeps the player plenty busy, truly living up to the hack and slash status quo.

Final Score 7/10- I thoroughly enjoyed PSP, as I am a huge fan of the PSO series. The gameplay is classic PSO, and despite the lack of online play, it is still fun. If you have a PS3, you have no reason to avoid this title. If you are the kind of player that doesn’t care about online play, or just want a great hack and slash title, this is the game for you. Definitely worth the money.