RPGWatch Feature: The Whole Game in My Hand #9

Dhruin

SasqWatch
Joined
August 30, 2006
Messages
11,842
Location
Sydney, Australia
Mike "txa1265" Anderson has put together another massive article on the current state of handheld RPGs, with nine games reviewed in addition to overviews for each platform.
Here's a bit on Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII:
I have already mentioned how great the game looks, but I really just need to elaborate a bit because it is more than good looking - it is drop-dead gorgeous. The cutscenes - of which there are many - are equal to watching a theatrical CGI film on your PSP in terms of visual and audio quality. Voice acting is rock-solid throughout. There are also plenty of in-game scenes, which are also great to watch but contain my single complaint - there is scant voice acting despite watching the character's lips move. It seems petty, but in such a great looking game it is a shame that more of the lines weren't voiced. The look and feel of the rest of the game - characters, settings, effects and so on - are also very well done. Put simply this game looks better than almost any PS2 game and stands head-and-shoulders above pretty much any other PSP game (except the recent God of War: Chains of Olympus).
Read it all here.

More information.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
11,842
Location
Sydney, Australia
The problem I had with Crisis Core is that normal difficulty is far too easy and the new Hard difficulty is way too hard, especically given the limited amounts of time and focus I can or want to expend on a handheld. Losing an hour+ worth of progress due to lack of save points and one bad battle or an insanely difficult boss is by no means fun. For this reason, I stopped very shortly into the game on both Normal and Hard difficulty.

It's a shame they couldnt have come up with an inbetween (i.e., reasonable) level of difficulty and game balance. As it is, I'm not sure I will go back and that seems a bit of a shame given the otherwise good quality of the game.
 
Joined
Nov 30, 2006
Messages
182
I've been lurking for a year or so, but this article has finally brought me out of the woodwork. Actually, not this article so much as my inability to wait for the next one. Has anyone played Rondo of Swords? Since Mike's (excellent as always) article didn't cover it, I need to ask what people think of it. I'm a big fan of the Fire Emblem games, and enjoyed Hoshigami Remix despite its many flaws. With Etrian Odyssey II on the way I don't *need* to buy a new game, but if Rondo is a *good* and challenging SRPG, I'd like to pick it up while it's still readily available.
 
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
10
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Rondo of Swords was listed in the 'coming next quarter' section since I base this on quarterly play. I am nearly done with Rondo now and it will be in the April/May/June edition. It has an interesting battle system tied to not-great GBA caliber graphics and a SNES-ish soundtrack. The story is typical s-RPG fare and there are other annoyances as well. Oh, and it is really hard. But I don't regret the $30 I spent - it is huge and the battle system is cool. Well .. there is about 50% of my review a couple of months in advance ;)
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
14,932
Thanks for the preview of your next review. I think I'll need to spring for it; really hard is a big part of what I look for in an SRPG. A better-than-average story would be nice, but the battle system is what it's all about. Thanks again!
 
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
10
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Back
Top Bottom