Very charming action/platform RPG. A game that should not be overlooked.
So your adventure starts, you get to learn about Monster Village and the Phantoms. I don't want to give too much of the story away. The story is fun and starts off as a great RPG. This is a action RPG which means there is a little platforming, fighting, and typical RPG elements (for example the World Map is very RPG like, you go to the world map to visit other locations). You are graded on how well you explore each dungeon, if you do well with no game over you get a S Medal and a Master Rank. These medals can be turned in for better prizes (accessories for Parin). If you don't do so well you will be ranked a letter grade and given a Bronze or Silver medal, these too can be turned in but the prizes aren't as great. If you play during Dec. or Jan you may get holiday prizes, as rumored by the instruction guide. Parin moves effortlessly through the world, she can jump and get to high places really quickly. Parin levels up and her drill changes and levels up as well. There are chests to find, jars to break, upgrades to make on your equipment, and the environment can be destroyed to give you even more points. The graphics are cute and charming (the buildings and fences look a little bit Tim Burton/Nightmare Before Christmas in places and that is always a good thing). If you like cute characters, great voice acting (*cough* Tara Strong and Steve Blume), anime, any type of RPG's this is a game for you. A note on voice acting, in some RPGs you have to read the dialog yourself, for this game every cutscene is voiced acted which gives it a movie quality. Some of the lines are really funny and entertaining. The game was created by a cool Japanese game developer, so a lot of the quirkiness is left in.
Cons: the game has a little too many loading screen, but this does not take away from gameplay. Only when your entering a dungeon or cutscene etc. you will see this. But it's just me being picky.
To me this was not a easy game, but to others it may be. I think it is for all ages, and not strictly for little kids, it's just a fun and unique game. Playing on normal mode opens up other difficulty levels etc. I am happy to see the PSP embracing Japanese RPG's and producing unique games. I love the Nintendo DS, but I also love my PSP, and I would like to know that I don't always have to go to Nintendo to get a game like this. This game is a super great game, please don't miss this game!