Slow to start but worth getting through the beginning.

User Rating: 8 | Valhalla Knights 2 PSP
I don't usually buy a game right off when it first comes out, but I'm glad I did with this one. There are a few draw-backs, but I've found some of them are leading to enjoying the game even more. I'll start at the beginning.
You begin the game with a toon you create. There are only 5 face choices and 5 hair choices for each race, male and female so some may not like the toon creation. However when you consider the fact that you never really see your toon's face, it's not that big of a deal.
Some say the game is too hard. I beg to differ. This is not a hack-n-slash game where you can just jump in and fight everything you see right off the bat. You have to take your time and build your toon slowly. I suggest spending the 500G to get an ally as soon as you get the money.
Money management is also a big part of the game. Every time you die (or your entire party dies) you are transported back to the inn where the innkeeper takes half your money. When you pick up an item and find that you cannot use it, don't keep it - sell it.
Speaking of items, this is my biggest gripe about the game - every item you pick up cannot be used until you analyze it. Analysis cards ,which are used to identify everything else you pick up, are the only thing you can use right away. Until I created a priest ally and found the analysis spell, I was very frustrated and had an almost full inventory of items I could not use and did not have the money to pay for analyzing.
Another gripe I had was the book. Nothing is explained in the book. Don't even bother reading it. I was upset by the fact that my mage couldn't cast any old spell I came across - after all, he learned the spell, it's in his spell book, why won't he use it?!?!. I'm still working on exactly who can use which spells. And I've done it all through rather costly trial and error. (If I had kept those books and sold them instead of using them on a mage who can't use the spell I'd be rich!) however, now that I'm more familiar with the game it's becoming a little bit of a game figuring out who can use which spells.
The inventory system could be better. Instead of having pages of similar items, everything's just thrown in there. You can sort the items so that they're grouped, but I would have preferred having one page for flasks, one for armor, one for weapons, etc.
Sometimes you have to go through three or more menus to get to the item or ability you want to use, but eventually it becomes almost second nature.
Battles are frenzied. Some kind of pause ability would have been a boon, even if it is only used to see how the battle is going. Everything is always over so quickly I still haven't seen all the menus that are available during battle. They are simply button-mashing battles and relatively simple. Your party members; actions are controlled through a simplistic behavior system. They are more effective than I would have thought, after having seen the behavior model.
It has been hinted at many times that there are more than the starting city, but I've not yet seen anything other than that city and the slums and forest beyond. I'm looking forward to traveling to other locations. I am, however, taking things slow. I don't like dying and so I avoid it at all costs.
I gave the game an 8.0 out of 10. There are some flaws, but overall it's an enjoyable game.