The game is GREAT and there is no denying it, but while the game play is awesome, the story isn't so great.
User Rating: 9 | Phantasy Star Portable PSP
A great game, and an even better addition to the series, as well as a much appreciated one. The only problem I found was the story and the option of going into first person view. The story is boring and you'l be doing most of the progressing through still images of characters with text boxes underneath them, and while the images of the characters look great, they're just images. I just think it's a let done knowing what the PSP can handle after seeing, and shortly after playing Final Fantasy: Crisis Core. I mean there are cut scenes as well, although very rare (and very short), and the dialogue boxes you see are accompanied by character voices, but the voices you hear are just so, so bad. The VO job on this game is definetely mediocre but certainly can be overlooked when you look at the positives. One other minor thing is that: being a long range weapons user in the game, I've noticed the obvious flaws to the first person view mode, and let me just tell you that you're a lot better off just strafing around till your targets in your sites. Once you go into FPS view, you can't move and your analog stick becomes your only chance at aiming, and due to the multitude of enemies you'll be fighting in this game, going FPS to take out just one seems very trivial. So the negatives are: crappy VO, dialogue boxes, bad FPS view and REALLY short cut scenes. Well then you must be wondering what the positives are. well for starters the game plays AMAZINGLY! the controls are smooth and make sense, as well as stick to the roots of Phanatsy Star very well. Combat runs smoothly (with the exception of the FPS view) and gets you hooked very quickly. the amount of customization and cheer collecting in this game blows me away, whether you're the cast, human, newman, or beast, there is certainly something out there to fit you're style. I also really liked the integration of in game achievements, and while it doesn't work like Xbox Live's gamerscore, it certainly feels rewarding. upon recieveing a new title by meeting predetermined goals, you will also be given a reward which you must accept and then what you do with it is to your choosing. I personally like this system because this gives the excellent players the chance to boast their skill by equipping a weapon you could only unlock by reaching an insanely high level or by defeating a number of insaley strong monsters. Finally the ability to play with up to four friends at once works perfectly, and this feature certainly shouldn't be overlooked by anyone who owns the game. All in all, a great game and a great series. I hoped you liked the review :)
--