Although essentially very repetitive, also very very addicting
::Beginning Story Spoilers::The single player campaign begins as you assume the role of the tried and true silent protagonist, in this case a rookie hunter, who alongside a bevy of different allies you'll come in contact with through the course of the game, have to investigate the recent development of "SEED" creatures contaminating facilities and the conspiracy behind it all.::Beginning Story Spoilers::
The story in the game doesn't stray away from the usual conventions in RPGs, but also doesn't try hard to hold your attention. Within the hub area of the game you'll interact with allies via still animation cutscenes in the first person. You can visit weapon and item shops, upgrade your wardrobe, and change the class of your character to fit your fighting style (Good with guns, or swords?). The few cutscenes the game does include aren't too stellar and the still animated story development is almost bland if not for the surprisingly decent voice work for the characters.
Progressing through the story is somewhat annoying when you have to do free missions in between story breaks to get back to the plot. The annoying aspect of the free missions are that they are all basically the same. Each mission area has different levels of difficulty, and that's about it. Missions themselves can take upwards of 20 minutes to complete, when you take into account the time you must spend defeating monsters in one area in order to progress to the next, only to have to fight more monsters, and the almost endless paths throughout. Level grinding is very essential and will take up a lot of time in the game. One of the good aspects of the gameplay is the abundance of different weapons and armor you can obtain, along with magic spells and other items.
Phantasy Star Portable isn't for everyone, but anyone familiar with MMO-style RPGs will feel right at home with the game. The only downside is the ad-hoc only multiplayer, meaning you can only play the game with a friend right next to you, and not online. That aside, the game offers a plethora of goodies to keep you entertained for a long time.