A great game that mixes puzzle with rpg type elements.
You start the game by selecting one of four different characters: knight, warrior, wizard, or druid. Each class has different abilities or spells that can be used during head to head puzzle combat. You'll journey across a game map much like Final Fantasy Tactics accepting quests and missions. On the way, your journey will take you to an ultimate confrontation with Lord Bane, the game's ultimate evil baddie.
Combat is oriented around the "match three" puzzle game. The player and enemy will take turns making moves on the puzzle grid, with matched skulls causing damage to the opponent, purple stars giving experience, coins giving money, and different colored orbs turning into magic points for spells and abilities. Game play is very strategic, as four or more of a kind will net you an extra turn to cast spells or make another move. Although the AI has an uncanny knack of getting four or five turns in a row, combat is only mildly frustrating once in a while. The main puzzle system is pretty fun to play on the whole, and it better be since the majority of the game will be spent on the puzzle grid.
When not battling enemies, your character will wander around the main map to gather information and quests. The main story is driven through marked quests given to player as the plot unfolds. Side quests are also short but interesting, whether it's finding a certain type of animal for a hungry ogre to eat, or ambushing a tribe leader to stop him from razing a city. On the PSP, moving across the map can cause some pausing on the screen as the game loads up. This can be annoying, but it doesn't happen enough to get frustrated about.
Aside from quests and the puzzle grid, the player can also learn spells from the enemies they fight, capture certain monsters called "mounts" that give you special abilities when you ride on one, capture cities and castles, and enlist companions that help you along your journey.
This game is good for both long and short term gaming, as single bouts of combat will go from two to ten minutes long. Multiplayer is also a fun but under used aspect to the game, as you can play against another person ad hoc.
Overall, this game is remarkably fun for being a hybrid puzzle/rpg game. Combat is fun, and the depth to the game is sweet. Quests can get boring at times, and the game on the PSP freezes up once in a while on the puzzle grid or on the world map, but despite these problems the game is definitely a must own for many PSP users.
8.0/10