PSP owners have long been in in need of a greater variety of solid RPGs with both engaging and customisable gameplay. There are already a few big names in this genre such as the Final Fantasy series, however, a fulfilling RPG that ticks all the boxes remains fairly rare on the handheld device. The Phantasy Star franchise makes its debut on the PSP with Phantasy Star Portable. Although problems will be encountered an awful lot during the game, it still maintains a good amount of futuristic action gameplay to back it up and  make it a satisfying RPG experience.

The plot continues on from Phantasy Star Universe in the Gurhal Star System but now the GUARDIANS Space Station is under threat from some anonymous terrorists. You start your voyage in Gurhal Star as a new GUARDIANS recruit along with your CAST teammate, Vivienne. You progress through the story in union with Vivienne, completing a variety of GUARDIANS missions in which you encounter an assortment of hostile alien lifeforms know as the SEED. Vivienne does a reasonable job of helping you when in danger and her comments now and then do offer a small amount of background comfort by refreshing you with your surroundings as well as reinstating your current objectives. However, this can become overly repetitive. As in a typical RPG, your actions and choices that you make have a direct impact on Vivienne’s character and persona. Despite all this, the story is still not well paced enough to make it as exciting as it could have been.

Apart from Story mode, there is also Multiplayer mode. However, this is limited to Local Area Network. Nevertheless, playing with a friend makes makes for a much more enjoyable experience.

Customisation is a core component in Phantasy Star Portable and is one of the highlights of the game. There are plenty of ways to customise your avatar by adjusting his/hers class and physical characteristics.  To begin with there are four different races at the start of the game which you can choose from, each with their ups and downs. However, regardless of which race you choose, they have no significant affect in the game. Your custom avatar can be used in both Story and Multi mode.

Ever since Phantasy Star Online was released almost a decade ago, the series has changed it gameplay style from turn based moves to real time action from a 3rd person perspective. You will enjoy exploring new areas and picking up loot on your way, but battling the same creatures over and over again can become a drag. You gain experience for each enemy you kill and leveling you character up is very important for the more challenging boss fights encountered later on in the game. On the bright size, combat is is one of the dominating aspects of the game. A large selection of weapons and equipment from laser swords to shotguns are available and you will always find something you like to fit your own agendas. Furthermore, the easy to access “Action Palette” always comes in handy when in the midst of battle. You can cycle through all your weapons and other items in your inventory at the touch of a button. Another feature is the ability to form a party for you and other computer controlled characters to team up while going about an objective. Up to four characters can be added to your party depending on the mission. Unfortunately, the camera angle can be problematic during combat sequences and the lock on targeting system also needs improvements.

In-game cut-scenes are far from fantastic; poor voice acting and dialogue quickly make the situation become sterile. The animation is poor with 2D visual quality and character animation is sub-standard. More of your time will be spent skipping the dull and tedious dialogue coming out of their un-animated mouths. You will find that there are virtually no NPCs to interact with. This essential component for a RPG seems to have been left out in Phantasy Star Portable. Although your allies help you in combat, the AI for them isn’t particularly great. They will occasionally not respond to an enemy and come up with useless dialogue boxes which just block up the screen and hinder your play.

Ultimately, Phantasy Star Portable seriously lacks perfection and is in need of a lot of polishing up. The multiplayer activity is definately more fun to play than the single player story Although the game has its moments, there are far too few. Phantasy Star Portable does not break new ground on the PSP and does not retain the long replay value traditionally held by a good RPG.

+ Diverse collection of available weapons.

+ Battling enemies and hunting for loot enhances game   experience.

- Mediocre story.

- Poor visuals and voice acting.

- Sub-standard AI.

- NPCs are virtually non-existent.

- Weak lasting impressions (very little gameplay value).

7.1/10

By Ian Ratledge Posted Saturday, April 11th, 2009 9:05 pm