'Reviews' Category

God of War: Chains of Olympus, also fondly known as GOW Lite, is the third of the award-winning franchise and the first to make it onto the PSP. It must be said that since its very first title, God of War has always been described as a franchise with an epic feel; and due to that, GOW Lite itself has been eagerly awaited by fans far and wide as one of the definite must-get games of the year. Just a word of warning, though, you don’t call this title LITE for nothing…

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Welcome to a review of the supreme mother - the Jenova - of all RPG games on the PSP; the one single game that caused more quake in the PSP gaming arena than probably all other games combined. Yes, you would have guessed by now; we are talking about Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII here.

Logically, this game shouldn’t need an introduction but for the benefit of the uninitiated, Crisis Core is, for now, the final part of the Compilation of FFVII project that also includes a movie (Advent Children), a cellphone game (Before Crisis) as well as a PS2 title (Dirge of Cerberus). With mega-budget and 2 years in the making, it goes without saying that Crisis Core comes with unprecedented expectation from both fans and newbies alike. Did it fulfil that expectation? Let’s keep that a mystery for now…

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Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure is an Action RPG that feels more like an adventure platformer with RPG elements thrown in for good measures. On the surface, many might be led to believe Gurumin is just a kid game, what’s with its over-the-top “feel good” factor and its wacky Disney-style characters. But beneath it all is actually a pretty good game with some challenging elements, memorable characters and hilarious dialogues to keep gamers glued to their PSPs. This is a game that is going pleasantly surprise those who dare give it a try.

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For the record, Breath of Fire III (BOF3) was released in 1998 for the PSOne and is the third installment of the franchise. Prior to the millennium, the Breath of Fire franchise was doing extremely well worldwide, but unfortunately it ended with Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter on the PS2, where reviews nosedived due to a complete change of direction in gameplay and a lackluster effort in the story department. Nonetheless, PSP gamers will be glad to know that BOF3 remains, in many fans’ opinions, one of the most complete among the installments and it is definitely worth a play whichever console it comes out in.

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SRPG is a genre that appeals not to the masses; and I for one will be quick to admit I am not an SPRG fan and probably never will be. Despite that, I have decided to give Jeanne D’Arc a try for three reasons. (a) The pre-release screenshots looked pretty darned gorgeous; (b) I am a sucker for anime-style characters which this title offers plenty of; and (c) this is made by Level-5. So, was playing this game a generally pleasant experience? You betcha. But did it change my opinion of SRPG forever? Well… maybe not.

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Silent Hill Origins is the fifth installment of the Silent Hill series and the first ever to make it onto the PSP. As a fan of the survival horror genre, I was delighted when I heard this was coming; and with my anticipation came really, really high hopes. I remember wanting Origins to have a captivating story like Silent Hill 2. I wanted it to feature the same kind of disturbing atmosphere as its predecessors, if not spookier. Most importantly, I wanted this game to scare me silly. Did I get my wish? You can bet your hats it did.

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In an age of crazy head-spinning 3D platformers and undemanding adventure games toned down for the lazy new-generation gamers, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a much-needed reality check for the modern developers. Make no mistake about it, the 2 games (and 1 remake) in this collection ROCKS, despite them being more than 10 year-old. In fact, The Dracula X Chronicles rocks so hard it practically demands to be the first non-RPG to make it into PSPHyper Review! So here it is, PSPHyper take on Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles.

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The first Final Fantasy I ever played was FFVII on the PS. It was the good old 1997 and PS was the most cutting-edge console at that time. Not surprisingly, Cloud and gang left a lasting impression on my mind (warranting 4 replays using all characters) and opened my eye to the world of FF. Since then, I’ve been working myself both forward and backward in the series. And finally, I’m back at Final Fantasy I - the glorious original RPG that started it all!

When FF arrived at the PSP, I reminded myself to keep an open mind. After all, we are talking about a 20-year-old game, in an era where moving 16-color images were considered “cutting-edge” and the meaning of “plot twist” hasn’t even been invented yet in the gaming world. Square Enix claimed the title has been reworked, which to me, literally translated to making the characters look human enough so they don’t give you a headache. Still, I was game enough to give this a try because gamers everywhere seem to agree it’s one of the better RPGs out there. So here goes, PSPHyper’s take on the legendary title that is Final Fnatasy.

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Many owners know that RPGs come far and between on the PSP. And if you are an RPG gamer like me, you would most probably grab anything that comes your way. The game developers know this, and they also know the easiest way to generate revenue is to port an existing game, perhaps give it a graphical and sound face life or two, and then put it on the shelves for all the RPG freaks out there who would play anything out of sheer desperation as they await the next Brave Story: New Traveler or Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

To be fair, sometimes the ports work out really well and deliver the results, most of the time however, these ports possess game engines that are grossly outdated, unnecessarily slow for a modern console, and generally give you an outdated feel. Riviera: The Promised Land, a game released in 2002, falls into the second category; though it does possess a certain charm that differentiates it from other RPGs. But is it enough to make it actually fun in the modern times? Read on to find out…

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Before you read this review or play this title, let it be known that Tales of the World: Radiant Mytholody (”TOTW”) is actually a spin off from the famed “Tales of” series created by Namco. Revolving around a concept which screams “FAN SERVICE”, TOTW is an obvious excuse by the developer to feature the characters from hits such as Destiny and Symphonia; in a “What if we put all the favourite characters together?” scenario. If you’re a fan, there’s really no excuse for not getting this. If you’re not… read on to find out.

And before we proceed any further… YES, I’m a fan.

Expected A Better Story

Let’s start off with the disappointing bit first. For all the hype surrounding this title, and the fact that this is a “Tales of” RPG (possibly my favourite RPG franchise of all time), I really really expected a better story. I know the recent Tales of games have been on a downward spiral as far as their plots are concerned, but still, the lack of effort in this one is too evident to be ignored.

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