The Sony PSP is
home to many a game genre that is fit to appease the most hardcore of sports
gamers, the legions of action fans and the scores of puzzle fans and platformer
aficionados. Still, fans of role-playing games like myself have been feeling
left out. Sure there are a few RPGs already available but neither one stands as
a true portable classic. So I get giddy whenever a new RPG for the PSP is
released and that’s why I welcome Astonishia Story. Unfortunately, this
one doesn’t have Instant Classic written all over it but it’s still better than
nothing, right RPG fans?
Astonishia
Story tells
the tale of the young and honorable knight, Lloyd von Roiental, who is proud to
have been chosen to help escort the sacred Staff of Cainan to its new
destination as it has always been done for years. Along with the grizzled
commander, Lance, the caravan sets off as the town showers the knights with
flower peddles and fireworks. Yet in the wilderness the caravan is attacked and
Commander Lance is killed during an ambush. Lloyd fights alongside his remaining
knights only to lose a duel with the leader of the band of enemies that goes by
the name of Francis de la Cross. Suddenly, Lloyd wakes and finds that he is the
only survivor of the attack. He vows to regain his honor by tracking down this
mysterious Francis, retrieve the Staff, and bring it back home.
So the story
might not be any different from other classic role-playing games and while the
events that unfold don’t ultimately build up to a battle of epic proportions,
the quest isn’t a boring one either. The world of Sylvenia is an interesting one
filled with enough towns, dungeons and monsters to keep you busy. Unfortunately,
the characters are thinly drawn and the lack enough personality to make you care
about them or their reasons for joining Lloyd on his quest. Then again, they
have a few redeemable qualities that do manage to shine through at various
moments throughout the quest.
Mainly,
Astonishia Story plays like an old-school RPG in that you will be following
the game’s main objective while taking on side missions that are merely fetch
quests. Many of the fetch quests are actually easy to complete. For example, in
one town a wandering band of thugs steals a sacred jewel and you are tasked by
getting the jewel back. Walking into town you’ll find the local bar and lo and
behold, the thug and his friends is drinking ale and pushing townsfolk around.
Other quests have you going out of town and locating a dungeon or area within
the map to retrieve an item or kidnapped person. Here’s the most unfortunate
aspect of these side missions, you can’t chose to ignore them. Rather, the game
forces you to complete them if you want the main story to continue.
Fortunately, you
will gain enough money from completing the side quests and money will allow you
to buy more useful items like a variety of different weapons as well as armor
and magical items. While Lloyd is a knight skilled in armed combat, he also
knows his way around magical spells and they come in good use during battles.
The best part is that the companions that join him also possess a number of
useful traits. Yleene, the apprentice wizard, for example, has a number of great
spells while Jenas, the archer, is proficient in shooting arrows at a great
distance.
Control-wise,
Astonishia Story is easy to pick up and just start playing. It’s an
old-school RPG that is basic and lacking the complex scheme of recent
role-playing games on the big consoles. This isn’t a bad thing, by any means,
but because it’s so basic things like combat require very little skill or
thought. Sure you can manage your team and by deciding what spells work best
against certain monsters or enemies but the turn-based battles aren’t incredibly
difficult to begin with in the first place. There are a number of random battles
and because you can see the enemy moving around on the map you can also avoid
confrontations while exploring the map. Still, thanks to the easily accessible
menu screen and battle options, even a novice RPG gamer can survive a major
battle.
The world you’ll
explore is also pretty basic, with nothing really that stands out or offers
anything diverse like, say, the amusement park in Final Fantasy VII. The
game does strive to add its own unique touch to the game and there are some
inside jokes that – strangely enough – all seem to be centered on video game
piracy. For example, you’ll meet a busy-haired fellow in the forest early in the
game who suddenly demands that you break out the instruction manual to prove
that you’re playing the game and not a pirated copy. Lloyd immediately denies
this request so you won’t have to look through the manual but this is the type
of inside humor you can come to expect.
Visually,
Astonishia Story is not a bad-looking game despite its old-school visual
charm. Really, the visuals will take you back to the early PSOne RPGs like
Final Fantasy Tactics. The environments are nicely detailed despite this
fact and there are some neat little animations for each character during
dialogue. There are even some decent visual effects when spells are cast. As for
the game’s sound, the soundtrack is repetitive but never annoying and the few
sound effects works well during battle as well as during conversations.
In the end,
Astonishia Story for the PSP is a likeable role-playing that doesn’t rise
above its been-there-done-that design nor will it find a place among other
classic RPGs. Part of the problem is the simplicity of the gameplay and the fact
that the story isn’t moving and the characters won’t be close to your heart;
yet, if you’re looking for a good portable distraction or an RPG you can take
with you then you might just want to consider playing this game.
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Gameplay: 6.5
The simplistic
pick-up-and-play controls are perfect for those new to the role-playing game
genre and even better for those looking for a portable RPG that isn’t as complex
as many of the console games. Unfortunately, there is nothing innovative here
and the story just doesn’t seem as epic. Add generic characters to the mix and
uninspiring combat and you get an idea of what this game is like.
Graphics: 6.5
The graphics
are as dated as the gameplay and that isn’t bad considering the fact that the
environments and characters are well detailed and colorful. There are some funny
animations and decent visual effects but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before in
classic RPGs.
Sound: 6.0
The soundtrack
that plays throughout the game doesn’t get old at all despite the fact that
you’ll often hear the same tune each time you enter a town or dungeon. There’s
no voice acting but there’s some sound effects that work well enough.
Difficulty:
Medium
Thanks to the
pick-up-and-play controls, combat is just as easy to manage so you won’t have
much of a problem fighting off the wave of enemies. Like most RPGs, you’ll
encounter difficult monsters and foes that put up quite a fight. Some enemies
certainly know how to use their magic so expect some lengthy fights along with
some short ones.
Concept: 6.0
While the
game’s story is mediocre at best and the characters are somewhat interesting,
it’s the game’s world that will win you over. However, even though there is a
lot to see and do in the game there is no real reason gamers will want to play
it again after they’re finished.
Overall: 6.0
If you’re
looking for a generic role-playing game that isn’t half-bad despite its dated
gameplay then Astonishia Story might just be the PSP game you’ll want to
buy. Its story might not be very original and the characters can sometimes have
the personality of cardboard cut-outs but it does a few things right enough to
be that much-needed RPG fix for when you’re on the go.
