NIS America
has certainly released its share of role-playing games that range from quality
titles (the Disgaea games) to RPG fluff that is merely pandering to the
genre’s massive fan base. With a decent track record, though, role-playing game
fans like me are surprised to find that the weaker titles are clearly
overshadowed by the good ones like Mana Khemia for the PlayStation 2. So
you can imagine my excitement when NIS America decided to port and then release
it as Mana Khemia: Student Alliance for the PSP. At last, I can have a
totally super sweet portable version of a decent RPG, I said to myself. Boy,
just imagine the look of sheer joy on this overgrown kid’s face as I waited for
the game to arrive.
Now, imagine
the look of complete disappointment as if somebody had told me Santa and Eskimos
don’t exist.
The puzzling
part is that nothing has drastically changed about Mana Khemia except for
the fact that there’s an added subtitle and there’s wireless multiplayer action
via Ad Hoc. Student Alliance even features the same cast of characters
and storyline. The story revolves around a boy named Vayne Aurelius who, for
some reason, is suffering from amnesia. He wakes up to find himself speaking to
a talking cat named Sulpher who decides to stay with the boy in an abandoned
house. Several days pass and a strange man named Zeppel Kriever appears before
the boy and his cat to offer him admission to the Al-Rebis Academy … a training
academy for alchemists like him.
Intrigued,
Vayne (taking Sulpher with him) decides to attend Al-Rebis Academy to learn more
about alchemy. The campus, he finds out, is huge and he discovers that the
students and faculty are a bit on the odd side to him seeing as Vayne is a
little on the shy side. On his first day of school, he meets a young redheaded
girl named Jessica Philomele who wishes to befriend him. Together the pair comes
to explore the school and meet other students that will become members of your
party.
Thanks to a
fellow student named Flay, Vayne and Jess are asked to become a part of Flay’s
group that includes a cat-girl named Nikki. Students are often placed in groups
so they can be given the privilege of using and maintaining their own workshop
to carry out class assignments as well as coming up with their own concoctions.
On the day Flay had come to ask the two to join him and Nikki, a pair of
students named Tony and Renee attempted to bully them into coming with them
instead. It’s the first day of school and already Vayne and his new friend have
to deal with bullies.
Part of what
makes Student Alliance such a fun game is the fact that it incorporates
school elements with the main quest missions. As a student, you’ll be selecting
courses you are interested in such as combat or alchemy-based courses and
enrolling in said classes. You’ll also be participating in school events as well
as making full use of all the things the large campus has to offer including an
infirmary, cafeteria as well a student store. The majority of your school
activities and class assignments take place outside the campus area in the woods
so you’ll get to explore outside school.
Since Al-Rebis
Academy is a school for alchemists, you’ll be quickly introduced to the art of
Synthesis, which means you’ll be combining various ingredients to create items
as well as crafting weapons in the Athanor Room. With the help of Support Cards
as well as the help of fellow student, you can create powerful health potions or
even take a weapon and making it deal interesting magical damage. While you will
often find yourself turning to a recipe book, you can always find ways of
crafting on your own.
Of course,
another part of Synthesis is gathering the items the recipe requires and most
ingredients aren’t found on the campus shops or cafeteria so you’ll be searching
for them outside campus. Interestingly enough, searching isn’t a simple stroll
through a peaceful forest. You’ll be going up against monsters of various zany
breeds and time passes quickly during searches so if nightfall comes you will
encounter threats that are even more dangerous. If you’re outside campus looking
for objects or ingredients, taking too long could also cost you a few points
that will affect your overall grade.
Speaking of
monsters, you’ll be facing off against a number of them but thankfully your
roster of friends will grow early in the game. Aside from the cat-girl, you’ll
meet a girl named Pamela with a haunted teddy bear, a girl named Anna who is a
sword master and boy named Roxis who sees himself as Vayne’s rival. You can
decide who you want as a support character as well as position them during
battle. The battles are the familiar turn-based battles of every classic RPG you
ever played so there are no surprises here. The opponent AI doesn’t offer much
of a challenge unless you go up against a bigger monster.
While all of
this sounds good on paper, Student Alliance is crippled by its lengthy
and frequent load times. In fact, you’ll see a lot of the load screen for just
about everything including looking up your inventory as well as the sitting
through the dialogue. Yes, be prepared to listen to the UMD whirl about a dozen
times before the next character speaks. The game loads in battle as well so
fights drag on longer than it should. I swear, sometimes you’ll think your PSP
is actually wheezing from spinning the UMD so much and for so long. Yes, the
game features a Jump Start function that allows you to load some of the game
into your Memory Card to make the load times quicker but this feature seems to
work better on newer PSP models. Plus, it doesn’t alleviate the game from dips
in the framerate during battles or co-op Ad Hoc battles.
Visually,
Student Alliance looks a bit like the PlayStation 2 original with a few
minor blemishes. The environments and character models look the same but lack
the crispness of the console version. Well, the cut scenes contain some good
anime-styled character art. The original score is actually quite excellent as is
the opening theme song that makes it feel like you’re watching a good anime.
Even the school song is just plain awesome. The voice acting isn’t bad but there
are some voices that just lack the energy of the better voices.
Role-playing
game fans that loved Mana Khemia for the PlayStation 2 will be very
disappointed by Student Alliance seeing as we’ve seen better ports on the
PSP. Crippled by framerate issues and numerous and lengthy load times, you won’t
be able to think that this game really would have been better off as a PSN
download instead. It’s a great game for those with the patience to put up with
the hardware problems but everyone else is better off looking for a copy of the
PS2 original.
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Gameplay: 5.5
Sadly, the long
load times make even opening your item inventory screen such a chore but once
you get past that and a few other blemishes you will enjoy the lengthy adventure
and fun school atmosphere. While not deep, class assignments are actually quite
fun and lead to exploration of your surroundings off campus.
Graphics: 6.0
The visuals
aren’t as sharp or as detailed as the PS2 version and there are times when the
cut scenes have a washed out look that has no place on the PSP. At least the
character models look Ok during the game and cut scenes have an appealing anime
look.
Sound: 7.0
If it wasn’t for
a few weak spots in the voice acting, this would have been like watching a great
anime series. Some voices do stand out nicely but the real treat here comes in
the form of the game’s soundtrack that is delightfully cinematic.
Difficulty: Medium
Like most
role-playing games, you’ll find yourself in many a battle and some of them
feature some truly powerful enemies or monsters. The villains in the game will
offer the toughest challenges, however, so you will definitely have to level up
considerably.
Concept: 6.0
The concept of
alchemy is introduced nicely in this game so you’ll not only be able to craft a
number of interesting items but also synthesize your own concoctions using
various ingredients. Since you’re a student, you’ll also attend classes, watch
your grades and even involve yourself in school activities. You can also tackle
battles with a friend via Ad Hoc.
Multiplayer: 5.5
You can also
include a friend in a battle thanks to Ad Hoc mode. Playing cooperatively is a
lot better seeing as you can ask a friend to heal you instead of waiting for the
AI-controlled character to figure out that a comrade is in need of healing. The
game doesn’t run as smoothly as it should, though.
Overall: 5.5
Sadly, Mana
Khemia: Student Alliance for the PSP is a poorly ported game that makes this
a frustrating game to play rather than an enjoyable one like its PS2 original.
Still, if you’re willing to overlook these problems or have a newer model PSP,
Student Alliance is an engaging RPG that has a lot to offer.
