Studio Ghibli and Level-5's Ni no Kuni (The Another World) PS3

Level-5 and Studio Ghibli has revealed that they are developing a video game, Ni no Kuni (The Another World) for the PS3 console. This is the same game that is also being developed for the DS, though it will obviously feature upgraded visuals and animation.

It will also support the new PlayStation Move controller, though little is known how that would work. It will be released in 2011. Check out the amazing 720p direct screenshots and the trailer below.

Level-5 are masters in JRPG, and combined with the story telling expertise of Studio Ghibli, I honestly can not wait for this game. They better be planning on localising it.

Valkyria Chronicles: Selvaria's Mission DLC review

Playing and completing Valkyria Chronicles was one of my gaming highlights in recent years. It is the kind of game I would utter in the same breath of Uncharted 2 - that is just how impressed I am about the SRPG title. In fact if I've actually played it back in 2008 when it was released here, I would have named it my personal GotY. Unfortunately it is also the last great game SEGA developed. Consider this a LTTP review.

In any case, Valkyria Chronicles has been granted with a healthy dose of downloadable content (DLC). I've always been a skeptic of the DLC business model, viewing it as a way for lazy developers to charge gullible gamers for what should have been in the disc itself. Still Valkyria Chronicles's DLCs are a bit different as they offer missions from the perspective of people outside of the main Squad 7 main posse.

My love for Valkyria Chronicles combined with SEGA's recent price cut of the DLC ultimately prompted me to make my first ever DLC purchase on the PS3's PlayStation Store. Incredible what a quid and twenty pence saving can do to you... I am either a genius or a sad little man.

Two of the DLC available surrounds a character called Edy. She is a character whom I've only used only once before being unceremoniously and dishonourably discharged, as I have very little interest in the back story of a happy go lucky pop star wannabee. Apparently her character is quite a bit popular in Japan - which explains SEGA's willingness to create two DLC just for her. But how she became popular is beyond me, though I suspect that it may be a cultural thing. They do like their lolita pop singers there.

There is one DLC though that I'll never ever pay for and which I would not recommend any sensible people to pay for and that is the Hard EX Mode. I remember the time when increased difficulty mode (and then some) came with all games whether you like it or not, but not so with SEGA. With Valkyria Chronicles, you have to pay to play in hard. Ridiculous ain't it? Valkyria Chronicles is one of the most balanced game out there, so I can't imagine regular people getting much enjoyment from this mode. Still hardcore gamers with plenty of time on their hands would love this.

The DLC I decided to purchase is the Selvaria's Mission "Behind Her Blue Flame" pack. The fact that the DLC offers missions from the enemy's perspective is pretty compelling and in my opinion, the greatest incentive to purchasing this instead of the Edy stuff. It isn't just made up by a bunch of side quests by unmemorable and uninteresting squad members, but a whole new storyline that serves to flesh out the Selvaria character you thought you knew. At 224MB, you will at least be assured that the DLC isn't merely an unlocking code to content already provided on the disc.

In Selvaria's Mission, you follow Johann, an engineer assigned to Selvaria. The missions takes during the early stages of the invasion by the Imperial forces on Gallia, several years before the main storyline as detailed in Valkyria Chronicles. There are a total of four missions in the mission pack, one of which requires you to gain A-ranking on the first three missions in order to unlock. The second mission is also dependent on whether you meet an optional and undisclosed objective in the first mission (spoiler: destroying General Damon's tank).

Ultimately I love this pack and have had no regret making this my first DLC purchase. Any fans of Valkyria Chronicles would be a fool to want to miss this as it allows them to play as Selvaria themselves. Despite her weapon, Selvaria isn't as strong as she was in the main campaign. Here she is paired with the aforementioned Johann where the two must work together. You see, Selvaria carries grenades and ragnades out of principle. Her only weapon is her powerful Ruhm, easily the most powerful weapon in the game. So while she has the power of a Shocktrooper and the legs of a Scout, she can't really do much else. Johann on the other hand is pretty weak (both mentally and physically) but acts as her personal field medic. He also does rudimentary tasks like clearing the path for Selvaria. So you see, the two must work together.

The difficulty has also been changed significantly. In the original campaign the Gallians were a pretty weak bunch early on, but they pack a mighty punch in this DLC and have greater power, accuracy and evade stats. The Imperials are also terrible at accuracy, particularly the snipers. Getting A-rank will require plenty of patience as well as trial and error, particularly in one of the second missions. Completing the second mission will also unlock Selvaria's powerful Ruhm gun for use in the main campaign by Squad 7's shocktroopers, sort of a reward to the player. Complete the first three missions with A-rank and you get to play as Selvaria in her Valkyrur form - complete with lance and everything. Exciting isn't it?

For a £1.99 DLC, Selvaria's Mission offers plenty of game time. There's at least 4-6 hours worth of content here, more than the single player campaign of some full priced games. Plus we get to see the softer side of Selvaria's, and from the invading nation's point of view. Anybody who consider themselves a fan of Valkyria Chronicles, or SPRG in general, should seriously consider investing in this.

Valkyria Chronicles is currently available for a low low price of £13/$19.99. Selvaria's Mission DLC (as well as Challenge of the Edy Detachment, Edy's Mission and Hard EX Mode) is currently on offer (from £3.19 to £1.99) until 29 April 2010.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy review

Ridiculous as it sounds, Dissidia: Final Fantasy contains an actual story. Do not worry too much about it though as the plot is basically none-canon and isn't particularly compelling. Still, as far as storyline in fighting games goes it is pretty good - though somewhat predictable (something to do about feuding gods and crystals needed to save the world - shocking!). Like any other fighting games, completing each character arc will complete the overall story arc from the different perspective of its different character. Enjoy the story for what it is and you will find yourself enjoying the game more, which I did.

Dissidia features a total of 22 characters, eleven heroes and eleven villains, one each from Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy X, plus a heroine from Final Fantasy XI and a villain from Final Fantasy XII (screw the haters, it is a great game and one I enjoyed far far more than Final Fantasy X). Quite why there isn't a hero from Final Fantasy XII is puzzling - I was looking forward to shooting bolts from sky pirate Balthier's shotgun (screw the haters - it is a lovely game). Still the line up is impressive with characters that ought to please the majority of Final Fantasy fandom, though I do wish for a bit more.

Dissidia's gameplay is pretty difficult to describe to an average JRPG fan seeing that is is basically nothing like the traditional Final Fantasy gameplay many have come to either admire or loathe. Battles are in real time and allows for free roaming, something that turn-based RPG exclusive gamers will have to get used to (not surprising considering this is an Advent Children 'simulator') and requires twitch response. Unlike most arcade fighting games, battle takes place on a fully three dimensional field map and can occasionally get very hectic and confusing as characters soar around. It may look difficult in the videos, but less than an hour into the game and I've already found the title to be very accessible. If anything at all, it is actually feels like the Dragon Ball game there never was. Bizarre that it took another franchise to get it right, but there you go.

Two types of attacks are available, one which allows you to 'steal' the opponents BP (brave points). Another is a standard attack, which you use to reduce their HP (health points). There is a catch - you need to have BP to attack and opponent, meaning you will need to chain the different attacks together. Press O to execute the Bravery attack, which steals your opponents BP, then press the square button to execute the HP attack. Before you moan, the game is a bit more complex than that and while button mashing O and square alternatively may get you through the first couple of fights, you will not be winning plenty with that sort of strategy.



One of the more advance gameplay element here is the EX Mode. This works by collecting EX Cores and EX Force to fill it. Once filled, allows the player to enter EX Mode (R + square button). This mode boost your characters stats temporarily - for example Cecil will alternate between his Dark Knight and Paladin form, Sephiroth to his one-winged angel form and Terra to her Esper form. Whilst in this mode, the character can perform EX Burst or 'super moves' as Square Enix aptly puts it (e.g. Limit Break). These are available by pressing the square button when the button appears on screen, allowing you to execute a special attacks by pressing a combination of buttons ala God of War QTE mode.

EXP (for levelling up), AP and Gils (money) can be gained from battles, one of the few Final Fantasy RPG elements that has been made available here. Each characters maintains their own EXP levels, though equipments bought or found can be shared. The equipments, armour and accessories or each characters can also be customised before each battle, though this should be expected in every modern fighting game. Items can be bought and sold via the customization menu, while PP points (gained whether you lose or win) can be used to unlock bonus items such as icons, additional characters and alternative costumes. New moves are unlocked and can be equipped to the character's skillset. These skills can be mastered with AP gained while the abilities are equipped. Completing as many battle is a necessity to unlock more characters, costumes and items, using the points gained in each battle and story mode.

The story modes are divided between the characters you play, and are also categorised in difficulty. If I remember correctly, Cloud and Cecil's story missions are the 'easiest' and Tidus and Firion's merely 'easy', so I suggest going through those first. The different characters stories are intertwined between each other and occasionally overlap, so it makes sense to play through all of them. Each story are further divided into chapters, with each chapters featuring a tiled gameboard which sort or a substitute for a world map, where limited amount of Destiny Points are set aside to progress through. Enemies and loots are littered on the map, and engaging each one will consume a DP. Bonus DP can be gained by satisfying certain criteria with select matches, for example by defeating the opponent or achieving EX Mode within a time frame.

Visually, Dissidia is stunning. Characters are modelled with a reasonably high amount polygons. Obviously the lack of geometrical detail of the arena themselves helps a lot, but with the amount of speed going around you will be hard pressed to notice. Character animations are fluid and with great overall detail. It actually looks very much like Kingdom Hearts on the PS2, which I found impressive stylistically and visually. This is easily the best looking portable Final Fantasy game yet, besting Crisis Core, and actually coming close to the fluidity and graphical quality of God of War: Chains of Olympus. My biggest complain is while the environment is destructible, they sometimes 'heal' over time. It is unnerving and I rather they have left it alone. Still the environment can be used to the player's advantage. For example knock your opponents into the war allows you to build up your Bravery points or add-on to the HP attack. Walls can also be scaled which allows for some good sneak attack.

The score is naturally based on the various Final Fantasy and their character themes. They've been rearranged and remixed obviously, but if you are a veteran Final Fantasy gamer you will recognise them immediately. Other than that, there is nothing much else to add. It would be nice if a totally new score be created from the ground up, but fan service was in needing to be served and serve well they did.

Due to the amount of customisation, available characters, unlockables, multiplayer (local only) and chapters, the replayability of this title is pretty high. I am guessing that there is close to 100 hours of gaming to be had here if you are a completest and wishes to unlock everything. Different characters have different traits, most of the time true to their personality and signature fighting style obtained in their respective canon titles. Firion, the protagonist of Final Fantasy II, works best with strategist and those who love to hide and shoot thanks to his range attacks, where as characters like Cloud or Squell works well as melee fighters. There is a good amount of variation between the different characters allowing for different style of gameplay. As a bonus, Dissidia also has support for local wireless play (ad-hoc), though not having infrastructure meant that I have no way of testing the multiplayer mode sadly (you can actually play online via the PS3 ad-hoc party but I haven't tested this).

I personally believe that Dissidia: Final Fantasy is a well defined portable title. You can pick it up and have a go for a couple of minutes, unlike say Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, which requires a delicate amount of time wasting to get things done. Like the aforementioned title, Dissidia lacks a compelling story - but that's okay because the gameplay is damn well near perfect. Sure this is more of a fan service than anything else, but if you are into mash-ups you will definitely want to check this. You will not be getting your favourite Final Fantasy remade, but here's one with for all the fanboys and fangirls (and others) on one silver polished platter - as long as you enjoy fighting games that is.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy is out now in North America. The European version will be released next week. A special edition version will also be available. Expect to see the title on the PSN store once the PSPgo is released.

Final Fantasy VII on PSN

Owners of PSP and PS3 will be glad to find that Square Enix and Sony has finally came to their senses and uploaded their big money maker title onto the PlayStation Network. Lord knows why they didn't do it sooner, but that isn't the point.

If you have never played Final Fantasy VII, then you should, even if it isn't the greatest RPG ever (IMO). For £7.99/€9.99/US$9.99 (honestly, I was expecting £12 at least) who cares, as it is still a pretty darn good value considering the amount of gameplay in it. So if you are feeling nostalgic and do not own the original PS1 game, or has yet to start your Final Fantasy adventure, then head off to the PlayStation Store and download it.

Now Square-Enix, when will we see Final Fantasy IX and Xenogears on PSN?

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 mini-review

Is it really 2009? Here I am writing up a quick review of a PS2 game, and I keep wondering myself how on earth did the PS2 lasted this long. Why, by releasing quality titles like Persona 4. Released in Europe just a couple of months ago, I've finally found myself the time to complete it. Maybe I am getting a bit too old for epic RPG quests...

I am not going to bother with a full review as I am pretty worn out. Plus most of Persona 4's gameplay is so similar to Persona 3 you can just read my long review of the previous game here... If you are interested in Persona 4, it is likely you have already bought it and do not need me to convince you. No, this was written more out of love for the title than obligation, and there is plenty to love with in this Shin Megami spin-off.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is the successor to the hugely popular Persona 3 game, the game that I credit to finally taking the Shin Megami Tensei to the mainstream. Not that it is a mainstream kind of series, but it is good that gamers that would normally only have eyes for Final Fantasy, is finally being taken by Atlus's flagship series. Unlike Persona 3's urban environment, Persona 4 takes place in a Japanese countryside and also involves playing a student protagonist. New features includes a weather forecast system and events that happens on rainy and foggy days (similar to the full moon phases in Persona 3).



The story begins a year after the events of Persona 3 in a small town in the Japanese countryside where the main character has been sent to live with his uncle by his parents. Shortly after arriving, the town is gripped by the mysterious death of a TV presentor whose body was found hung from an antenna. Soon rumours begin to spread that watching a blank telly on a rainy night, the person's soul mate will appear on the screen at exactly midnight. The protagonist soons discovers that he is able to enter the alternative dimension of the television. As murders continue to pile up, the protagonist and his band of classmates have to solve the mystery behind them.

Persona 4 uses the same visual engine and to a certain degree, the same combat engine, as Persona 3 meaning you won't get Final Fantasy XII-esque visual orgy. That doesn't mean it is ugly, far from it though it could use a greater range of colour palette. The graphical fidelity are serviceable and lends well to the visual style of the game. Face it, if graphics are important than you won't even be reading this review. Special effects are pretty and while it doesn't really push the PS2 console to its upper upper limits, it still does the old console proud. The quality of the anime cut scenes are mediocre at best, but is more than satisfactory to forward the story.



Gameplay wise Persona 4 is very similar to Persona 3. If you haven't done so, it is probably best to just hop over here and read the review of Persona 3, before jumping back to this review, but the gist is like Persona 3 the game is divided into two parts: the day section where you go to school and do other normal human stuff and improving your Social Link, and the other world (in this case, the TV world) where you battle demons and play Scooby Doo. There are however some improvements. For one, you now have complete control of your party (if you want), which is a significant difference from the previous game (where you only get to control your character). You also get an extra turn when you hit an enemy with their weakness, something that adds another element of strategy to the combat system.

Dungeon crawling may not be for everyone, but I promise you, reward is always at hand. Besides the dungeons here are a far cry from the 200 over levels in Persona 3, where they get too repetitive. Here you get a handful of dungeons and each one unique. During the day you can improve your Social Link through interactions with your friends, going to classes and generally dick about. As in Persona 3, developing your Social Link is crucial to the game as it also affects the strength of your Personas/summons.



I did find the voice acting to be extremely cheesy actually, but you can skip them if you prefer. They may lack the production value of a Final Fantasy game or Dragon Quest VIII, but more than made up for the superb Shoji Meduro soundtrack. The brilliant music is made up of a collection of Japanese Pop and Rock, with a slice of R&B, Jazz and other genres, all infused with Shoji Meguro electronica-led compositions. Atlus seems to reckon that the fans would enjoy the music outside of the game, that they even package an audio CD with the Western edition of Persona 4 filled with selected tracks from the game.

Persona 4 is a hardcore game, and in this day it is pretty rare to find one that works as well as it. You will definitely need to set a side plenty of time as it is bleeding difficult and long (about 70-90 hours depending on skills). Unless you are jobless, you will be better off playing it in normal or even easy mode. But regardless, forget all the silly Final Fantasy spin-offs (Crystal Chronicles - heh), this game just deserves to be played. It will suck your life and you will happy for it.

10/10

Persona 4 is available to buy now from Amazon UK and Amazon.com.

My GOTY: The World Ends With You

Yes, you read that right. That is my personal choice for game of the year - besting highly rated titles like LittleBigPlanet, Persona 3, Metal Gear Solid 4, etc. etc. etc.

The reason is very simple. Whilst LittleBigPlanet was incredibly innovative and MGS4 mind numbingly amazing, The World Ends With You far exceeded my expectation not only with its innovative and unique gameplay and great visual style, but also in terms to changing my whole perception on how the evolution of role-playing genre should head next. The game literally offers hundreds of possible combinations of attack forms, tons of customisation and good funky music - while being addictive at the same time. The videos may seem baffling, but once you grasp the mechanics, you will not want to stop. Hell, the game completely destroys the concept of forced levelling by introducing an adjustable difficulty, manipulating brand trends and cashing in for unique goods and pins from different sorts of stores. Even the emo lead character got a bit likeable near the end.

I won't bore you with a repeat review as you can already read that here, but I have to say I have extremely disappointed with some of you lot. The World Ends With You deserves huge success. Instead you keep buying complete shit like Dinosaurs, Junior Brain Trainer, Mario & Sonic, Sight Training, Wii Music and all the other crap that is spewed on a regular basis - just because Fern and Phil told you so. Tut tut.

My 2008 top 5
1. The World Ends With You
2. Persona 3 (review)
3. Metal Gear Solid 4
4. Bangai-O-Spirits
5. LittleBigPlanet

MOTHER 3 fan translation out now

MOTHER 3 is easily the most anticipated RPG game not to have been localised by Nintendo, whose primary motivation of making money is through targeting the soccer mums and pensioners demographic. Released in Japan on the venerable GBA platform some 2 1/2 years ago, fans of the MOTHER series has waited patiently as fans worked hard to translate the game. Well the moment has arrived, and the unofficial translation has finally been released.

To get it you will need a ROM copy of MOTHER 3 and a flash cart. Download the patcher and patch the original ROM file, before uploading the patched ROM onto a flash cart. Insert flash cart into your Game Boy Advance, SP, micro, DS or DS Lite and enjoy the game. You can also probably play it on a PC based GBA emulator. I've played the Japanese version with a FAQ (didn't last long) and from the short amount I can say the game is something special.

Thanks to HAL, Brownie Brown, Nintendo SPD and the translators for working hard to bring us the game. But no thanks to S. Iwata, Reggie and whoever runs NOE, for attempting to deprive us of a great video game title.

Thanks to Zorocaster for the heads-up

Chrono Trigger DS box-art

Looks familiar? Well it is the same cover art that was used in the original North American SNES version. Pretty isn't it (though a bit too white)? The DS port will be the first time the game is officially made available in PAL regions, though with the DS region free you should probably import it.

Odin Sphere review

Odin Sphere has been out for quite some time, even in Europe where it was released a couple of months ago. Unfortunately with a monumental of things to do, including Persona 3 and other what-nots, I neglected the title which sat on the shelf unplayed and unloved. One can only go through so many epic RPG titles before feeling burnt out. Fortunately not playing it right away allowed the hype to dissolve. Developed by Vanillaware, the people behind the gorgeous Grim Grimoire, Odin Sphere is one of the last few RPG titles worth checking out on the ageing PS2. Sure we still have Persona 4 to look forward to, but that is if we ever get it released here...

The story of Odin Sphere involves two warring kingdoms, the Ragnanival led by the demon lord Odin, and the forest of fairies Ringford, home to the fairy race. In between a storming battleground holds host to the majority of battles. This very storming battleground was once the Kingdom of Valentine, which was decimated by an ancient artefact. It is now the home to Pookas, rabbit-like critters who were once humans now cursed to be forever cute. The tragic tale of war mimicking an ancient prophecy predicting darkness is told in chapters, based on a series of books read by a little girl called Alice in her library attic while accompanied by her cat.


Each of the five books tells the story of one of the five different protagonists. The stories told are connected, each presenting the player a different perspective and providing an overall story arc. The characters are: Gwendolyn, Valkyrie Princess of Ragnanival and daughter of demon lord Odin, whom she seeks his love; Cornelius, the Prince of Titania cursed to be a purple rabbit; Mercedes, the fairy Princess of Ringford and next in line to be Queen; Oswald, the shadow knight serving Ringford and renowned dragon slayer; and Velvet, the only Princess to survived destruction of kingdom of Valentine. Each book will take a couple of hours to complete. Completing a book will unlock another book and so on.

The gameplay is side scrolling based laced with action RPG combat - think of Viewtiful Joe mixed with Valkyrie Profile and you are close. Exploration and combat takes place on the same plane with no transition screen. The game has a user-adjustable difficulty that can be changed at will. The real time combat is accessible and can be quickly mastered after the first hour of the game. Defeated enemies will release Phozons that can be absorbed by holding down [R1] which is used to augment weaponry and give the character new Psypher skills (which is a fancy term for skills...). Exploration takes place on a 2D plane. At the end of each stage you will received an end of stage stat report as well as bonus loot. Exiting the stage will prop up the world map. Loading time is minimal, at least in the PAL version (I've read about long loading times on the NTSC version).


A power gauge appears on the top left of the screen that has to be refilled for the character to attack. This will automatically refill when the character rests (remain inactive) or by absorbing Phozons. Each characters have their own special skills. For example Gwendolyn can glide and attack, while Mercedes can fire five bolts at an enemy when her Psypher is charged. Items collected can be used in varying matters to improve your characters stats. Seeds can be used to harvest fruits at the expense of Phozons, and fruits can then be used to augment the player or for use in alchemy. Later on you can cook ingredients at restaurants which can be used to gain your character's maximum HP, negating a huge need for level-grinding. You can also purchase items.

Odin Sphere retains a very similar visual style to Grim Grimoire. It uses large and beautifully drawn sprites sparingly. Characters are deformed, though not as much as one would expect. The Japanese manga/anime style won't win any praise from detractors of the art style, but they work very nicely with the title. The amount of meticulous detail is amazing as highlighted by how lush and sophisticated each backgrounds are. Sprites are larger than usual giving characters greater freedom to express expression, and are wonderfully animated. You can easily notice how the character's hair flutters and their chest expands when breathing. It is almost like watching a fully coloured live shadow puppet performance. You do have to wonder how a small company like Vanillaware can create high resolution animated sprites when Konami can't with their Castlevania series...


Unfortunately the game suffers from repetitive level design. Palette swapping is common, which should be expected within any 2D games. Many stages are re-visited a couple of times throughout the game due to the way the unique story-telling structure works, and recycled backgrounds are not uncommon. Odin Sphere also suffers from slowdowns but is relatively isolated to very rare occasions particularly when there are a mob of foes on screen or certain boss fights. It would be interesting to see this game up scaled via the PS3 with anti-aliasing.

The score is provided by one Hitoshi Sakimoto, whom I am sure some of you will recognise as the person behind the epic soundtrack of Final Fantasy XII, Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics. While not his best work, the subtle but distinctive Sakimoto-tune suite the game very well. Like the American version, the European version features dual-language mode (Japanese and English). The English voice acting is of high standard (as high as video gaming allows it to, I mean) and I would recommend you play the game in English. Of course there is nothing wrong with falling back to the Japanese voice track is you prefer to. Not understanding Japanese I can't comment on its quality, so I won't pretend to understand any better. They do sound nice though.


Overall while I found the gameplay to be rather repetitive but I did find it fun and enjoyable while it last (majority at easy as I wanted to just breeze through). As for content Odin Sphere contains around 30-40 hours worth of play time in it which while less than the average epic RPG, still provides tremendous amount of value. Despite the accessible combat, casual gamers may be put off by its length, repetitive hack & slash gameplay (what game isn't?), difficulty and fairly mad inventory system. The plot is rather linear and having to play through a couple of times, even if they are of different perspective can get rather tedious. Fans of fast paced games (like me) will find themselves delighted though.

The European version is published by Square-Enix. It supports both 50 Hz and 60 Hz tellies.

Chrono Trigger DS

Very excited here (unless it is a port, in which case meh). If it is a new entry or a remake (similar to Final Fantasy III and IV DS), then that would be a great reason to dust down my DS - which has been neglected for far too long.

Square-Enix's Chorno Trigger countdown

Parasite Eve retrospective review

Welcome to a retrospective review of what was often overlooked by the gaming press during its time but has since been recognised by many as a classic. Parasite Eve is a survival horror title with role-playing elements that I recently replayed for only the second time, and the first for many many years. It never saw release in PAL regions, but my advise is to do whatever you can to play this gem.

Released in 1998, during a time when Square was at the top of their game with titles like Final Fantasy VII, Xenogears and Final Fantasy Tactics conquering all, Parasite Eve was a breath of fresh air, especially with its modern day setting and its take on survival horror. Its likely inspiration was probably the rise of the genre made popular by Resident Evil just two years earlier. While the storyline, environmental setting, flawed science, fixed perspective and even the FMVs were created to evoke games like Resident Evil and Alone in the Dark, the gameplay is still largely RPG-centric with experience points and turn-based battles taking centre point when it comes to combat. Despite that Parasite Eve's main call to fame is its concise storyline, often told via a then unprecedented cinematic sequences.


The story revolves around Aya Brea, a feisty NYPD newbie copper who while attending an opera on Christmas Eve in modern day Manhattan, witnesses her fellow audience goers bursting into flames due to some unexplained supernatural occurrence. The only people unaffected are Aya, her companion (whom she knocks down in the most comical fashion) and an actress on the stage, Melissa Pearce. Confronting Melissa, who seems to be behind the phenomenon, Aya is told cryptically that her own mitochondria (a micro-organism capable of gaining control of their human host) is awakening. Melissa then escapes, not before tuning into a beast called Eve. Questions are also asked as Aya realises that she is immunised from Eve's power as well as the mysterious apparition of her dead sister Maya.

Parasite Eve is divided into six chapters over six days. During these six days, you are taken through various scenic and famous New York backdrops such as Central Park, the American Museum of Natural History, Liberty Island etc. as Aya and her allies attempts to uncover the mystery of why Melissa's mitochondria has gained control over its host as well as the reason behind Aya's own supernatural power and her relation with Melissa. As you progress, Eve will start unleashing her power on the residents of New York, forcing an evacuation of the city as Aya and her allies race to battle the creatures that are spawning through Eve's vengeful powers. To make matters worse, a Japanese scientist has also theorise that Eve is attempting to give birth to the 'Ultimate Being', forcing a determined Aya to defeat her and save the human race from the rebelling mitochondria. The science is a load of nonsense, but nothing you would not expect from a video game or other form of entertainment media.


Like many survival horror games during the time period, as well as Square's own PSone Final Fantasy games, Parasite Eve features a fixed perspective landscape. As Aya, you walk around the environment and investigate searching for key items. Navigating the field map is bearable though the collision detection system can prove annoying. The fact that Aya seems to be the slowest character ever created, makes matter worse. Fortunately because battle isn't action-based, these are minor concern particularly when battling with multiple enemies. Battles are triggered randomly, though only when you enter certain areas. Battles takes place on the field map, similar to the modern title Crisis Core, though invisible barriers/walls exists to prevent you from running away easily.

The battle system is a unique mixture of real-time and turn-based. An Active Time Bar (ATB) indicates when it is possible to attack, but in between you can move around almost freely dodging the enemies attack in real time as well as positioning yourself for the next attack. Every time you choose to attack, a wire frame dome appears highlighting the range of the weapon equipped. Spells can be cast if you have enough Parasite Energy, which recharges over time. Bonus Points, gained when levelling-up, can be distributed however you see fit, for example you can augment your weapons stats or reduce the ATB recharge time. Weapons and armours can also be 'tuned-up', by transferring key attributes (parameters) or effects to the weapons/armours of your choice via tools. With Bonus Points and tools, you won't ever find any problems customising Aya to your heart's content.


Polygonal games from the time period has not aged particularly well, but playing this recently I found the title to be still extremely playable. Obviously it doesn't fair well with today's modern titles, but I wouldn't call it ugly. The use of fixed perspective pre-rendered background obviously helped, and the FMVs are still pretty enough to be still watchable with proportional polygonal models used, no doubt gained from Hironobu Sakaguchi's aspiration for film like cinematography (which led to Square's doomed Spirits Within project). Unfortunately the use of proportional models during gameplay meant that you will spend most of the time watching some pretty clumsy animation of Aya, whose lack of facial expression can be off-putting. To be honest, it could probably be better if they have used some form of super deformed characters, but the atmosphere might not be the same.

The soundtrack was composed by Yoko Shimomura (Front Mission, Kingdom Hearts) giving Parasite Eve a unique sound of its own with a mixture of electronica, piano and opera inspired pieces. But while giving the game an atmospheric sound, the music are not terribly catchy, therefore unmemorable. There are no voice acting in this title, which isn't surprising considering the year of release. Sound effects are above average, certainly nothing to write home about. But they do lend credibility to a game where creating an atmospheric setting for the player is very important. Often during exploration there would be no other audio except for Aya's footsteps, creating an eerie echo as you investigate a quiet New York backdrop.


Parasite Eve isn't a particularly long game. In fact one of the downside often cited by detractors is its lack of length. Experience RPG gamers will likely complete this under 8 hours easily - perfect for a weekend run, though newbies will likely stretch it a little bit, and even then the on-rails linearity and B-movie vibe may put some off. The game features a New Game+ mode, called the EX mode which allows you to replay the game with higher difficulty while retaining your equipments, as well as a bonus endurance mission at the famous Chrysler building. However despite being first released ten years ago, the character driven story still holds up well as being both unique and fresh - perhaps a testament to the decent enough source material, as well as having the scenario writer of Final Fantasy IV and/or the current JRPG staleness. It is a fun and engaging game and despite it cheap scares, is well worth hunting down or for PAL gamers - getting dirty with CFW.

Parasite Eve is no longer in print. You could however read the Japanese novel in which the game is the sequel to, available in both hardback and paperback. The game has since spawned a direct sequel (which scrapped any traces of RPG elements), and a forthcoming spin-off for FOMA-powered phones entitled The Third Birthday.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 review

It may have taken me roughly 2 1/2 months, but I finally completed Persona 3. Rejoice. Now I can remove the masking tape from the PS2's door. Truth be told, it took me quite some time to get used to the mechanics and I was too busy with other stuff to have put much effort into grinding, hence the late endorsement. This franchise has never seen mainstream success, and anyone interested in this will likely already own it anyway. Still if you consider yourself a JRPG fan and have yet to pick this classic title, you owe it to yourself to buy it and play it now.

Much like previous Persona games, the fourth title in Atlus's flagship Shin Megami Tensei: Persona sub-series involves you playing a self-named Japanese high school student over a school calendar year. The unnamed character comes of a generic RPG cliché hero, with floppy hair, and headphones to boot. This emo-looking kid is first attacked by 'Shadows' when he transferred to his new high school. He soon learns about his Persona, a summon, as well as others like him at the school. Unlike his allies however he is capable of using multiple Personas.


The basic gameplay of Persona 3 is divided into two sections. The first involves you participating in various mundane activities on or off-campus, which is an important gameplay element aimed at augmenting your stats. It isn't too far removed from games like The Sims and Harvest Moon where repeated none-combat tasks (such as eating ramen, studying or playing MMOs!) as well as dating improves key attributes. Basically the cycle of the game involves you going to school for the day, do some stuff like dating, eating, watch a movie, do sports, sleep, study etc. Developing your Social Link (S.Link) is crucial to the game as it also affects the strength of your Personas/summons.

The other half of the game is your run on the mill RPG where your participate in none-sanctioned extra curricular night time activities. During this hidden dark hour period the school transforms into an organic shape shifting tower called Tartarus, which is seemingly infested with these Shadows. Joining your character are members of S.E.E.S. (Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad), many of whom have significant back story integral to the plot of Persona 3. There are around 200 levels in Tartarus, making dungeon crawling a very repeatable chore, though the randomness of each levels does alleviate the problem a little. While climbing to the top is your priority, each new level introduces increased difficulty. Significant powered Shadows also appear every full moon.


Exploration is similar to Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment, in that it features a top-down third person viewpoint. Enemies do not appear randomly, rather they visibly roam the dungeons in real time. Similar to Valkyrie Profile, slashing them first will give your team the upper hand. In any case battles takes place separately from the field map. The battle system is turn-based and and your party attacks with various melee and ranged weapons as well as magical attacks, including the ability to inflict status effects. Similar to Nocturne (Lucifer's Call) and Digital Devil Saga series, Persona 3 features a similar Press Turn combat system called One More, where the you are rewarded with extra turns for exploiting an enemy's elemental weakness (beware, the enemies can do the same).

During combat the player can summon their Personas using an Evoker, a revolver like object, by firing at their own skull. These head shots does not mean anything bar providing the player with visually provoking scenes (no blood or skull fragments are visible - sorry to disappoint you Daily Mail readers). Personas can be gained through out the game, including through the use of fusion. Fusion is very similar the old Persona games dating back to Revelations and is done in the same Velvet Room with Igor, its creepy veteran keeper. As mentioned earlier, socialising is an important gameplay aspect and is a requirement to boost your Persona's stats, in addition to the experience points.


Perhaps significantly, the player can only control the main character where as the other party members are controlled via the A.I., though the player can govern their overall strategy beforehand. The lack of direct control of each A.I. can be a pain as they sometimes tend to make shoddy game altering decisions. It is imperative that one should always analysis (scan) the enemy as it allows your allies to understand the foe, as well as giving your the required knowledge to exploits its weaknesses. Allies can fall sick during battles especially if they work beyond their capabilities. During such events you should avoid bringing them on missions and have them rest for a day or two. Tiredness can also affect the main character, in which case you should avoid Tartarus altogether and get plenty of rest, like sleeping in class.

As far as graphical fidelity goes Persona 3 does not particularly impress. While it does not compare well to late generation PS2 games like Final Fantasy XII, it does not distract from the gameplay as well. On a technical side, it at least improves on the last Megaten game I played, Devil Summoner - which had a fixed perspective engine and a very washed out one at that. Camera viewpoint is top-down and easily allows you to see all active party members on the field map, as well as surrounding enemies. Other than that, the game uses low polygonal character models and simple geometry throughout. While it does not look particularly pretty, it does create a 'Persona 2-ish' vibe to it - which is only a good thing as I love that game.


The lack of graphical punch is offset by the stylistic and brilliant character designs and art direction. Shocking as it may be, these were not handled by veteran series artist Kazuma Kaneko. I was initially disappointed by this, but have since grew to love the new art direction, by one Shigenori Soejima (who is also responsible for the new Trauma Center DS game). The two style differs mainly in the character's fashion sense, not to mention the lack of Kaneko's trademark ghostly character design. Soejima's design is also noted to be more anime inspired. Character sprites, used during conversations, are extremely detailed with their expressions conveyed well. Unfortunately while the new characters are stylish they are still peppered with generic RPG clichés. For example Akihiko is only a mere senior and yet is treated as a deep wise man despite being only an upperclassman. His hair is even painted grey! And let's not forget the orphans...

Thankfully Atlus did not appear to make the same mistake with cultural localisation as they did with Revelations: Persona. Names remains in Japanese and both modern and traditional Japanese cultural reference are abundant. The soundtrack on the other hand is a mix and match of acquired taste. Anyone familiar with the Megaten series may find themselves disappointed due to the lack of soaring guitars (a couple exists, but they are exceptions). The soundtrack mainly consists of urban and 'hip' J-pop not to dissimilar from The World Ends With You and Jet Set Radio, as well as the odd orchestra, jazz and piano pieces. Despite some people voicing concern about the dubbed voice acting, it is superb. Sadly this version does not come bundled with the soundtrack and you can mark that as another 'PAL region sucks' middle finger by a clueless publisher underestimating the market yet again.


Persona 3 contains a New Game+ for after you beat the game. With roughly 70 hours of main content in it (of which 10-20% are likely to be devoted to grinding), I doubt any casual gamer would want to use the option, but it is there for completists, and is ideal for people wanting to further their S.Links as well as wrapping up lose ends. It allows you to start the game over with the same Social Links, stats and equipments, and hopefully is compatible with any future European release of FES (see below). The content, compelling storyline and plot is significantly more entertaining than the majority of games out there and despite the less than satisfying dungeons, the quality is on par with the main Megaten series. Social Link mechanism is a spin of riveting freshness that complements a now archaic (but still playable) gameplay.

My only regret is having to play through the none-FES version, but my anger is mainly directed at the shoddy strategy provided by Atlus and Koei for ignoring the biggest video gaming market in the world (Persona 4 will be out in Japan next month!). On a flip side, perhaps it is time for me to mod our PS2 so I can play FES. Persona 3 is the most refreshing and in-depth RPG title, nay - any genre, in modern times on any consoles - and thus deserves to be played yet again.

What is FES?

Persona 3: FES is an expansion pack/director's cut and was released in Japan a year ago and recently in the US. It contains additional plots in the form of a new chapter, as well as gameplay tweaks. Quite why Koei/Atlus did not skip the vanilla version of Persona 3 and went straight to FES for PAL release is beyond even my comprehension, but I wouldn't put it past them for being utterly lazy and/or ignorant of the market here.

Persona 3 is out now in Europe. NTSC PS2 owners should instead get the FES version here.

Update: The PAL version of FES is out now.

The World Ends With You mini-review

After all the hype, I finally decided to cave in and play The World Ends With You (It's a Wonderful World), the second game this year with characters designed by Tetsuya Nomura (shocker!) after Crisis Core. So does it live up to its hype, or is this another example of a over-hyped game? So what is the appeal of The World Ends With You? For one, it is a new I.P. risk by Square-Enix (another shocker there). Then there is this new real time battle system that is very different. I will come to that later but let's get the storyline out of the way first.

You play as Neku (an"emo" teenager with an awful fashion sense, who hates people in general) who one day finds himself in the Shibuya shopping district (based on the famous shopping district in Tokyo, Japan) in possession of a rather odd and alien looking black pin/badge. Neku is a generic RPG hero, whose spiky hair and short term memory loss does nothing to prove otherwise. With the pin, he has the ability to sense the thoughts of people around him, but the thought of being surrounded by people disgusted him. But for reasons unknown to em, he is not allowed to leave. Neko later finds out that he is part of the 'Reaper's Game', a game that spans seven days. If he or other participants fail - they would be erased. To survive, Neku and his companion pact, Shiki Misaki, has to defeat 'Noise', which are physical manifestations of people's ill feelings, and complete mission objectives issued by the Reapers within seven days.

The gameplay revolves around searching for clues from people wondering around Shibuya, and fighting 'Noise'. Touching the black pin on the bottom screen will allow Neku to read people's thoughts and locate Noise. The game also has an innovative adjustable difficulty level for players who wants to take greater risk. The increased in difficulty is off-set through rewarding the player's risk with higher quality item drops. Customisation isn't a problem here, as Shibuya shopping district proves to be big enough to cater to the average cliché RPG hero, and then some. New techniques can be discovered during the course of the game, which allows Neku and his companion to unleash special attacks and combos depending on the pins (which can be stat boosted) equipped. Foods and clothings can be bought to augment Neku and his partner's stats.

Combat takes place across two screens, with Neku on the bottom controlled by the player via the touchscreen, and Neku's partner on the top screen. Controlling Neku is a fairly obvious process, with the player controlling his movements and attacks using a stylus, like slashing upwards on an enemy to perform an uppercut. Because battles takes place simultaneously, the player has the option to control the top character via the d-pad (lefties can use the face buttons). This takes some getting used, and for the first hour I did think it was a mess and often surrendered the controls to the A.I. (you can select how quick before the A.I. takes control back in the options). But once the initial first few combats, you will likely to get used to it and find a very deep and compelling battle system buried here, often trying to create combos and chaining battles.

The visuals aren't the most impressive technically, but the player is constantly showered in colourful and often psychedelic design giving the game a rather unique look, reminiscent Jet Set Radio. Character designs are generic enough, though more often than not, their vibrant fashion sense does liven up the screens. A bit like Viewtiful Joe and Persona 3. It is too bad that the developers has paid very little attention into creating an intuitive UI, as everything seems to be cluttered. It doesn't help that the colourful menu sometimes distract the player more than it assist them. The soundtrack on the other hand is a mixture of licensed J-pop, again reminiscent of Jet Set Radio. We should be thankful that a global company like Square Enix has decided not to dumb down the soundtrack (like Nintendo did with Elite Beat Agents) to cater for 'local musical taste', as the music provided here is infectiously addictive and catchy.

The World Ends With You does not live up to its hyperbole, but it is still a wonderful game. The imprecise stylus usage may annoy people seeking for a portable experience and the dual screen battle may scare people away, but the learning curve is there to be exploited. One thing I loved about the title is how 'unwesternised' the title is. It is refreshing to play a game infused with a foreign culture - something that is originally intended by the developers. With great style, wonderful soundtrack and a new innovative, fresh and deep immersing gameplay that actually takes advantage of the touchscreen (unlike gimmicky tacked on controls in games like Phantom Hourglass), I believe you will likely to enjoy your trip to Shibuya.

Get it now at Amazon UK or Play-Asia.

Some Final Fantasy IV DS info

A little late to post this, but fuck it. Here's some intriguing localisation news regarding the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV. These info comes from Tomoya Asano, producer of FF III and FF IV DS remakes as well as Takashi Tokita, lead game designer and scenario writer of the original FF IV as well as co-director of Chrono Trigger and director of this remake.

The story has not been tinkered much, so as not to upset picky fanboys. This despite the original game being only 25% of what they intended. Some of these discarded scripts were reworked into the remake in the form of flashbacks.

FF IV DS will have new story scenes that will flesh out Golbez's character.

Problems that plagued Final Fantasy III DS will be addressed. This includes improved loading, character development, more abilities, elaborate summoning cut scenes etc. I am not too sure whether I would welcome a more elaborate summoning sequences. Hope they are skipable.

In FF III DS, one of the screen is switched off during dungeon crawling and combat, but in FF IV DS, the lower screen will be used to display enemy info, status conditions etc. during battle. Nice.

As I mentioned in my impression of the Japanese version, the lower screen contains a map percentage feature where if you explore 100% of the dungeon you will get a reward.

The Augment Ability System (Decant ability) replaces the system in FF IV Advance where the characters that were temporary in the original version are playable again later on. They didn't like it because it messes with the story.

The Augment system will allow characters to permanently learn new abilities. This was originally meant to allow leaving characters to transfer their skills, but is now expanded out to allow you to learn new abilities by furthering story sub plots.

The weird creature that was with Rydia will be called Whytkin. Which doesn't sound as cute as Pochika...

Some of Edward's abilities which were near useless in the original game will be made more useful. Thank god.

It was acknowledge that they didn't want to lower the difficulty to appease to casual gamers. Makes sense, but I remember even hardcore gamers were complaining about FF III DS's difficulty. Man up people! Stop complaining that we need save points just before boss fights!

This is important. FF IV DS won't be an easytype. Instead difficulty is increased as bosses were rebalanced to stop people from memorising boss strategies from earlier versions. I hope we will get a Hard mode like the none-Japanese version of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, but right now nothing has been confirmed.

Auto battle mode similar to gambit where you assign a single action for each character. In the Japanese version this can be turned off during battle if you wish.

The bonus Lunar Ruins from FF IV Advance won't be making it here. Nothing was mentioned about the new dungeon on Mt. Ruins.

Instead we will getting New Game+. ^_^

Summons are called Eidolons for IX fanboys. I have no idea why they would do that...

Totally ripped-off from GAF

The English version of Final Fantasy IV DS remake will arrive 22nd July this year. Take advantage of the low dollar and import.