Portable Game Triple Pack

In the past few months, I've completed three games for portable systems: Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (PSP), The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS), and Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS).

Since they're portable titles or ports of well-beloved console versions, I found it difficult to write at length about any of these. So here's some quick takes about each.

Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (PSP)
Tactical RPGs are probably my favorite genre of game for portables. Why? They're deep, but they're also turn-based, which means means it's possible to just sit the game down at some point, even during the middle of a battle, and pick it up later. So to this point, I've played several Fire Emblem games for GBA, that Advance Wars game for the DS (Days of Ruin or some such), and of course the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance series. Jonesing for some good tactical RPG goodness, I picked up a PSP and a copy of the original Tactics.

Part of the reason I got the PSP version in the first place is because of one very big problem I had with the original. Square's original efforts for the PlayStation, such as Tactics and, of course, some game called Final Fantasy VII, became instant classics. But in their rush to get the games to the North American market these games got very shoddy translations. (My favorite: "off course!" instead of "of course!" in the battle arena in the Gold Saucer, which was probably just a typo, but still.) As bad as FF7's translation was, FFT's was that much worse. Tactics features a wide cast of characters in a plot full of history and political intrigue, including people very literally getting stabbed in the back. In addition, the gameplay itself is complicated. I tried to get past all this, but without a good idea of what was going on I quickly lost interest.

So what I'm driving at is that the PSP version features an excellent localization. The only other major features of the port are a multiplayer mode (which I never tried) and very occasional animated movies for key moments in the plot. (The animations are great, but they are few and far between.) The graphics and gameplay are pretty much the same, except now it's possible to actually understand what the tutorials say.

As I said, the gameplay is pretty much unchanged. Which is great if you played the original (though, since the class names also changed with the translation, there might be a slight learning curve), but can be harder for newcomers. Many gameplay evolutions have occurred in the past 15 years for tactical RPGs, and while some may interpret this as today's games being easier, I'd say in many cases they've just had enough time to get things right. The most annoying issue I found is that I couldn't evaluate the odds and damage for attacks capable of hitting multiple targets, which made spellcasting difficult. The only other problem I had with the port also had to do with spells: the spell animations caused the software to read the UMD every time, which made them much slower than they were in the original version. (Apparently this game was released long enough ago that "installing" hadn't really been thought up yet for PSP games, as I had this option in the more recent Tactics Ogre port that I just started playing.)

These days, I probably wouldn't recommend this game as an introduction to the genre. However, it remains a classic. If you're a fan of the original, you'll probably want to pick this up just for the new translation alone. I'd also recommend it for anyone who likes tactical RPGs but hasn't played this game yet, especially if you liked the Tactics Advance games but want something with a little more depth. (Well, okay, a lot more depth.)

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
Spirit Tracks is the second Zelda game for the DS, following the lead of Phantom Hourlgass. Controls are mostly unchanged from the previous game, where the stylus is used to move Link around the screen, select/talk to NPCs, use items, etc. It was innovative the first time around, but now it's expected. The game can be said for the rest of the game. It's a direct sequel to PH (and, therefore, Wind Waker), except instead of ships, this time around the game has trains. Yes, that's right, trains. You can collect treasures to sell and use to upgrade your train's health, as various baddies will occasionally attack you as you traverse the world map. This game is fun and I would generally recommend it, but it's not going to blow your mind or anything. (Fortunately, Skyward Sword is shaping up to be very good, and I hope to finish it and write about it soon.)

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS)
The Ace Attorney games have been covered pretty extensively here, between the original series and Apollo Justice. Timeline-wise, this game takes place shortly after the events of Trials and Tribulations but several years before the core of Apollo Justice. This game is pretty much made for people who are fans of the original series. Several characters make cameos and references abound. You certainly could play this game standalone, however. As it says in the title, this game is just "investigations". While the game still features the originals' trademark cross-examination bits, the focus is on investigating crime scenes deducing exactly what happened. Nonetheless, I still missed having parts in the courtroom (as it provided a change of scenery), and for the most part the investigations aren't nearly as free roaming (as you cannot, most of the time, move between areas at will). In addition, the game doesn't feel deep enough, from a certain perspective. In the Ace Attorney games, you're fighting the prosecution and the witness, in many ways, whereas in this game that extra "side" is missing.

The biggest problem I had with this game, though, were the puzzles. There were certainly times I would be frustrated in the other games, but in this game I really felt like I had to solve things much more on the game's terms, not to mention the number of times I was a step ahead of the game (for instance, in order to present a piece of evidence I would often have to introduce another piece of evidence first, even though I had already made the connection between the two).

Basically, I would only recommend this game if you're fan of the Ace Attorney series. If you aren't yet, hunt down a copy of the original Phoenix Wright game (or download it on the Wii), and perhaps eventually you'll fit in the category of people who I'd recommend this to. Also worth noting is that a sequel to this game does exist in Japan, but Capcom currently has no plans to release it in the US. Would I buy that game if it made it over here? Probably.

Judge not, lest ye be judged

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance had its flaws, but the game was enjoyable and gave Square Enix a great start to something that could turn into a viable series on portable systems. Since I do not own PSP, and as such have not played Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, I had been relegated to patiently waiting for Square-Enix to develop a sequel to FFTA. It took them almost 5 years and a completely different portable system to make one, but the real question is: had they used that time wisely to improve on the faults of the original? It's difficult to answer straight yes or no (but you've come to expect this from me).

Enter Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimore of the Rift. The game is almost identical in looks to the first title, which is more good than bad considering some of the great art and technical marvel Square-Enix puts into its games. Immediately appealing to those new to the game and pleasantly inviting to fans of the original, the environments, characters and monsters are beautifully stylized and really help show how the Nintendo DS can excel when given proper artistic direction. But by now we've all learned that looks aren't everything, right?

Storywise, FFTA2 is very similar to FFTA, which is definitely not a compliment. Not only is it extremely shallow and completely lacking in immersion, but for those returning from the original it is nothing more than a plot rehash with a slightly different "flavor". There is a certain level of fan service vis a vis some character cameos and the like, as well as a more fleshed out tie in to other "Ivalice Alliance" games (FFTA, FFXII, etc), but it feels very uninspired and is not even close to being original and unique. It doesn't turn me off from the game completely, since I'm mostly there to play the game like an excel spreadsheet on steroids, but when I'm not even the least bit bothered that the new 20 missions available to me are going to cause me to not see the story play out for at least another 2 weeks I begin to grow concerned, or at the very least disappointed. Perhaps I am just too spoiled by the huge, epic flair of normal Final Fantasy games, but even the original FFT (for all it's confusion) was bizarre, twisted and interesting. I don't think I should be at fault for hoping that a game's story will at least pique my interest, if not hold it.

It certainly doesn't help that most of the characters are equally as shallow and uninviting. The main character is an almost exact copy from FFTA: lost, helpless and attempting to find his way home. The "love interest" starts out actually being a very curious character, but is later dragged along in normal cliche fashion, presumably for ease of plot integration. The cameos are awkwardly forced and especially bland (although perhaps this is because I've yet to give FFXII it's due diligence) and most of your squad mates are just randomly named, mindless drones that you have no real connection with. This is where Fire Emblem greatly outshines the FFT series - all characters you control are given a story, a life and a purpose and it really helps add in that extra layer of immersion and interest. When your characters are nameless zombies that just happen to be along for the ride, well, they are more like tools than people, and the onus is left on what few story "characters" there are to carry a load they are just simply unable to bear successfully. It is just really hard to build anything of meaning or substance around an entire world of battle fodder.

Design wise, the game comes with just as many improvements on the original as it does new problems. There are still many of the things here that made FFTA so good: an astonishing number of missions, a diversity of mission goals, a large number of available jobs and races, mastering abilities through equipped items, etc. All the basics necessary for a truly extraordinary strategy experience are here, but once again it gets dragged down by absurd design decisions.

First off you have laws. Yes, laws are back, but they have been changed so surely they fixed them, right? Perhaps in word, but not in fact. Maybe Square-Enix only heard people complain about how laws punish you, so instead they flipped the idea on its head and had laws only reward you. "Neat", you might think, "they solved the biggest problem with laws". And at first, I completely agreed. No more jails! No more cards! No more ridiculous fines! And, like before, the first few missions go OK; a few utterly worthless rewards (mostly items you have dozens of already) and a small damage bonus or the like. Nothing to really make you hesitate to break laws, but a huge boon from the "punishable by severe hindrance" that was FFTA.

But where FFTA swings the pendulum too far into punishment, FFTA2 swings too far toward reward. At first it seems like a very contradictory statement - that offering too much reward is somehow 'bad' - but at some point not obtaining the reward becomes the new "severe punishment". You can at one point early in the game earn the ability to increase the AP you earn after a battle substantially. Since AP is used to learn new skills through items, it can generally be considered as a (usually very powerful) form of character progression, like leveling. Unfortunately, the bonus gets so huge that you feel almost hindered by the 'usual' method of leveling, and since breaking a law will lose you this reward it is often times still "better" (from a time spent perspective) to restart a mission and try again than it would be to suffer the consequences.

That is, of course, if you actually CHOSE to break that law. Often times, you do not. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I either accidentally broke a law. For instance, sometimes the law is vague and I'm not quite sure what would qualify. Sometimes I would just completely forget what the law was. Sometimes even randomness or computer controlled characters break laws for me. Crit a mob when you weren't supposed to? Have a character do more than X amount of damage? Sorry, start over. The worst yet is laws that were literally impossible to follow - like preventing higher level characters from attacking lower level ones... in zones where I have completely outleveled the mobs. How is that fun when you don't even have an OPTION to follow the laws? This puts us right back in the same spot we were in FFTA: laws becoming more of an inconvenience than a gameplay enhancing device.

Again, I'd love to have something that causes me to change my strategies that are not "choices" to be determined in a risk vs. reward scenario, because tuning the rewards with the risks is almost impossible to do in a game of this scope. Either the risk is too great and not worth taking or the reward is too little and not worth bothering with. And some of the laws - like "don't use daggers" or other super specific nonsense - require painstaking upkeep of character inventory, which is not really something I like doing outside of the already crazy amount I actually like doing to maximize character stats and abilities. If a min-maxer like myself doesn't like the absurd tediousness of the system, how can your average player have any hope of not becoming absolutely frustrated?

A passive, slight tilt of power in a specific direction that changes from mission to mission would be a significantly better implementation then a "risk/reward" system because it removes the choice aspect (which is near impossible to balance) and instead requires you to rethink your strategy and plan around it. Maybe melee damage is reduced by 25% so you focus a bit more on magic damage, or healing is reduced by 50% so you are required to play more defensively. Don't remove options completely, but shift balances of power just enough that it helps to promote a more adaptive tactical strategy for each fight. Something like this would help remove the monotony of using the same characters with the same moves in the same manners every fight and could really challenge the player to learn and master aspects of the game they previously did not focus on. It could just as easily go to far (i.e. all characters have magic immunity) and become insanely restrictive, but the idea is to not take it that far and still leave some options available to those with strange or unbalanced team builds.

Of course, to achieve this, you would also need to make the game actually difficult. Even playing on "hard" difficulty, the only time I was even remotely challenged by missions were the ones where I was grossly outleveled, i.e. my characters are level 30 and my enemies are level 90+. Strategy games are supposed to be about being mentally challenged, planning new strategies to overcome difficult obstacles and facing new challenges. Instead, FFTA2 is almost entirely devoid of even a modicum of difficulty and proceeding through missions feels tedious because you could win even without really paying attention to what was going on around you. I understand it is possible that my completionist nature and frequent use of Bonus AP 3 caused me to quickly out pace the challenges presented to me in the area of the game I was in, but even if that is the case I would hope they could find some way to scale in difficulty as you progressed. A strategy/tactics game that requires neither to play loses your interest very quickly; it would be like playing an FPS with nothing to shoot or an adventure game with nowhere to go. It just doesn't work.

Some of the new side items and tidbits are interesting, but by and large they do not stand up well over the course of the game. The "Auction" system is a unique minigame that you can play over time to gain control over territories and even win some items, and the 'achievement' style progression is really fun to work towards completing. Eventually, though, you gain the ability to simply buy so many coins that other clans cannot hope to ever win and the winnings no longer hold any real value to you for various reasons, so it falls by the wayside. The restrictions on times available and travel limitations compound frustrations with the system, especially when trying to build up clan power, and likely only act as a way to prevent you from winning everything on your first go.

The bazaar is one of my favorite new inclusions to the game, actually, and helps to add variety and challenges to obtaining new weapons beside amassing large amounts of gold. It also helps to give you small, incremental goals to work on while churning through the hundreds of missions in the game and gives your characters a much smoother progression curve than normal, as you can exert some choice behind how and when you collect the items necessary to create specific items. That being said, an actual guide and/or list of items and where to find them would be nice to have in the game itself. Frustrations with finding specific ones simply lead players to look them up online, which could be solved by at least providing some general direction or guidance for finding items.

My tone thus far might come off as strongly negative, but this is not because the game is completely terrible. Instead, it is because this is twice that I've seen what could otherwise be an extremely fun and interesting concept being mutilated by improper direction. This is clearly the case of Square-Enix trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, and it is not doing their otherwise stellar game justice. I have easily put 90+ hours into FFTA2 over the course of several months and completed over 200 missions, but at one point my interest in the game began to wane. It simply offered no real challenge, provided nothing of intrigue (story, characters or otherwise) and was beginning to feel almost more like a chore than a game. Was it still worth playing? I'd say so. May I go back and finish it one day? Possibly, if I run out of other portable games. Could it have been much better? Yes. Definitely yes.

If you've purchased neither, I would definitely recommend Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (I guess that means I have to review that at some point) over FFTA2, but for anyone who enjoyed the first looking for a game that contains a lifetime and a half of solid (but not stellar) gameplay, FFTA2 would definitely be worth looking into.

For Great Justice

I've already talked once about the 'Ace Attorney' series (see this post), so a summation of this review is quite simply "more of the same". If you liked any of the previous Ace Attorney games, this one is definitely worth investing in. If you didn't, if you've never played one, or if you're still interested in what I've got to say, please, continue reading.

Ace Attorney got its start on the GBA in Japan with the Phoenix Wright series (although they don't call it that) but was never brought over to North America, presumably due to the high cost of translation and waning interest of the point and click adventure genre. With the introduction of the DS and the wave of popularity it was riding, Capcom saw fit to port the game over to the system since the touch screen capabilities basically screamed for it. When they did so they gave the game a chance in the NA market and it was such a hit that it sold out in stores after almost every shipment. This helped to revive the series and bring all 3 current games to the DS as ports, but also paved the way to 'reboot' the series and give it a new protagonist: enter Apollo Justice.

While much of the game is set in new places and introduces new characters, you'll also find your fair share of familiar faces and scenarios as you work your way through each case. While the older games are not intimately tied together (i.e. you can play Apollo Justice as your first game without fear of being lost or confused) there's a strong enough connection that I would suggest that you go play through the Phoenix Wright series first. It's not enough of a reason to highly discourage someone from playing this first, though; you'll end up having just as much fun without spoiling *too* much from the earlier games should you decide to play them later.

In the opening paragraph I mention that the game is "more of the same", and by and large this is a true statement. However, while Apollo Justice does play in the same manner as the original, the focus and difficulty is shifted enough to give each game its own unique feel even though gameplay is generally the same. The Phoenix Wright games tended to focus a large amount of time and story into the more 'detective' portions of the game, using items and information to break "Pysche-locks" on different characters who were witholding information or lying. The overall story, general investigation and plot twists largely occured around these events and set up the game to present court cases that, while they might have also included a few twists, were mostly a check to see if you could piece together the information in a (mostly) straightforward manner. You rarely 'died' in court because by the time you got there if you even linked a few things together you could put the rest in place before it required any serious commitment.

Apollo Justice, however, takes this method and flips it almost completely on its head. Apollo's power isn't in seeing Psyche-Locks, but in "perceiving" nervousness or lying. Instead of having the story play out in the investigation phases, most will play out in the courtroom as you unravel the witness's lies and the reality of the situation starts to become more clear. This makes the investigation portions much less important, so they end up acting as a sort of exposition for the case or a plot device for finding new evidence that your characters wouldn't have thought to collect on the first pass. This makes the court room portions a bit more challenging and dangerous that the rest of the game is just a narrative for. Or it would be, anyway if the game were difficult enough.

Perhaps Apollo Justice's greatest flaw* is that the game plays more like an interactive novel than it does a true point and click adventure. Since the meat of the game occurs in the courtroom - where you know you have all the evidence and all the characters in place - a large number of the "challenges" pan out to be nothing more than fairly simple deductions or, at worst, determining the improbable by removing the impossible. The 'challenge' in the Phoenix Wright series occurred during the investigation portions, where you were never really sure if you had all the information and you could always be missing a key piece of evidence or have not talked to someone thoroughly. It is true that it did suffer from the occasional frustrating or seemingly illogical conclusion you had to draw, but it is not as though we are talking about Myst here.

* I feel somewhat ill-at-ease for pointing out that it is "too easy" because this is something that is largely open to personal interpretation. Adventure games are notoriously difficult to "tune" because you either give the puzzle away in an attempt to placate a frustrated customer or you create an entire section of bald gamers who have pulled their hair out trying to solve your impossible-to-interpret-without-a-PHD riddle (i.e. the aforementioned Myst). How many hints do you give? When do you give them? Are they so big that they trivialize the puzzle or do they help them think about the problem in a different way? Different players will approach the game from different angles; some may never stumble and others might not make it past the first case. While other genres have concrete values that can be tweaked to adjust difficulty - health, damage, speed, ammo, etc - adventure games do not. What was "an interactive novel" to me might be "an interactive Sherlock Holmes novel" to someone else. Others may have been turned off by the frustrations of the first games but love the pacing and challenge level in this one. Let personal experience - and not my own - determine how difficult the game is, I'm merely noting that the game is noticeably easier than its predecessors.

Despite the change in difficulty, the game still delivers beautifully in most areas. The characters are all great and very fleshed out; even older familiar characters are given new roles or have changed significantly since the last installment. Each case is intriguing, and by the end they are all tied together in a very interesting way. The art is great and the 3d CG movies, while not amazing, are a nice touch. The writing is humorous and spot on for each character, only rarely feeling forced or uninspired. Even the gameplay itself is solid and offers a nice change of pace from the last 3 iterations. Actual use of the DS's functionality - mic, touch screen, etc - are especially welcome additions after being teased with the extra case from the first port. Of course, the game "suffers" from being one of the least replayable genres available, but it more than makes up for it by being a very solid, enjoyable first time experience.

While the game is worth playing overall, it is important to note that unless the series starts to introducing some new life into the gameplay, it might not remain fresh enough to allow for 2 more Apollo Justice games. The ending promises some interesting changes in the future, so let's hope that they can take those ideas and run with them while maintaining the high level of story quality and humor we've come to expect. The "Perfect Prosecutor" spinoff that's coming up should also help add some much needed variety to this otherwise stagnant series. That being said, Apollo Justice is a fine addition to the series and comes highly recommended for fans of the Phoenix Wright series, or fans of detective point and click adventures as a whole.

Bring on the Apocolypse

Better known in Japan as "It's a Wonderful World", The World Ends With You (from now on abbreviated at TWEWY) is, to me, hands down the biggest and best surprise game that came out of the 2008 calendar year. In a market super saturated with sequels, prequels, spin-offs and 'rubber-stamp' genre copying, TWEWY stands tall above the rest as a unique and thoroughly refreshing experience that is prime for... well, creating sequels, prequels and spinoffs.

For those not 'in the know', TWEWY is a Japanese Role Playing Game (aka JRPG) that is absolutely anything but a JRPG. It remains true to the essence of the genre while taking it to new and exciting places. How? Here's a small list of general requirements to be listed as a JRPG:

- Fantasy setting (small minority go "sci-fi"-esque or at least show off technology of some kind, see FFVII/FFVIII, Star Ocean, Xenogears, etc)
- Linear gameplay/story
- 1 man/team bent on saving the entire world
- Turn based combat
- Random battles
- Level Grinding
- Stats are generally HP/Mana
- Has the words "Final Fantasy" or "Dragon Quest" in the title, followed by a number

Think back to all the JRPGs you've played recently, assuming you have at all. While it may not fit all of these descriptions, it is very likely that most of them still apply. While the genre has taken it's fair share of advances and strides in recent years (Eternal Sonata's uqinue battle system, FFXII's 'mmo-lite' feel, Kingdom Heart's emphasis on action instead of turns), many people still clamor and call for 'old school' RPGs and many companies still do well making them (Mistwalker and Square-Enix).

Even for the 'kings of JRPG', Square-Enix, creating a new RPG that is not a Final Fantasy or a Dragon Quest is something that is very risky. Customer loyalty and awareness of these brands are very high, and the customers who buy these products are very strict on what they like in their games and how they like it presented. For many people, they last JRPG they played or even cared about was Final Fantasy XII, and many did not like how much it differed from traditional turn based battles. And despite 3 whole years of game releases since, nothing has garnered more media and attention than it's direct sequel, FFXIII. What have you heard more about, and which are you generally more excited for? Star Ocean IV, Last Remnant, Infinite Undiscovery, or FFXIII? They are all Square-Enix properties, but I'm pretty sure the numbers would stack decidely in the favore of FFXIII.

When you can't get even your own game to sell without the 'Final Fantasy' title, you start doing clever things like making quick sequels (FFX-2), re-releases (FFI-VI), or even remakes (FFIII/FFIV). If worse comes to worse, you take a new idea and just try to associate it in some way with your 'hot' product and go for sales-by-association through spin-offs (FFXII: Revenant Wings, FFVII: Crisis Core). This allows you the freedom to explore other genres, types, and stories but still leaves you tethered to specific characters, an already-created world, and publicly known (and often discussed to the finest detail) cannon.

This is part industry, part consumer and just part normal business. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest are more than likely the best staffed, receive the most talented development and are given a chance to be truly polished and shine with gameplay that people are familiar with and willing to accept that are hyped over time. As such, there is more coverage, people are aware of what they are getting into and are already in a specific state of mind when they play the game. This also, of course, means that many consumers (and some journalists) will give the game a 'pass' or think it is better simply because of the name.

Meanwhile, great games like Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Eternal Sonata and others may stick to the formula or have equally high production values but struggle to sell well or reach critical acclaim because, knowingly or not, they are constantly being compared verses FF and DQ. Just as an example, the IGN review for Lost Odyssey mentions 'Final Fantasy' 4 times within the context of the review - twice because of the people associated with creating the games, once comparing the music, and again comparing gameplay elements. Even my own personal reviews of games make mention of these for comparison, although I try to judge each game on it's own merits. Unfortunately, these behemoths are no longer just games, they have become almost de facto standards in the genre to which all other entries are compared regardless of their differences. I am convinced that many good games fail to meet their potential sales purely because of their title and , inversely, many underperforming titles are given large boosts to sales simply because of their name. Why?

Because most people probably haven't even heard of these 'other' games, don't care about them, and never bother to research or try them. There's no hype or huge build up surrounding them, so reviews are not skewed in positive directions by overzealous reviewers trying to make a point (looking at you, GTAIV and MGS4) which only makes comparisons to the titans seem worse. And while people always complain about sequels and how they wish there were more 'new IPs' and all sorts of other "I'm hip and going against the man and against popular opinion because I'm an individual and not a sheep" beliefs, the fact that sequels sell so well 1) tells us that most people want sequels, 2) tells developers 'hey, just make more sequels', and 3) often times results from the fact that people are unwilling to take risks on new IPs that have not been 'proven franchises'. In other words, they will talk the talk but will not walk the walk. I find it even more hilarious that these same journalists and gamers who actively complain about the lack of new IPs are usually the ones immediately asking the "when can we expect the sequel?" question when a new IP does do well. Inconsistent much?

Of course this is not unique to games. The same is true of most entertainment media - movies, books, television, music and games all share similar fates to some extent.

While I harp on them quite alot for their constant repackaging their old games and spinning out of control with sequels and spinoffs, Square-Enix does often try to do new things it couldn't normally do otherwise. It doesn't always work (see: critical and sales bombs Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant, although I hope to give those two a fair shake at some point in the future, as this could just be more 'it's not Final Fantasy' mentality), but every now and then you'll get a diamond in the rough that actually outshines even the best that FF's and DQ's have to offer. For a company that could easily rest on its laurels and still make a pretty good living, it's nice to see Square-Enix takes chances like this and create great games in the process. It is not only good for the consumer and the industry to have a little variety, but it helps to flex the power of the genre and really push it forward into new and different places. Just think: if Square wasn't willing to take any risks, we wouldn't have ever been graced with the presense of Chrono Trigger, arguably one of the best RPGs of all time.

This is one of the main things that makes TWEWY so good; being so unique and different from anything else the JRPG genre has had to offer in some time. Of the JRPG 'usual' suspects (see list above), quite possibly the only one you can attribute to this game is being linear, but other than that the game really takes it's own direction and blazes a trail that is new and different from just about any other RPGs I've played. Let's analzye, shall we?

- Fantasy setting (small minority go "sci-fi"-esque or at least show off technology of some kind, see FFVII/FFVIII, Star Ocean, Xenogears, etc)

TWEWY draws heavily from modern day japan - the completely real Shibuya district in Tokyo - and it shows in culture, fashion, music and presentation. Sure, the game's graphics aren't 'realistic' and are instead highly stylized but it is not your usual JRPG setting by any means. As someone who has spent most of his life equipping his characters with guns and swords, though, moving on to pins and 'normal' clothes was a breath of fresh air. Getting a highly stylized anime world that actively reflects a specific district in Japan? That's just icing on the cake.

- 1 man/team bent on saving the entire world

It's still one man and his team, but it's not 'the world' and it focuses much more on small character parts and character interaction and development. It doesn't break this mold completely (you still end up saving stuff) but it's a unique twist on a tired plot device. Some RPG's try to have weird stories and absurd plot twists just for the sake of having them, but TWEWY creates one that is unique and interesting without being over ridiculous.

- Turn based combat

Hardly. You play the game in real time, and it's none of this 'psuedo' real time either. It's full throttle, always under fire with a dozen different things to pay attention to. The battle system does have one major drawback; in order to perfect it you have to be INCREDIBLY good and dedicated. The learning curve for the game's battle system is so steep that it even gives you computer AI to help you manage 1/2 of the entire battle system so you can focus on the other half. As you play more and get used to your bottom screen's pins, you can always give your try and managing both screens at once - although I might suggest you keep some advil handy as you work on stressing your brain to the limit keeping track of everything that's going on.

Despite it's learning difficulty, it helps that the gameplay revolves around more than just mashing the 'a' button most of the time. You have to - simultaneously, mind you - manage blowing/talking into the mic, pressing the screen, dragging the screen, tapping the screen, pushing buttons in specific combinations that constantly change, all while dodging enemy fire and watching your abilities' cooldowns and trying to keep your group combo going. The game is also unique in that you can swap out your abilities to cater to things that you prefer or that you seem to be better at. Don't like blowing into the mic? Don't use that pin. Getting hit too much? Throw up a heal pin. Want to just burn your enemies down as fast as possible? Stack your deck with pain. You can even keep several 'premade' decks so if you want one to level, one for boss fights and one to complete your pin collection, you don't have to be constantly swapping pins in and out. For many, the battle system's high level of involvement may be a turn off, but for those who complain about their RPG's being 'easy' and just mash 'A' until they've won, this game is for you. I must warn you though, after your first few battles you may want to go cry.

- Random battles

Aside from a few scripted events (bosses, tutorials, blocks, etc) the game is yours to control. Want to move the story forward? Sure. Explore a little? No problem. Level up? Grab groups of enemies and increase your chain for better results. Test out new pins? Pick out the weaklings. You can even scale your level down to increase the challenge and reward yourself with more PP (for your pins) if you so desire. It's all about choice. How great is that?

- Level Grinding

As long as you take some level of interest in the battles and fight a few times outside of what's forced in the story, you shouldn't have much of a problem staying ahead of the level curve. If you don't like the battle system so much you're skipping as much of it as possible, well, why are you even still playing the game? Harder battles can be made easier with proper pin selection, and taking some time out to level your really good pins goes a long way in making you more powerful.

- Stats are generally HP/Mana

You still have HP, but it's shared between both characters so if you're really good with one screen, you have some more breathing room on the other. No 'mana' to speak of, but some stronger pins only have a certian number of uses per battle or have a set amount of time to recover after you've used them all, so watching what pins you are using and making sure you are optimizing your battle order, while not imperative, can be deadly in the right hands.

- Has the words "Final Fantasy" or "Dragon Quest" in the title

It may have 'Square-Enix' on the box, but as you've seen, this is anything BUT you're standard RPG. From the wacky beginning to the epic ending, the game will keep you jamming, running, slamming and fighting for your life. The game may take you upwards of 40 hours just for the 'main course', but after the second or third night of being so caught up in it that you forget what time it is, the ending may seem like it comes all too soon. Bonus side items like Tin Pin Slammer, wifi connectivity, delivng deeper in the story and the 'gotta collect them all!' mentality behind pin collection are sure to keep you playing for weeks and weeks after you tear through the story. It is the game that keeps on giving, one that is easy to pick up and exceptionally difficult to master, that rewards you for challenging yourself and gives you a reason to go back and play through the game again. For those of us who are more 'goal' oriented, the extras at the end will be especially tempting as they will challenge you to defeat newer, harder bosses or accomplish goals in different ways to unlock more about the game and the world in it.

TWEWY has shown us that Square Enix still has what it takes to be an innovator, to grab us hook line and sinker and not let go. And this was from a game no one had ever heard much of, and that many people thought they couldn't care less about. If you whine about an industry that relies too much on sequels and not enough on new and creative IP's, it is your duty to purchase this game. If you're still waiting for FFXIII and it's half dozen different different releases there is still plenty for you to enjoy here. If you are an RPG veteran and are looking for something new to play and are willing to give something unique and different and try, what are you waiting for? Trust me, whatever is the case, you'll be all the better for it, and I'm sure you'll thank me later. Just hurry, I won't stand for anyone being too zeta slow!