Quick! Use A Monomate!

Does my title confuse you? If so, then you've obviously never played the game I'm reviewing today. (Or any of the game's predecessors.) If you know exactly what my title is referring to, then kudos to you for playing a great game.

Phantasy Star games have been around for ages, the first of which was released on the Sega Master System. The orignal Phantasy Star games were regular RPGs, but recently the Phantasy Star world has been extended into the MMORPG realm; first with Phantasy Star Online, which was released for the original X-Box and the Game Cube, although, most people just played the games in offline mode because there wasn't a whole lot to do in online mode. Next came Phantasy Star Universe which played much like Phantasy Star Online (PSO), but utilized the online aspect of the game more. Phantasy Star Universe (PSU) was released on the PC and the X-Box 360 and, while it wasn't/isn't as popular as other MMORPGs (such as World of Warcraft) it's still a great game.
But, the Phantasy Star game I'm going to be reviewing today is: Phantasy Star Portable which was released for the PSP. Phantasy Star Portable took what was best about PSU and made it better. The game plays much the same as PSU and even looks quite a bit the same. (Obviously the graphics aren't going to be as amazing, but on the PSP's smaller screen, they still look awesome.)

The story (which I'm not going to go into very much so I don't spoil anything) for Phantasy Star Portable is set after the second game of PSU. You start out as a new recruit in the Guardians. The Guardians are a group of warriors who protect the Universe. There are 4 races to choose from when you start: Humans, Newmans (similar to elves, Casts (robots) and Beasts. Each race has something special about them, as is normal for an RPG. Every player will start out the game as a Hunter (sword user), but you are able to change your race throughout the game whenever you choose to. The types of armor and weapons you can use aer determined by your class, as are your physical stats. The basic classes are Hunter, Ranger (gun user) and Force (magic user). As your class level increases, you can upgrade to higher versions of the base classes as well as a few classes that are more of a mix between two or three classes. No matter what class you choose, your weapon and armor selection are going to be different.
In case you can't tell by my previous posts, I'm kind of a World of Warcraft nut. But, I can't seem to pull myself away from Phantasy Star Portable (or PSU or PSO) when I start playing it. The gameplay is simple, and complex at the same time. Basically, you attack bad guys with whatever you have available be it a sword, an axe, a grenade launcher, a wand, or a Sega Genesis that floats behind you and shoots them. I think one of the things that draws me to Phantasy Star Portable (and PSO and PSU) is that it's one of the few Sci-fi RPGs that is as fun to play as the fantasy RPGs that are so popular.

The one downside I can think of with accordance to the games is that the world isn't nearly as large as the world in a game like World of Warcraft. Yes, Phantasy Star Portable, PSU and PSO have large worlds to play in, but they aren't an open world like WoW. Instead, you have tons of mini maps and levels to explore that are reached by flying to other planets. (No, it's not a free fly. The flying is more of a loading screen.) But, honestly, it's not really a huge problem for me.

With Phantasy Star Portable, there isn't any online play. Instead, there is the option for Ad-Hoc play with your friends, which is not as nice as playing with people all over the world, but is still a nice feature if, like me, you still just play with your friends when you're online. Unlike PSU, where your online character and your offline character were two different toons, Phantasy Star Portable allows you to play the same character in both multiplayer and single player mode, which is a nice step up. If you have the game already, but haven't ever tried multi-mode, I highly recommend it. There are certain items you can only get in online mode which make the game more entertaining.

All in all, Phantasy Star Portable probably ranks up as one of my favorite PSP games, which is really saying something. If you're into RPGs and want one that plays like an MMORPG without actually being one, then Phantasy Star Portable is a great game to try.

My score: 9 out of 10 (That's right, I'm doing it out of 10 now.)

It would honestly be a perfect 10 out of 10 if the game had a more open world, but, as I said, that's not really a huge problem, so I'm only taking one point away.

Update!

I've heard that because of the success of the first game, there is a sequel to Phantasy Star Portable coming to Japan on Dec. 3rd. No word on whether it will ever be released in the U.S.

Feel The Magic XY-XX

Feel The Magic is one of the games that came out right around the same time that the original Nintendo DS came out all those years ago. (It really does seem like it's been a while since the DS first came out.) You've probably seen the game sitting in the used game section of your local video game store and never thought of buying it. But, I'm here to tell you, BUY IT! It's one of the most creative games I've seen for any system. It's a "mini-game" type of game and I know what you're thinking. "But, there are so many mini-game games for the DS and none of them are that fun, why should this one be any different?" Well, this article will tell you why it's different.
I was like you, I didn't think much of the game when I first saw it. But, at the time, there weren't many games out for the DS, so I ended up buying it just so I could have something to play other than Mario 64. After only a few minutes of playing I was hooked.

The story for Feel The Magic is classic. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, boy does crazy things to impress her, boy and girl get stranded on a desert island, girl gets kidnapped by different boy, and boy has to rescue girl. Ok, so maybe that's not a classic story, but it's still a good one.

The story is progressed by completing various mini games all of which are simple, yet complex at the same time. The games utilize all the features of the Original DS and the DS Lite. Sometimes you'll be blowing into the microphone to put out giant candles that are attacking, sometimes you'll be rubbing madly back and forth on the touch pad to fan a fire into life, while other times, you'll be using a more precise touch on the touch pad to guide yourself across a narrow beam between two buildings. All of the mini games are, in my opinion, addicting. You'll be graded on all of them and depending on how well you do, you can unlock things in the game. Mostly you'll be unlocking new outfits and hairstyles for the girl to wear (which sounds lame, but trust me, it's pretty fun), but you can also unlock things like a sound and music menu.

I won't give away the ending of the game, but I'll say this: It's one of the craziest boss fights I've ever been in. Seriously.

If what I've said doesn't strike your fancy, then try the game out just to see the unique art style used in it. It reminds me of iPod commercials. Also, the game is really quite funny. I laughed quite a bit while playing it.

This is honestly one of the Rare Gems in my video game collection. I highly recommend everyone picks it up and gives it a try.

My score: 5 out of 5.

This game is fun, inventive, and addicting and has great replay value. Even after all these years I still find myself pulling it out and playing it over and over again.

Classic Collateral: Sega Handhelds

Does anyone remember any of the consoles put out by Sega? What about the handheld systems they created? Say what you will about Sega, but they were ahead of their time. When Nintendo released the original Game Boy: big, brick-like and with a small, monochromatic yellow screen, Sega was releasing the Sega Game Gear: also big and brick-like; but with a larger, full color screen. Granted, the Game Gear had its shortcomings: the very short battery life (despite running on 6 AA batteries) was just one of them. But, honestly, how cool was it to be able to play Sonic the Hedgehog in full color while you were in the car? To me, it was amazing.Awesome system.
Just as awesome, but for different reasons.

Then, there was the Sega Nomad: a handheld system which could play Sega Genesis and Sega Master System Games in full color. This was just another reason that Sega was way ahead of the times. Nobody had thought to make a handheld system that could play console games. It was really an incredibly smart move on Sega’s part. They didn’t need to worry about creating a whole new game library for the Nomad, because they already had all the games from the Genesis and Master System. That alone was a great reason to get a Nomad.

Great game library, and look at all those buttons!

I’ve always found it rather sad that Sega dropped out of the console and handheld business and started just focusing on games. They had some really awesome systems in their day. But, they also had a couple of systems that flopped. (Sega CD, anyone?) There have been rumors that Sega had planned to release a Dreamcast 2, but most of those rumors are unfounded, as cool as it would be.

The Dreamcast 2, a dream crushed.

There is some news in the Sega front though. Later this month (July, 2009) a new Nomad system is going to be released. It will still be able to play Genesis and Master System games, but it will also have an SD card slot that you can download games onto. I haven’t been able to find out if the new Nomad is licensed by Sega or is a 3rd party system, but as soon as I can, I’ll let you know which it is. I can’t begin to say how cool it would be if the new Nomad was actually released by Sega. The new Nomad is going to be sold for $50.00 (US). It’s going to be slimmer than the original with a bigger screen. Hopefully, they will add in a lithium ion battery so that we can play for longer than 45 minutes without plugging into the wall.

Sleek, slim and SD capable.

If you’re wondering where you can buy Genesis and Master System games for your new Nomad, there are several places that still sell them. Stores like GameStop and Game Crazy no longer carry the older system’s games. But, if you can find a Play N Trade nearby your house, they should still be selling them, and they won’t be too expensive. If you can’t find a store to buy them, you can always try Amazon.com or Ebay, though you’ll have to pay for shipping from them. But online stores will usually have a bigger selection of the old games.

My Scores:

Old School Sega Systems: 5 out of 5.

New Sega Nomad System: 4.5 out of 5. (Could go up if the system works as well as it’s supposed to and is actually sanctioned by Sega.)