The PSP has become known for RPGs and especially Strategy RPGs in the last couple of years. With Ragnarok: Tactics, Aksys brings another quality one stateside.

Japanese publishers have an infamous legacy of banishing attractive role-playing games into Western obscurity. Mother 3 was dropped in response to the fading Game Boy Advance, the Saturn died before Sega could localized the other two-thirds of Shining Force III, and Square-Enix held off on Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System to focus their efforts on current generation development. P...[Read More]

Few debuts on Sony’s PlayStation Portable were as instantly arresting as Patapon. Sandwiched in the middle of their 2007 E3 montage, the teaser was short on context but high on appeal. Its 2D presentation was entirely unique while its gameplay, as we would soon discover, was a concept all its own. Patapon was a rhythm/action game where the player controlled a tribe of warriors by inputting s...[Read More]

The 3rd Birthday selected an unconventional path to fruition. Never mind its discarded origin as a cell phone game, the more interesting story lies with its relationship to Parasite Eve. A third game isn’t necessarily surprising, Parasite Eve’s unique combat mechanics and real-world setting were more than enough to merit another entry in the long dormant franchise, but some mystery exi...[Read More]

The MLB is back in action with spring training well underway. Earlier this month, Sony's San Diego studio released the latest iteration of their MLB sim, MLB 11: The Show. Nathan reviewed the outstanding PS3 version recently, and I've since spent a few hours with the PSP version. Bottomline, if you're looking for an MLB sim on the road, you can't beat this year's version of The Show.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy was created to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Square-Enix’s (née Squaresoft’s) Final Fantasy series. It pulled two dozen heroes and villains from Final Fantasy I through XII and pitted them against each other in a free-roaming 3D fighter, and then topped it off with extras out the wazoo. While this experiment of considerable risk arrived more competent t...[Read More]

I've heard of the Tactics games, but never played them for whatever reason. I got my chance to turn that around recently with Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, a new title from Square Enix that is exclusively on the PSP. I thought this was some kind of sequel to Tactics Ogre, and in a way, it is. However, it's more of a remake or re-imagining of the original, highly acclaimed and loved game fro...[Read More]

Even though I have never played them, I always found the games in Ys series interesting. Not just because of the efficient title, but because they were big titles on the TurboGrafx platform, a platform that I have only recently added to my collection. Anyway, as the years have passed, the Ys games have been re-released multiple times, including this month on the PSP. Ys: I & II Chronicles gives pl...[Read More]

Square Enix released a new action JRPG last week known as Lord of Arcana. It gives players the chance to create their own character and hunt numerous monsters as they try to unlock the mysterious power of the eight Arcana stones. Only with this power can our hero bring peace back to the kingdom of Horodyn. This will prove to be an arduous task, however, especially if you aren't a fan of this speci...[Read More]

As of late the Ys series has produced an interesting perspective on time travel. Three months ago we were given Ys Seven, the latest sequel in the series and a game that delightfully exceeded my expectations. Ys: The Oath in Felghana, next in line to arrive on PSP thanks to XSEED’s smooth deal with Falcom, is actually a remake of the third Ys game, sort of. Oath of Felghana is indeed a repri...[Read More]

Kratos is back on the PSP with an all new adventure that takes place in between the original God of War and God of War II. Created by Ready At Dawn Studios, the talented folks behind the previous God of War PSP adventure (Chains of Olympus), Ghost of Sparta has all of the trimmings you've come to expect from the AAA series.

“…what the hell is this?” isn’t my typical gut reaction when I’m handed a game to review. Katamari Damacy could have pulled it off, but most game titles relay a slight hint of the content therein. In this regard, and many others, Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman clearly wasn’t concerned with standing in the same line as everyone else. For the last f...[Read More]