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First Impressions
Crimson Gem Saga

Promoting a game based on nostalgia has proved relatively successful this year, but I was hesitant upon hearing Crimson Gem Saga pitched as a return to classic RPG roots. Most of my concerns involved haunting memories of monotonous battles and that aggravating “one item at a time” scenario. But after some hands-on time with the title I can report that Atlus is bringing North American gamers a more promising experience. The game is technically a sequel to Astonishia, already released in Japan by the name of Garnet Chronicle, and is heading to your PSP on May 26.

With a classical perspective in mind, the game follows a familiar formula that unites a band of characters through fate. One of the more enjoyable discoveries I made was that the game begins very much like RPGs of old, in that it allowed me to begin the game without hours of tutorials and lectures. And any sense of hand holding isn’t because the game feels constrictive, like so many titles that leave the player waiting for the moment where the game actually cuts you loose. Instead there’s a learning curve set in place by the difficulty of the initial plot, which works well at gradually raising the difficulty without pummeling players too early.

Upon assuming the role of Killian von Rohcoff, there was a short graduation ceremony preceding the inevitable series of misfortunes that lead him toward a greater destiny. Killian loses top honours to Herbert von Guterrian – who excelled at making me loathe him as much as Killian does from his very first appearance. Killian actually spends a great deal of time lamenting this fact, which isn’t hard to relate to (there’s always some writer out there I’m shaking my fist at for doing better than me). A short quest to join a nearby band of knights led to the inevitable crossing paths dynamic that derails Killian’s original intentions and forms the group players will be using throughout the game. A battle-hardened warrior name Gelts and moody mage named Henson seem typical. And even if it doesn’t break the character mold, the treasure hunting, mischief making Spinel won me over easy enough. It all came together while setting out in search of an item called the wicked stone, which was somewhere within Dead Man’s Spire.

About half-way through the Spire, your party comes upon a small town where it quickly becomes apparent that the citizens are actually ghosts, at which point they proceed to turn into zombies for a quick battle. And that’s approximately the same point at which the myriad of details the game was offering against a fairly familiar backdrop really won my affection. My early experience with the narrative has turned up some interesting religious overtones that might prove unique, and as with so many of the titles Atlus has brought from overseas there’s a continually light-hearted humour at work. But the little visual details are where the game really takes shape on the PSP screen. It opens with a video that sparks with a classic style of animation, and as I played further, I continually found myself distracted by more subtle sounds and motions. When your party rests at an inn for instance, the screen fades to black as expected, only to have a series of sheep jumping over a fence – followed by a ram that crashes into it. I’m sickly sweet on small attentions to detail like these because their inclusion is usually a good sign that a greater level of detail is waiting throughout the game.

The game takes a sharp turn toward modern ideas with the map system. Random enemy encounters are out, and each screen is subsequently home to several ugly brutish blue goblins that scout the area. Touching one will initiate a separate and traditional battle screen, with any number of possible enemies appearing in multiple configurations. The ideal goal is to sneak up on them when they aren’t looking in your direction. It you can touch them before being spotted, you gain the bonus ability of first strike in battle. If they see you however, an exclamation mark appears above their heads similar to those in Metal Gear, and you then need to touch them before it disappears to enter a standard battle with no advantage or disadvantage. Should the exclamation mark disappear before you touch them, they gain first strike advantage, and will chase you clear across the map to make use of it should you try to run.

The battle system assigns an order to all the player’s characters and the enemy, which is located at the top of the screen. The player shares turns with the monsters – ideally aiming to kill the monster with the next available turn. The weapons haven’t proven too complicated so far, each one functional and straightforward – meaning you will likely buy a stronger sword at each new town you visit. Various boosts can be given to weapons, however, based on items gained in battle. This has left me hesitant to assign too much to a weapon I may not keep. I’ve relied upon the skills feature the most so far, which is the game’s magic system that every character has access to learning.

There’s a combo system that can be used based on skills that I need to spend more time with yet. Essentially, a combo attack can be performed by two characters that know the same skill and are also set to attack in order – so it’s necessary to move the character positions within your party to accommodate this. I’ve gotten away without focusing on this feature so far, but the increasing strength of new enemies has me rethinking this approach. I’m certain I’ll have it all sorted out for a final review however. The emphasis is on inflicting damage as quickly as possible, because my luck in battle seems to decrease as the length of the fighting drags out.

So far Crimson Gem Saga presents itself as a rather comfortable RPG for those who might feel overwhelmed by the increasing complications of new releases to the genre. I’m still waiting to see how the difficulty unfolds and where potential side-quests might lead. Right now I’d peg it as a quaint trip through the country with a lengthy stop for lunch along the way. Expect to hear how the rest of that vacation goes very soon.

Posted in First Impressions, Previews, PSP |