Crimson Gem Saga

Meeting the former NEW IN PURE PSP JRPG experience! With beautiful graphics in high resolution 2-D, the novel, the mechanics of combat and a classic tale of fantasy, adventure and heroism, Saga Crimson Gem offers pure classic RPG gaming experience for Japanese PSP users asked fort after the launch equipment. Making the most of crisp, clear, PSP, and with a score of colors, catchy music Crimson Gem Saga Back to the past presented as one might expect that a modern game is role playing.

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #2012 in Video Games

Brand: Atlus

Model: CG-60008-3

Published on: 2009-05

Released on: 2009-05-26

ESRB Rating: Teen

Platform: Sony PSP

Number of items: 1

Dimensions: .59" h x 4.12" w x 7.00" l, .20 pounds

Features

Ambushes and chained critical hits add additional layers of complexity to what gamers will immediately find to be a solid, tried-and-true combat engine

Featuring artwork and a beautiful presentation designed to take full advantage of the PSP's high-resolution screen

Delivers the crisp character designs, sweeping background art, and stunning special effects gamers have come to expect from elite JRPGs

30+ hours of gameplay

Stunning 2-D art design

---

Customer Reviews

Something that you might not be expecting.
I will admit, this game caught me off guard. Crimson Gem Saga is a sequel to Astonishia Story, a game that came out a few years ago for the PSP. However, there are so many differences that they chose to release it under a new name, or from what I understand anyways. When I originally heard that it was from the same team, I grew rather worried because Astonishia Story was a very lackluster title, or at least I thought it was. However, any doubts were immediately washed away when I first started playing this game.

Crimson Gem Saga was brought over to the US by Atlus, which means that we'll be getting a high quality translation along with great care to the product. One can immediately tell by the beautiful anime introduction that they didn't skimp on this title. The story is about a young man, Killian, who strives to be the best, but always ends up coming in second. The game starts you off, waking up late and almost missing your graduation. I won't go into any more of the story, for this is something that needs to be played to really enjoy it. Granted, the story isn't grand by all means and some might consider the beginning to be slow, but Killian soon discovers that he has a much greater adventure than just simply trying to figure out what to do after he graduates. Killian is met by a very well rounded cast. Spinel, who is your elf treasure hunter and is probably by far one of the best voiced characters in this game. There is also Henson, the arrogant-ish mage. Gelts, who is a former holy man, though he looks more like a warrior. Lahduk, who is the silent and very powerful monk and Acelora, whom I haven't encountered so far in my 8 hours of playing the game.

While I haven't played the Japanese version, I can say that Atlus did a superb job translating this title. I don't think I've played an RPG in the past few years that had me smiling as much as Crimson Gem Saga has, nor enjoying it as much. They even go so far as to break the fourth wall rather early in the game. However, none of this ruins the mood of the game and only adds to the enjoyment of what otherwise would be a rather typical plot line. What also caught me off guard was the voice work. This is by far the best voiced title from Atlus and one of the best for the PSP. They chose a very well rounded cast that perfectly fit each respected character. I personally consider the principle of the school Killian graduates from to be one of my favorites. There are dips in performances here and there, but overall it's a very well done game. There is not a Japanese VA option, so for those who prefer the original voice work, you might be disappointed. However, I don't think it would of synced up very well with the English translated scrip anyways.

Crimson Gem Saga is also a rather gorgeous title. It uses sprites and strives for a more traditional feel, which works very nicely. The backgrounds for all the areas I've visited so far are all quite lovely and there is a variety in monsters, skin swapping included though. Sprites have a nice look to them and each character has a death animation as well. They even provided Spinel with some 'bounce' to her character, but it depends on if you look at that as being unnecessary or generous. Either or, you still have to admit they put a lot of work into the characters for this title. Characters interact in a traditional manner via one still portrait and text below, sometimes accompanied by voice work with the text. As previously mentioned, this is a very well translated title, with some rather unusual NPCs. The sound is another aspect of this title that caught me off-guard. I wasn't expecting such a different style of soundtrack for this RPG, or at least I felt it differed from the norm. I found that CGS offers a rather enjoyable score on the overall.

Battle is also rather traditional, being turn based. Monsters are visible on screen and you run into them to initiate battle. CGS also has a pre-emptive system, which is highly recommended. If you initiate a battle with the enemy from behind before it can spot you (it'll have a ! over it's head if you've been spotted), your entire party will attack however many enemies you may be fighting once before going into turn based. This can be reversed, however, if the enemy spots you and runs into you after the exclamation point goes away. This makes fighting much more than the standard formula. What also breaks it up is if you get a critical, you have a chance of continuing your attack. Near the bottom of the screen, just above your team's health and mana status, an 'X' will appear. Pressing it allows your character to attack once more and if their lucky again, they'll get another 'X' in which they'll preform yet another powerful attack, more so than the first two. This can really turn the tide in a battle and, in some cases, kill an enemy in one turn or severely damage it.

I'm close to 8 hours into the title and I've got quite a bit of gameplay left to go. I have to say that I highly recommend this game. The only downside is CGS likes to do quests within quests. Being that you might be assigned one quest by someone, but the individual you need to go talk to might want you to do something for them before they give you what you need, etc. This can become rather tedious and unfortunately there are a decent amount of fetch quests in CGS, but the quests within a quest scenarios don't happen often. That's probably the only downfall I can really think of this title, but I don't personally consider it a problem or find it hampering to my experience. Even then, I'm absolutely enjoying this game and considering it runs at $29.99 I can't see a reason as to not picking this title up.

Amazing game!
I have been a bit skeptical when picking this game up. There are a lot of bad RPGs out there on the PSP and Nintendo DS.

This game though is just amazing. It is a very simple old school turn based RPG done right. It has amazing graphics. The whole game just looks beautiful from villages, towns, castles to characters. You will never see a boring looking location or character and the battle animations are top notch as well.

The dialogue and story is VERY well written even between regular villagers or people you meet. It also has a bit of humor thrown in. When I entered one INN in a village and talked to the girl behind the counter she said "I am running the inn because my mother is sick, and NO this is not a start of a medicine fetching quest. You adventurers are all alike." Or I found a bomb in a treasure chest next to a bed in an INN and the main character stopped and said "A bomb, at an INN next to the guest bed?"
This sort of writing and interaction makes you actually WANT to talk to all the villagers instead of just running through the game doing the main quest.

Anyways, pick this one up. It is really a great game. I am very surprised that it received so very little hype and marketing. It could have really made the headlines.

A great solid JRPG
Crimson Gem Saga is great for what it is: traditional JRPG. It does not set it self up to be the most innovative new game so the expectation from the beginning is that this is an excellent solid turn based role play game. Does it deliver on the expectation? Yes.

The graphics are quite nice with clear sprites and lush backgrounds. You can see some of the expressions on the sprites which is very neat. In some of the dungeons it can be hard to tell the difference between what you are supposed to interact with and just regular dungeon as the color scheme is so neutral but you do get used to it.

The characters are as standard as it gets--and you can read about them in the booklet. You've got recent graduate boy out to make a difference in the world, your mage, your thief, etc etc etc.

Localization: In a word--AMAZING. This title will have you smiling and laughing at what some of the characters say--early on Killian (lead) opens a "treasure" box in an inn (standard for RPG...the ones in this game are green) and there isa comment from him "A BOMB! Next to a guest bed?". Moments like this are why I developed a hearty apprecation for the localization crew for this Atlus title--and Atlus can be hit or miss on this. I find it fairly unique that when Atlus gets it they literally knock it out of the park--this game and Luminous Arc (first and second) just have wonderful dialogue between characters and they've retained all the humor, sarcasm, and uniqueness even with a tranlsation which is not easy to do. THANK YOU ATLUS!

I was very shocked to hear the voice acting which I found *really* superb---and I rarely say that about a RPG for a handheld. Wherever they got these guys I hope they go back for any future games--the emotions are spot on and the voice acting (it is only partially voice acted) really conveys the characters emotions and personalities very well.

The music is another area where I was very pleasantly suprised. There are some great tunes for battles and the bosses and overall I found it well crafted. The energy of the music is used very well as it fits within the story.

The gameplay is standard. Dungeon's, quests, towns. I did like that it was not really random encounter based--you can see the enemies and it becomes a game of who can catch who first---proper benefits (ambush) to the victor. Neat! The menu works fine although I wish when you went to shop you knew how many of something you had--but that's a minor issue and the information is accessible just not on the same screen.

I like the use of skill tree's. I find this greatly enhances gameplay and I appreciate being able to choose how I will allocate those points. Revealing all the levels on the skill tree is kind of a waste--because you may not want to have all those skills or you may choose to allocate your skill points across characters--but, as always, this is an RPG so you will be grinding anyway so SP isn't that hard to come by if you know where to look.

Difficulty: Medium. I had heard this was too easy---I don't think generically this is easy---but I do think that you can "over" skill or level your characters thereby making combat a breeze. This would be up to you though as a player. If you choose to get Ultimate Skills with tons of power early on you really can't expect that this choice isn't going to affect the gameplay. And you as a player have a choice with whether to use any of these special skills in each round--so really it is all about the player.


Overall--Excellent game. Doesn't push any boundary's (although it does break the fourth wall) but is a solid enjoyable experience. It is not really long so if you are looking for a 60 hour complicated masterpiece with a New Game+ at the end this is not your game. For anyone else this title should simply not be missed. The price point is standard. I was kind of bummed there were no spoils for this title but that has nothing to do with the game itself.

Price: $29.82 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Related Links : Product by Amazon or shopping-lifestyle-20 Store

Crusader of Centy

It's an incredible, action-RPG for the Sega Genesis weird.

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #18379 in Video Games

ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

Platform: Sega Genesis

Features

Amazing Action-RPG

Beautiful Graphics Compliment A Fast-Paced Battle Engine

Made By Atlus

Price:

Related Links : Product by Amazon or shopping-lifestyle-20 Store

Demon's Souls

Sometimes beautiful, irresistible and relentless, souls in hell, is the hardcore RPG experience PS3 owners have been waiting for the launch of the platform. Features revolutionary online define their adventure like never before, the presentation of the interconnection service without interruption in all cases, to improve the single player game. Unprecedented in its depth and subtlety, unprecedented in its relentlessly challenging game, is the soul of the action RPG Final devil. KEYFEATURES - hardcore RPG Final Challenge - In this land of brutality, death is inevitable, but not definitive. By combining the best features of an action game and RPG, cut, crush, shoot and throw magic against some of the most horrible, vicious enemies ever encountered. Are you strong enough to fight against the impossible and win? - An innovative online capabilities - network functions go far beyond all previous games in roles that allow players to leave clues for the other death scenes in taking the cooperation to revive dead players or invade and devastate another game not only an added feature, the multiplayer options are very broad and focuses solely on change and the intensification of the solo experience. - In a free and flexible structure - the game ended there is no single path, but many options. Set your own pace and progress as desired. Build exactly the character you want to make an avatar feeds detailed statistics on the right and personalization of their powers and equipment .

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #293 in Video Games

Brand: Atlus

Model: DS-00132-3

Published on: 2009-10

Released on: 2009-10-06

ESRB Rating: Mature

Number of discs: 1

Platform: PLAYSTATION 3

Subtitled in: English

Number of items: 1

Dimensions: .59" h x 6.72" w x 5.72" l, .31 pounds

Features

Combining the best features of an action game and RPG, you'll slice, smash, shoot, and cast magic against some of the most horrible, vicious enemies ever encountered

Network features go far beyond any previous RPG, allowing players to leave hints for each other, replay death scenes, cooperatively revive dead players, or invade and wreak havoc in another's game

Not merely an add-on feature, multiplayer options are vast, and uniquely focused on changing and intensifying the single player experience

The open-ended structure of the game means that there is no single path, but rather a wealth of options

Build exactly the character you want by creating a detailed avatar, nurturing the right stats, and customizing your skills and equipment

---

Customer Reviews

Great Action/Rpg
I had imported Demon's Souls in April, and finished it 3 times since then. I have a long review below but if you want a few sentences here it is:

The game has an excellent atmosphere, great character customization, enjoyable combat, some unique online elements, but very little story and minimal npc interaction. It is also very unforgiving, but it is strangely addictive if you don't get frustrated easily. It takes about 40 hours in your first play through. It's not because the game is huge... It's because you'll die a lot and repeat a lot, which results in playing very cautiously (which also adds to the atmosphere).

***Review***

Demon's Souls is an action RPG game with some unique online elements. I loved the game but I can also see why some people (even RPG lovers) might hate it. Although I gave it 5 stars, I cannot say the game is for everyone. Just read the paragraph at the end where I explain some game mechanics, and if it sounds frustrating to you then might want to try the game first before buying.
For me 3 things are very important for an RPG. A good story and well-developed characters, deep character customization, tactical and fun combat.

Story

In DS, the people in different realms/worlds are possessed by demonic souls and you are to get rid of them. When you kill them you collect their souls and get more powerful and eventually fight against the final demon. That's basically it. The game has very little story and minimal amount of non player characters (NPCs). There are about 15-20 NPCs in total (including the merchants and blacksmiths), and most of them are located in a hub called Nexus. Furthermore, you can talk to them but there are no dialogue trees. They'll say 2-3 new sentences after each time you kill a demon boss, giving you some background about the setting. Sometimes they'll initiate a sidequest, by asking you to find/do something. That's all.

If you are expecting something like Mass Effect or JRPGs in terms of story or dialogue this is not it. However, the game has a very dark and immersive atmosphere. It just sucks you in and makes up for its lack of story. Also, sometimes new characters/enemies appear depending on World Tendency (world tendency is something like an alignment that can change toward black or white), which provides replay value.

In sum, unlike most other RPGs, this is not a game that you play for the story. There is minimal story and dialogue, but the game has an excellent atmosphere which gives you the feeling of being alone and overwhelmed.

Character Customization

Character customization is probably the most important aspect of an RPG and this is where the game shines. You start the game with a certain class you picked, but it doesn't restrict you. You can develop your stats in anyway you like and completely turn it into something else (kind of like Oblivion). For example, weapons/armors have different stats requirements, but they are not restricted to classes. As long as your character meets the stats requirement you can use it. So you can mix and mash classes anyway you like. There are 8 different attributes, and when you level up you can raise one of those attributes by one point (there is room for up to 99 for each attribute).

Weapon upgrades are done by using the ores you find. You can do regular upgrades (e.g. long sword +2) or you can change it into a different weapon (e.g. dragon long sword) depending on the ores you found. There are several different types of ores that opens a different upgrade branch. There are also some special upgrades, if you choose to use a demon's soul that you obtained from a boss, which will give you a unique weapon.

Combat

The customization also affects your gameplay. For instance, you can wield double swords, sword and shield, sword and crossbow, sword and a wand, two shields (if you want to be fancy) etc. Moreover, any sword can be wielded two handed or one handed. Of course, if you choose to wield a two handed sword with one hand, you character becomes clumsy. If you choose to wield a one handed sword with two hands, then you make stronger attacks with different animations.

The combat is in real time and it is like an action game. In the controller, L1-L2 is assigned to the left hand, and R1-R2 is assigned to the right hand. L1 is used for guarding, L2 is either for parry (when wielding a shield) or attacking (weapon on left hand)). On the other hand, R1 is regular attack, and R2 is strong attack. You can also roll, run, but you cannot jump. So you end up having different combat gameplay and tactics depending on what you choose to equip.

Online Gameplay

If your PS3 is connected to the internet, you'll automatically play the game online. That lets you do different things. First, you'll see some messages left by other players. They can provide some clues, warnings etc. You can also leave messages but you can only create them by combining preset words and phrases. You cannot type whatever you want. And if someone finds your message helpful and rates it, then your health replenishes. Second, you'll see pools of blood and if you touch them it will show you a ghost of some other player and how he/she died. It's just another clue to help you in the game.

Third, and the most important one, is playing with/against others. If you are in body form, you'll see blue signs on the ground left by other players. By touching those signs you can summon up to two more people to your game and they'll fight along with you in your game helping you out. On the other hand, when you are in body form some other player can invade your game and try to kill you. If you are in soul form, then you can put a blue sign on the ground in order to be summoned by others or you can use an item to invade another player's game. However, you cannot just invite your friends to your game. If you and your friends are on different servers (which you have no control over) you won't see the signs they left and will not be able to summon them. If you happen to be on the same server, you can arrange a location in the game to put the sign (via XMB message) and then summon the other person.

Conclusion

In sum, Demon's Souls is one of the best games on PS3. It has a great atmosphere and addictive gameplay that makes you come back, even after you died for the tenth time in the same boss battle. Unfortunately it is not a game for the impatient. Just take a look at the cover art (the regular cover art which happens to be the Deluxe Edition cover in US release) of the game. You see a lone, battered knight, who is about to give up. That's Demon's Souls for you. If you are willing to take the challenge, victory will be very satisfying.

***About the difficulty and potential frustration***

First of all, the game is very unforgiving. Even regular enemies can kill you with 1-2 blows, and they will kill you many times. However that's not the main issue. The real difficulty comes from not being able to save in the middle of a stage/map. The stages don't have checkpoints either. Also dying is very costly. When you die, first you will drop your souls at the location you died (You gain souls by killing enemies, and souls are used as both experience points to improve your stats and also as money). Then you will lose your body (which means losing half of your life bar, making the game even harder) and you will respawn in soul form at the start of the stage. However all the enemies will also respawn. Furthermore, if you die again before reaching the location you died, you will lose all the souls you have dropped previously for good. That means no experience/no money from all that playing. Also reaching your corpse does not give your body back, it only gives back your collected souls. You can gain your body (half of your life bar) if you beat a boss, or invade another player's game and kill him/her, or use a special item.

In brief, you will be playing the same stage from the beginning over and over again, until you beat the boss at the end of the stage. In a lot of cases, you will not gain any experience/level during this process, because you'll die a second time before reaching your corpse. However, the stages are not very big. It generally takes about 5 to 10 minutes to get to the boss if you know the way and IF you don't die. A new respawn point appears at the end of the stage, after a boss is defeated. (The game has 5 worlds and each world has 4 stages/bosses). So, after you beat a boss you can spawn from that location if you want.

Still, a lot of people would probably hate this no save/checkpoint mechanic combined with the games unforgiving difficulty. It's like 80s arcade games which takes you back to the beginning of the stage when you die.

Something Entirely New...yet Old School
Having spent just several hours with this game, it is already difficult to describe. It's difficult. Actually, no, it's punishing. No...in fact, it can be maddeningly infuriating at times. It is also a complete blast.

I don't want to write an essay. In short, though, Demon's Souls is an action/RPG which is a bit like a combination of a 3rd-person adventure like Uncharted, a hack-n-slash action/RPG like Diablo, with the required thoughtfulness in swordplay of the original 2D Prince of Persia (you have to be an old-schooler to remember that one).

The game is difficult, but veterans of the 8-bit days will find the difficulty somewhat nostalgic. The game does not simply restart you unscathed 15 seconds from where you kicked the bucket. Rather, you have to start the level from scratch, and to regain your earned currency (which you earn by killing enemies, and use to buy improvements for your character), you must fight your way back to your corpse in spirit form with half of your health. Die before you get there? Kiss that currency good bye. The game is FAIR, though. You have the option of running, at your liberty, to the beginning of the level and exiting to the starting area to spend your winnings, so that you can return all-the-more powerful. When you feel like you are pushing your luck and the level is outgrowing your character skills, it's time to heed that advice. Of course, this IS a dungeon crawl game, so when you come back the enemies will have returned. Think of it as more souls (i.e. money) to be made.

It helps to go into this game EXPECTING to be in spirit form more often than not. The game assumes you will die a lot. In that sense, one should avoid frustration over death. It's a natural part of the game.

Battle must be approached carefully. Running in and hacking mindlessly will only tire out your character, and likely result in an unceremoniously awkward death to even the most bottom-rungs of the enemy food chain. You must work with your shield, your footwork, and given the right character your magic and ranged weapons to succeed.

All of this alone makes for a fantastic experience beyond any action RPG offered in this generation of games. What makes it a slam-dunk are the online aspects. The single player game takes advantage of your internet connection (though you can opt out by signing out of your PSN account). You will see occasional apparitions of other players fighting through the same level you are. Further, before long you will obtain an item that will allow players to invite you into their games to assist them. Later, a more sociopathic ability is obtained: the ability to break into another player's game, without their consent, hunt them down, and kill them. Either provides a bit of a "shortcut" to regaining your body, with the further effect of easing/intensifying the difficulty of the world around you...helping people "lightens" the world, harming them "darkens" it.

On top of this, the ability to examine bloodstains to view apparitional replays of other players' deaths is fantastic and adds to the feeling that you're not dealing with this alone. The game punishes EVERYONE, and they are struggling with you, and it will prove it via these replays.

This is no quick game. Reports from those who have played the imported non-US version claim play times of 80+ hours to conquer the game for the first time...nevermind 2nd and 3rd playthroughs, which supposedly come at a higher difficulty.

All that said, it is not impossible. In my very first shot at it, I actually survived for a good half hour in the first non-tutorial realm without dying, and when I realized this, I quickly found my way back out and spent my winnings to upgrade before I went and got myself annihilated (and make no mistake...I did shortly thereafter). That is what is fantastic about this game (so far for me at least): if you respect it, play conservatively, and don't do anything you wouldn't try in real life, you CAN have a reasonable chance at survival. Stay on your toes, don't push your luck, and survival IS possible. Often death is simply a result of a lapse in attention or a reckless decision. If, on the other hand, you approach it like you would, say, "God of War" or just about any other action game from this generation, you WILL pay a price for your stupidity. And it's wonderful.

Just to wrap up: the graphics are nothing short of what you'd expect in a top flight PS3 game. The sound is amazing...I have never wanted surround speakers so badly. And, as I mentioned, the gameplay is phenomenal.

My only warning: casual gamers need not apply. Do NOT approach this game unless you like a challenge.

Looks like I wrote an essay, after all. It could use some editing, but I have some playing to do.

VERY Unforgiving, yet VERY Addictive
I just got the game yesterday. After about 4 hours, the only progress I made so far is just past the tutorial. And I beat Ninja Gaiden Sigma on Normal difficulty for crying out loud!!! This is the game that tutorial stage could kill you!!!

This game is very unforgiving, so casual player be warned. There's no checkpoint and save point. When you die, you start at Nexus (the hub), you dropped all your souls at the place you died and reborn in soul-form, and if you die again, all the souls you dropped are lost. So, you'll most likely go through you first hours getting nowhere.

But, oddly enough, the game keeps you coming back. It's strangely and highly addictive in nature for those who prepared to accept frequent deaths and be patient with it. You'll learn little by little, use less and less time in each fight, and lose less and less health each time.

It's like those NES games (Ninja Gaiden, Megaman, Castlevania, etc.) that you keep dying and dying and dying and dying...and dying until you learn the patterns of enemies and traps by heart. It's frustrating, but satisfying as hell when you finally rise above the challenge.

Even so, I still prefer the game to have difficulty settings or save options for single player. People pay the same money, so they should be able to enjoy the game as they feel comfortable. Developers could reward them differently rather than leaving the casual players out of the circle entirely. And it'd be better for marketing too.

One flaw that I don't see the point why should this happen is that you can't pause the game in single-player. Why !?!? I know that adds realism to the game, but hey... players have to pee sometimes :P

Combat feels responsive and highly TACTICAL. This is by no means a hack-and-slash game, so bashing frenzy won't do you any good here. I'd call the melee combat in this game a fencing simulation. You're no God of War. You're just a person with a sword. You stab them, they die. They stab you, you die. So, be very cautious.

Graphics looks decent enough, not exactly PS3, but more like a PS2.5 game. The game looks better with low brightness, but that makes it harder to see enemies and traps. Though it's understandable that this game is not from a giant team like Square-Enix, but still, I believe they could do better with normal maps and texture details. Also, the character face looks hideous. Making the game looks Western doesn't mean they have to give up the pretty-face trend of the JRPGs. People still love looking at pretty people.

Also, the physics engine is a bit weird here. Pieces are flying around low-gravity-like when props are broken. Enemy corpses are rolling along when you walk over them, and their heads are twitching as if they're listening to iPod while lying dead XD

In conclusion:
I took one star off for the extreme unforgiving nature of the saving system, the lack of choice in difficulty, the no-restroom-break policy, and the less-than-impressive graphics. Other than that, the game is great.

Casual player who doesn't want any frustration should avoid this game at all cost. The game has gained its reputation for being very unforgiving since its first Asian release. You've been warned, and I'm warning you again.

If you can't take it easy when you die once and lose almost all your hours of progress, then DON'T listen to the hype of hardcore players. There's nothing wrong with liking easy games. Because even the greatest game of all eternity doesn't serve its purpose if it doesn't entertain you.

But if you feel up to the challenge, go for it. The game WILL forge you into a real warrior. I'm not there yet. But I'm having a lot of fun dying on the way there. I'm still halfway through Uncharted 2, but all I'm wanting to play now is this game.

Price: $49.79 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Related Links : Product by Amazon or shopping-lifestyle-20 Store

Disgaea 3 Absence of Justice

The popular Disgaea series goes next-generation PS3! With high-definition graphics, including beautiful high-resolution 2D sprite art and visual effects, spells, one of the most acclaimed and beloved strategy RPG series is making the jump to the next generation of gaming with Disgaea 3 Absence of Justice for PLAYSTATION 3. Re-enter the World of Disgaea and experience all the humor, crazy characters, thrilling action and unmatched excitement in this new adventure, more than 100 hours!

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #859 in Video Games

Brand: NIS America

Model: DG-00131-4

Published on: 2008-08

Released on: 2008-08-26

ESRB Rating: Teen

Platform: PLAYSTATION 3

Number of items: 1

Dimensions: .75" h x 5.25" w x 6.75" l, .30 pounds

Features

Story and endings evolve as you play the game

Geo Blocks introduce a real 3D battle system to a SRPG

Over 270 customizable characters

Class world adds 40 battle stages per character or 10800 stages

Only SRPG with infinite number of randomly generated battle maps

---

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The third American release in the Disgaea series by Japanese game developer and publisher Nippon Ishi, Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice marks the arrival of this acclaimed and beloved strategic RPG franchise into the Next-Gen gaming era. A PlayStation 3 exclusive, Absence of Justice features high-definition graphics, including beautiful high-res 2-D sprite character art and stunning spell effects. And although it is the third in a series of games, its story and gameplay stand on their own, allowing players both new to and experienced with the humor, zany characters, thrilling action, and unmatched excitement of the Disgaea universe to jump right into the battle.

Disgaea goes Next-Gen on PS3

Search for clues and advice in conversations. View larger.

Enjoy 3-D play across geo blocks. View larger.

Level up weapons and gear with 'item world'. View larger.

'Magichange' makes weapons of characters. View larger.

Inflict damage with the 'Stack Attack'. View larger.

The Story of Mao, a Demon Gone Bad
Set in and around the ‘Nether Institute, Evil Academy,’ the demon version of the preppiest of prep schools, Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice follows the puzzling decision of Mao, son of the Overlord of the Netherworld, who after reading a manga comic book decides to forsake his proper demonic upbringing, become a hero and attempt to overthrow his father. But in the backwards world of demon scholastics where good is bad and bad is good, Mao is a top honor student. He knows all about ditching school, being totally unhelpful and quickly resorting to violence, but nothing of the selfless nobility and patience of heroes. Heroes are for delinquents, as the number one delinquent of the Nether Institute, Raspberyl and her friends try to tell him. But Mao’s mind is made up. It's a hero he will be.

Flow of Gameplay: Events ⇒ Base ⇒ Battle ⇒ Repeat
Events: Players advance through the game as events unfold. These events can occur during the story, at your base, or before/after battles. You will be able to witness the fun and interesting interactions through a mixture of sprite animation and exciting character battles.

Base: Mao's school, the Nether Institute, Evil Academy is the base point of the game. Players will be able to prepare for upcoming battles here by purchasing new weapons and items, customizing characters and/or restoring health.

Battle: You will be fighting against enemies in battle scenes with a quarter view, tactical simulations. The goal is to defeat all of the enemies before all of your team members die. Battles utilize a turn-based system, where all of your team members will have their turn to attack before enemies begin theirs.

Character Customization: The Evility System
Character customization is crucial in all role-playing games. Absence of Justice allows for maximum character customization through its "Evility System." There are two different categories of evilities: evility that is already set for each character depending upon the jobs of each and evility that players can customize. Customizable evilities include: evility to acquire the special skills for certain weapons, evility to up character status under certain requirements, evility to up the amount of experience points earned, evility to enable special skills and functions, etc. This variety is powerful and important. You may have only one kind of evility that supports a character's status, but you may have multiple evilities for skills. Use this system to create and customize your characters and ideally group multiple evilities in one to conduct battles more efficiently.

The Disgaea 3 Battle System
Combat in Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice consists of a combination of the franchises familiar standard system of attacks, along with a whole new array of moves debuting with the game. This wide range of possibilities allows players to pick and choose tactics that suit the immediate conflict before them or to quest for overall success in the game, and maximum fun by attemping to master all. Attacks and skills include:

Team Attack - Use up to four adjoining team members to help you attack adjoining enemies. Although this may seem random, it is actually closely connected with the team members you have selected in class and their special skills.

Combos - Combos happen when multiple team members attack the same enemy during a single turn. They can occur even when team members are not on adjoining squares and their effectiveness increases with the number of occurring combos.

Lift and Throw - Humanoid characters have the ability to lift and throw enemies or teammates. The distance of a throw depends on the thrower and lifted team members are safe from attack, making this a key defensive tactic.

Stack Attack - If you keep using the lift command, you will be able to create a tower of characters. Select the attack command while in that state and all stacked characters will begin to attack. The larger the stack the higher the damage to your enemies.

Double Throw - If one of your characters stacked in a tower selects the "throw" command you can choose to throw any of the stacked characters. This is a useful skill when you want to reach a floor that is too high to reach on your own.

Throw and Receive - Useful in moving long distances, when you throw a character towards a monster teammate he/she will knock the thrown character further away in the direction faced.

Geo Effect - The combination of geo panels and geo blocks is called the 'Geo Effect.' The special effect of a block on top of a panel will affect all panels of the same color. You gain the power of those effects by landing on the right block.

Uniting Skills - If you meet certain requirements during a combo, two skills will unite into one, increasing damage and depending on the skills will increase the effectiveness of your combo.

Magichange - Magichange allows humanoid characters and monster characters to to fight as one. In doing this the monster will turn into a special weapon for the human to wield and in the process increase the power of both.

Will Mao be able to become a hero and defeat the Overlord? Or will Raspberyl and the demon delinquents convince him to return to his honor role ways? It all depends on you, and so the troublesome, devilish story begins.

---

Customer Reviews

Great Addition to the Series (4.5 Stars)
Pros:

+A lot of good gameplay
+An overall charming story
+Lots of things to do off the beaten path
+A Huge emphasis on strategy
+Well done anime inspired art

Cons:

-Still a few problems with the camera
-By now the graphics need an improvement to better bring the story to life. The anime inspired art is really nice, but how about an anime scene or two to really convey a character's feelings or actions? Beyond that, the battlefield and character sprites look exactly like they did in the first two games. A graphical update would've been really nice.

In 2003, Disgaea came out and breathe some new life into the Tactical Strategy RPG. It quickly became a cult classic. Disgaea 2 came around and stayed true to the first by changing very little. In that sense, Disgaea 3 can be summed up as being a continuation of the things that worked in the first two games. If you enjoyed the first two Disgaea games, then you'll like Disgaea 3.

Disgaea 3 focuses on Mao as he tries to overthrow is Overlord of a father for destroying his game console. It's a joke of a story but it's meant to be such. In all honesty it isn't much of a bad story at all once it gets going. The story is told through still shots of the characters facing one another as the dialog pops up on screen. There's voice acting, although some of it is quite forgettable. But there's also a good sense of humor, mainly because the story doens't take itself so seriously. Disgaea 3 knows what it is and doesn't try to be anything more. It makes the overall experience of it fun and satisfying. But as the story progresses it actually becomes about so much more than a mere broken Slaystation Portable.

The story is charming overall, but the presentation of it isn't so much. Certainly character portraits carrying the story out isn't so bad, but by now Disgaea should be willing to take its production values to new levels with the Playstation 3. An anime cutscene or something to help bring some of the more dramatic moments to life would've been really nice.

Battling in Disgaea 3 is no different than it was in the previous two games. You move characters around the battlefield executing attacks. Disgaea has always had a huge emphasis on strategy mainly because of the Geo Panels. Depending on the placement of Geo Panels and the placement of Geo Blocks, characters can be granted certain bonuses ranging from an attack boost to even some that aren't going to help you at all such a hindrance to your defense. Disgaea 3 also brings back the bonus gauge where after a battle you can get certain bonuses depending on how much damage you've done or how many panels you've destroyed. Even by the third installment, the Geo Panels system manages to be unique. The Geo Panels also help to make a difference in your strategy. You'll find your level doesn't mean much if the enemy you're facing has a huge boost by the Geo Panel he's standing on.

Disgaea 3 also keeps the level cap incredibly high. You can go all the way up to level 9999. It might seem like the game puts more emphasis on level and brute force, but chances are you'll find there's still a lot of strategy involved in the game, and that's mainly because there's so much outside of the story to do, and the Geo Panels provide a neat puzzle element to the game.

The biggest problem, however, is that it doesn't look any different from the first two games. You're basically getting a Playstation 2 game on a Playstation 3 console. Tactical Strategy RPGs have never been the best looking games, but Disgaea 3, despite being on the Playstation 3, looks almost exactly the same as the first two games. There isn't a real noticeable improvement in the game's artistic or graphical design. The anime inspired character portraits are very nice and detailed, but the overall look of the game isn't much. It also still suffers from the camera angles. While you can rotate the camera you'll find that there's not much else you can do with it. Pillars and other environmental objects will still be in the way.

Disgaea 3 is a good game. Excellent for Disgaea fans. It may play the same way, but that isn't a bad thing at all. What may not settle well with some gamers, however, is that it's a Playstation 3 game that would've been better suited for the Playstation 2.

My favorite "Disgaea" yet...
I could not disagree with the three star review more: the current iteration of "Disgaea" is, IMHO, the best strategy game ever made, overtopping both of the original offerings in this series.

Why, though? What makes this offering stand out from its counterparts? It's simple, really: it's precisely the bizarre storyline of the main quest. Lots of people heaped praise on the storyline of the original "Disgaea". I wasn't one of them. I personally thought that, while the story had its moments, in the end, it was pretty blah (particularly considering the cast of wonderful characters appearing). The storyline for the 2nd "Disgaea" was less entertaining than the first (mostly because the cast of characters wasn't interesting in the least, until the post-game madness started). Yet, I loved the first two games, precisely because of what happened AFTER the game. The number of extras in the first game was impressive, and the extras in the 2nd game were absolutely stagerring.

But finally, I really enjoy the storyline. I won't spoil it, but it is incredibly strange, and wholly entertaining. Rather, I'll break my review into the typical pro and cons sections:

PROS:
1) Storyline - It's funny. It's well-written. What more could you ask for.
2) Music - At times, it's positively incredible. The music playing in the background while in the academy (i.e. while not battling) ranks among my favorite video game themes of all time, and the main theme is good as well. The battle themes are less impressive, but this is actually nice, if one attempts to beat the game with skill as opposed to level-grinding (I would rather focus my concentration on the battle at hand).
3) Voice-acting - I enjoy it immensely. It works very well for the story present (although the Japanese voices annoy me).
4) Extras - I'm not talking about in-game extras (of which there are so many, I cannot even begin to describe them). I'm talking about the soundtrack CD accompanying the product. I love music CDs, when they're free.
5) Price - Most Sony PS3 games are sixty bucks, and most PS3 games stink. It's nice to get a fifty dollar offering that is enjoyable.
6) In-game extras - You could easily play this game for 150 hours. There is so much craziness to end the game, it's not even funny.

CONS:

1) Graphics - Yes, I know. It's not really important to the main offering. But come on. Most of the time in the game is spent either in battles, or in the school. There's really not much to illustrate here. Why not go the extra mile and make some interesting NEW character designs? I mean, these are the EXACT SAME monsters we saw in the original "Disgaea".

That's about it. Really.

This game, however, will not appeal to anyone. Action gamers, stay away. There's nothing wrong with that, and the comment isn't meant as an insult. Some people don't like the slow pacing of strategy games, or the level grinding madness that ends each "Disgaea" game. Strategy gamers, come one, come all. Let's face it, we haven't gotten many strong offerings recently (I deplore the DS "FFTA" game, and the Wii's "Fire Emblem" was a pretty frail offering as well). "Disgaea" fans - well, I don't even have to tell you, do I?

Good stuff.

Disgaea 3: You're in for a treat.
This is my first Disgaea game in the franchise. I certainly hope it isn't my last. I've put in about 6 hours into the game, enough to give me an idea of how the game will play. I have to say, it's been fun, great fun.

It's like playing a saturday morning cartoon, except it has a lot of content kids won't get. The game starts with Mao, who wants to defeat his father the Overlord, because his father ruined his video game system(sound familiar?) that cost him millions of hours worth of data. And so our quest begins. The voice overs sound like something off of Fox Kids saturday morning shows.

The game offers so many little things to do and manage. I was actually quite intimidated by the options it gave me when I started playing because I was pretty clueless. After some experimenting I'm slowly understanding parts of it. It is an srpg, but it is like no other srpg I've ever played. The levels are usually small and offer some traps, and puzzles as you traverse the area. I have a feeling this game is going to offer me a lot of great hours. There's so much to upgrade and different things to do.

I'm sure by now everyone knows this game has the look of a ps2 game. And honestly it does. But it's been such a good time, it doesn't bother me one bit. I love it. Rent it, buy it..I don't care. just play it

Price: $33.72 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Related Links : Product by Amazon or shopping-lifestyle-20 Store

Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #2380 in Video Games

Brand: NIS America

Model: DG-00125-3

Released on: 2007-10-30

ESRB Rating: Teen

Platform: Sony PSP

Number of items: 1

Dimensions: .50" h x 4.25" w x 6.75" l, .25 pounds

Features

Completely remastered to take full advantage of the Sony PSP Portable

All-New story focus means a new experience and all new ending

Geo Cubes can turn a battle in a moment, use them well or have them used against you

All-new multiplayer modes - Battle, Defeat the Leader & Capture the Flag

Pick up and play wherever you go

---

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
A deep strategy RPG experience with an exceptional story, a fantastic script, and a host of loveable characters and settings. Upgraded graphics and art for the high resolution widescreen PSP Display. Geo Cubes add special effects in the battlefield, completely shifting the balance in the blink of an eye. The first time for multiplayer in the Disgaea series.

---

Customer Reviews

The PS2 Classic Goes Portable
The Original Disgaea on the PS2 was a sleeper hit. Creeping into the gaming scene. Those who played it were blown away by it. Eventually word of mouth helped the game become incredibly popular. However, the original Cult Classic on the PS2 is hard to find. And when you do find it, it often comes at unreasonable prices. Luckily, if you're a PSP owner, you can play the original game in a whole new light. You are essentially getting the same game, only with several extras.

For those who never played the original, Disgaea centers on Laharl. The prince of darkness who has been asleep for some time. As Laharl and with a gaggle of allies, your job is to conquer the Netherworld. The adventure is full of a lot of fun. Some hilarious antics as well as a really likeable cast of characters. The release on the PSP is even better than the original, and it's easier to find.

Disgaea takes the simple formula of a strategy RPG and mixes in its own little quirks. Battling in Disgaea is quite simple. You send your units into battle and you move them into attack position and then you execute your strategy accordingly. Unlike many tactical RPGs, battles in Disgaea can go fast. The maps are also incredibly large. In battle characters can also use abilities. The more times you use an ability, the more abilities you gain. Another great part about battle is that if your characters are standing next to one another and attack the same enemy, they'll perform a duel attack. As battles progress you'll also fill up a battle gauge in the corner of the screen. The more you fill up the gauge the more bonuses you get at the end of the battle.

There are a couple of things about Disgaea's system that separate it from other strategy RPGs. Some of them bizarre, others not so much. First there's the Geo Panel system. On the maps you'll certain tiles that are a certain color. These are Geo Panels. There are also Geo Symbols which have certain effects. Placing Geo Symbols on a specific color will make that Geo Panel color correspond with the effect of the Geo Symbol. Therefore, if you place a Geo Symbol that increases a characters attack on a yellow Geo Panel, all yellow Geo Panels will have an attack up. However, you can also destroy Geo Symbols. This causes a chain reaction that either turns all Geo Panels into the same color as the one which the Geo Symbol you destroyed was placed on or causes the Geo Panel to be destroyed completely. Either way, it racks up bonuses for your battle gauge.

Disgaea has other things that make it stand out above the rest of the crowd. Particularly in its smaller elements. Using items, for example, may cause them to become something else. For exaample, after you use Mint Gum it becomes ABC Gum and can actually be used again. A Drink will become an Unopened drink. Just the same, there's almost no limit to character raising. As the game progresses you'll discover that your level can increase into the hundreds and keep going until you're literally in the thousands.

Even better for Disgaea is the senate of the Netherworld. Battling will net you Mana Points which you can use in the Senate to recruit characters (the more Mana you spend the better the character) and assign him a job. Just the same, however, the senate has power over certain aspects of the game such as what items are available in the shops and whatnot. You can appeal to the senate and they'll vote on certain issues. You won't always win, but you can persuade by force, meaning, battle members of the senate who do not side with you. It's kooky and weird, but it works. There are also exams the senate gives you which are battles Laharl must fight alone.

Lastly, there's the item world. Throughout the game you can go into certain items and venture ten floors in and fight a boss. Doing this power ups items. The item world is no joke, however, as it's incredibly hard to conquer. Disgaea itself is not the easiest game around. There are many moments of the game dedicated to simply raising characters.

In terms of what's new to the PSP version, there are plenty of new missions to take on as well a couple of new secrets. This is much more than just one or two missions. There are plenty of hidden missions exclusive to the PSP version. Also, there is now a completely new game mode players can undergo. Lastly, there's multiplayer where you can play against a friend. In other words, there's enough new content here to justify the game to be a buy even for those who played the original to death.

In terms of production values, Disgaea looks exactly as you expect a Strategy RPG to look. It's pretty cute looking with sprites, but it's very colorful and runs smoothly without any problems. It's perhaps one of the fastest loading PSP games out there. The dialog presented throughout the game is also funny. The music is pretty catchy as well. If there was anything wrong with Disgaea, it would be that the voice acting isn't up to par with the rest of the fantastic game. The characters don't sound bad, but the voice acting doesn't have much feeling or emotion to it. Many scenes through the game that were funny would've otherwise been all out hilarious had the voice work been better.

Despite the voice work, that's a small price to pay. The game is still better than the original PS2 version and has a ton of gameplay behind it. This is an RPG that will last you hundreds of hours. Disgaea is quite possibly the best Strategy RPG you can find on the PS2.

Good Port of a Solid Game
A fairly direct port of the popular PS2 game "Disgaea: Hour of Darkness", "Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness" mostly keeps things the same, though a few new features are added.

The game should be familiar to anyone who has played the original Disgaea, but as a refresher for those who haven't: Disgaea is a turn-based tactical role playing game. Using a grid system, characters move, attack, and use special abilities. The RPG element comes in as characters improve through battling, compared to the disposable soldiers of many RTS games. There are, furthermore, many classes to choose from, including warriors, mages, and thieves. This is a system seen in games like Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics, and many others.

For its part, Disgaea brings a lot of elements that are unique to it and its sequel. For example, the RPG system includes not only the effects on the character's leveling up, but also a teacher/student system that grants abilities to other characters. Geo Symbols, another feature of Disgaea's combat, are colored pyramids that, when put on certain location types, can give off various effects to connected areas. The ability to lift and throw characters, either as an offensive attack or to give allies a boost in a certain direction, is also present. Units with similar types can use team-up attacks that boost their power when they're near each other.

In Disgaea, you take the role of Laharl, the Prince of the Underworld. After being awoken from a 2-year nap, Laharl finds that his father, the King, has passed away, and in his absence the underworld has been rife with conflict over who the next overlord will be. With his faithful vassal Etna in tow, Laharl seeks to regain control of his empire. The story and dialogue are rife with comedy - unusually clumsy assassins, parodies of the Power Rangers and Flash Gordon, and the general apathy that Laharl's underlings display toward him. The writing is excellent, and the PSP edition allows you to use both the English and Japanese voice acting.

The graphics have been well maintained in the transition to the small screen. They actually seem to fit better on the PSP, without as many obvious pixels and edges. Both the graphics and the sound are unchanged from the PS2 version, the only new features being the aforementioned dual language audio choice and a new music changing option.

As a whole, Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness is a good port of a solid game. It doesn't change much, but there wasn't much that needed to be changed. If you've played the game before, though, it's not exactly worth buying again.

8/10.

Prinny d00d!
Facts fist: this is a port of the original Disgaea for PS2. There are some new features: an extra game mode where you play as Etna rather than Laharl, widescreen graphics, and some new boss battles (including one with the main characters from Disgaea 2). Still, it's the same main game.

But with a game as good as Disgaea, this is no problem at all! The price for the PSP version is similar to the PS2 original, but you get a few more features and the chance to play it on the go - a feature you'll greatly appreciate if you become as hooked on the game as I have. Nippon Ichi specialize in strategy RPGs, and out of all their excellent releases, Disgaea is probably the best and the most welcoming to new players.

If you love the original Disgaea, or you are a fan of Nippon Ichi in general, you really don't need to read this review. But for new players, here's a rundown. Disgaea is an isometric strategy RPG, meaning that the story unfolds by playing through sequential turn-based battle stages. If you've played Final Fantasy Tactics, probably the definitive SRPG, it has similar basic game mechanics. In Disgaea, you start with two main characters (Laharl and Etna) in your party. However, the only way to progress is to build a strong roster of characters of different classes, each with different special abilities. Leveling up characters in the basic classes, such as warrior and mage, gradually unlocks new and more powerful classes. The main storyline battles are tough, and you'll need to do a lot of leveling to play successfully; however, this is much more enjoyable than in a typical RPG, because SRPGs naturally specialize in battle mechanics. Approaching each battle correctly requires considerable thought and forward planning - this is not a quick action-fix game, but it is incredibly rewarding to build up a roster of strong team members and to learn to take full advantage of their abilities.

The graphics in Disgaea might be disappointing to fans of next-gen 3D games. The dialogue between characters features some excellent (if static) artwork, but the game itself is entirely sprite-based. If you can get past this - and the adjustment should take no time at all - you'll find that what the game lacks in visuals, it gains in gameplay, music, and writing. This is one of the funniest, most well-written and translated games I've ever played - and, as usual with Nippon Ichi games, the voice acting is excellent. Sounds like a small thing, but believe me, so many games get so badly wrong. The music is fun and catchy, and the basic story provides a constant motivation to win each battle. Disgaea is a complete timesink, I admit, and after 100 hours of gameplay you still won't have seen everything the game has to offer. But if you're willing to devote some time, and some brain power, this is one of the most fun and rewarding games on the PSP. Definitely recommended!

Price: $29.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Related Links : Product by Amazon or shopping-lifestyle-20 Store

NeverLand Card Battles

Action RPG based on a card reaches PSP brings an innovative mix of genres-RPG card battles based more on hand. With the ad-hoc multi-head to head and letters, there's tons to do. Manages major powers, with more than 200 maps available. Use cards to call powerful allies such as warriors, sorcerers, magicians and others. Building walls of protection and sources of healing. Increasing the strength of your army and speed to gain an advantage. Cards win more powerful than you complete each boss battle and mount the plug. collection and strategic management by the battles taking place on networks composed of squares. Walking in the streets to collect mana needed to use their cards. Tactfully and positioning of your harvest mana army is crucial to every battle. Challenging fighting against bosses with enemies, unique bridges and the maintenance of strong and fight in different ways. Learn more about the different combinations of strengths and weaknesses of struggle against a bill to become a true master. • Advanced Character Customization - unlock new cards in story mode and build your game of epic battles. Bridges Trade cards with friends and create complete, customized their preferred card .

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #15757 in Video Games

Brand: Atlus

Model: 891767001023

Published on: 2008-10

Released on: 2008-10-28

ESRB Rating: Teen

Platform: Sony PSP

Number of items: 1

Dimensions: .50" h x 4.25" w x 7.00" l, .20 pounds

Features

Master the power of over 200 very unique summoning cards

Head-to-head battles set the stage for intense tactical action

Epic story of good vs. evil set in Idea Factory's famed Neverland series

Conquer more territory to strengthen your power in battle

Build customized decks to match your playing style

---

Customer Reviews

Ignore the magazine reviews and decide for yourself
I hesitated for months around buying this game due to all the marginal printed reviews. However, I finally read enough to decide that it sounded like the type of game I'd like, being a former Magic The Gathering player, as well as enjoying other collectible card games.

I'm really glad I tried this game! I loved this game; I sell nearly every game after I'm done with it, but have not yet been able to part with this one as I still go back to play it.

If you like collectible card games like Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh or the like, I'd highly recommend Neverland Card Battles.

You start with a base set of cards, build a deck, and battle it out with opponents. Win or lose, you gain cards to improve your deck. Instead of playing resource cards, you move yourself and your creatures around to gain land, and that land allows you to play more cards and also pays for cards currently in play.

There's a fair amount of strategy in taking land and using creatures to hold that land, block the opponent, etc.

There's also the metagame of deck building. The game allows you to save 3 different deck designs; a great touch as you'll likely have at least 2 decks to use depending on who you're playing and where you're playing.

There are some issues with cards; a few are broken in power. But if the few broken cards bother you, you can choose not to play with them in your decks.

Overall, I loved this game, being a fan of collectible card games and the metagame of deck building. Whether or not you enjoy that style of game will determine whether it's worthwhile buying Neverland Card Battles.

Chess Delux
Nevrland Card Battles.

I seen this game earlyer and didn't pay attention to it. I've not been into card battle games.

But the more I looked into it, the more it was calling me to give it a chance.

I do like strategy games, very much, and that was the only reason I bought NCB.

My review? This game is very kewl! It is very rich with strategy!

Also, if you like Anime, this game oozes Japaneese. Not the best anime but it is there. Bad voice acting and everything and the graphics are so-so.

But the gameplay is what makes NCB a good game. It goes beyond chess and then some!

NCB has made me wonder what other card battle games are worth getting.

Give NCB a chance and you might be surprised! I was! :)

Thats my review! Until next time,,,,, BLLAAAAHHHH!

Price: $15.87 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Related Links : Product by Amazon or shopping-lifestyle-20 Store

Eternal Poison

Senior gothic themes this mysterious strategy RPG for PS2 is full of interesting characters, places size and research on five fantastic episodes long. With tremendous production values, given the quality of cut scenes and the width of the film's voice-GC and a mechanic tried and true strategy RPG novelty has been added to show the collection to mix tradition and innovation to provide Eternal Poison Players surprisingly familiar yet equally new experience.

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #4884 in Video Games

Brand: Atlus

Model: EP-53029-8

Published on: 2008-11

Released on: 2008-11-11

ESRB Rating: Teen

Platform: PlayStation2

Number of items: 1

Dimensions: .38 pounds

Features

Every copy of Eternal Poison is a special two-disk set which includes a soundtrack CD featuring 25 beautiful compositions from the games score

Gorgeous dark fantasy world laden with gothic themes, a twisted fairy tale full of black magic,white magic and treasure

Walk the winding path of five different characters in this strategy RPG in search of legendary Eternal Poison

Capture and collect demons to work with you or add their skills to your arsenal

---

Customer Reviews

To help you decide whether or not to get this game...
In response the lack of reviews and product feedback, I believe some form of awareness must be addressed with regards to Eternal Poison.

First off, this game... is beautiful! And I mean is it! If you know the degree of art in Odin Sphere and how it became a "Greatest hits" without ever acquiring the "real" customer reception in America for it to become one, this is how this game compares. Now Disgaea had the same problem: Lack of consumer base in America but a high-quality title that was granted an additional print-run. This is how you would perceive Eternal Poison: Under a great deal of scrutiny by the gaming demographic, reliant to another consumer with a first-hand experience. And if you miss getting a hold of this game, you WILL be punished on your efforts to acquire it, just like Persona 3 originally was.

Like I said, this game is gorgeous! The music synchronizes very well with every scene. There is great character art and an in-game gallery that you will fill as you progress throughout the story. The cinematics are masterful rendering of a 3D perspective onto the characters. There is great deal of personalities between the characters and a lot of interaction. You choose which scenario you what to play through.

Eternal Poison's gameplay mimics that of a solid tactics-rpg. A character's turn will come up, you select whatever, then you wait. You can wait a turn out to perform combos, or cue in a later attack if you were planning to lure an enemy. The demons(majin) can be captured and used as party members in later fights and grow in strength with battle exposure. You can also choose to absorb the strengths and abilities of the said creatures for your current party instead. So far, I find that this game is on a low-medium difficulty(compared to FFT, which I scale as high difficulty), and has an easily understood tutorial.

For your enjoyment, there are a number of outside missions as you progress, like recover band members for a bar in a town, recruit temporary team members for requests, side story type things that help develop your teams strength and such. In closing, If you don't get Eternal Poison because you don't like tactical-rpgs, that's too bad because this is a high quality example of the genre. If you do like these types of games, you better get it before you have to wait for a reprint(Big IF) when everyone else realizes how good this is. Good luck on Ebay, when that happens.

First thoughts on Eternal Poison
I'm sure everyone here can relate to the feeling of following a game, anticipating it's release, and then peeling back the plastic wrap to pop in a new game? Yeah? Well I pre ordered this game months ago, because I had been completely wrapped up in the art style and dark and twisted story line. Now, I'd also like to say that the whole strategy role playing game or tactical rpg or whatever aspects intimidated me. Because this is my first venture into this genre. So I was very weary, and overwhelmed with the notion and premise of the game play...

I'm kinda slow in the intelligents department, and organizing huge stratagies and attacks, well.. It's not really my thing, or so I thought. Eternal Poison is surprisingly user friendly, and the tutorial was much needed, and very helpful, so those who are a little turned off by the srpg genre, I say if you can find a copy of this game take a chance, it's worth it. The one complaint I have so far would have to be the battle animations, which if any of you have been following this game, know you can simply turn them off, and the battles are quick and engaging. And exploiting weaknesses is loads of fun, and combination attacks are so satisfactory when pulled off successfully.

What I know of the story so far is from Thage and Raki's pov, and it's the most appealing to me at this point. I'm sure once completing their tale I'll jump right back in with the other stories and find out all the ins and outs of Eternal Poison.

Last thoughts, I just wanted to give some praise to this game, and as the first review stated above, it's a gem, and worthy in any rpg collection, I for one do not regret in anyway picking this game up.

Dal.

Beautiful graphics, somewhat clumbersome mechanics
Others have already gushed about the graphics, so I'll skip to the gameplay. Compared to many other RPGs, this one can feel very limited in what you can do. There's basically no actual exploration, you basically go through a series of dungeons and try to kill all the monsters present. There's a few branches where you can choose which dungeon to advance to next, but that's about it. While this basically means there isn't a "grind" per se, it does mean you might have trouble dealing with later enemies if you didn't level sufficiently in previous dungeons. There also isn't the usual menu most people expect in RPGs that let them set equipment and such. You also can't save in the middle of a dungeon. This and a few other small details can make the entire thing feel rather cumbersome, so it definitely isn't for everyone. However, that doesn't mean the game can't be fun. The battles do force you to be rather creative/conservative, especially after getting mobbed the third time and having your entire party slaughtered.

This game can be fun, just know what you're getting into.

Price: $38.31 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Related Links : Product by Amazon or shopping-lifestyle-20 Store

Thousand Arms PS1 (Japanese Import Version) Dating Sim RPG

import the Japanese version of a thousand arms for PS1.

Product Details

ESRB Rating: Teen

Platform: PlayStation

Features

ALL TEXT IS IN JAPANESE.

MAKE SURE YOUR PLAYSTATION CONSOLE CAN PLAY JAPANESE GAMES BEFORE PURCHASING.

Price:

Related Links : Product by Amazon or shopping-lifestyle-20 Store

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha versus King Abaddon

BACK TO JAPAN 1920 in Action RPG after it! Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon new GTS is the game in a subset union offers significant progress in the original game, while maintaining its sleek design and a unique atmosphere. New features, such as demon negotiation, combined with improved alchemy and renovated parts of the previous game, as the weapon system of combat, and more. Perhaps swansong RPG for PS2, and will certainly be one of the most popular games from the famous series SMT Devil Summoner 2 is about to make a big splash among fans of the genre at the time of his release.

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #5867 in Video Games

Brand: Atlus

Model: DS-53037-3

Published on: 2009-05

Released on: 2009-05-12

ESRB Rating: Mature

Platform: PlayStation2

Number of items: 1

Dimensions: 1.00 pounds

Features

The rich environment of this Taisho-era Japan comes to life with the character designs of Kazuma Kaneko and the musical score of Shoji Meguro

Battle system includes a MAG balancing system, dodge and hide abilities, and the ability to command two demons in combat

Demon negotiation returns with more than twice the number of demons to attempt to recruit to your side

Create more powerful demons through fusion and skill transfer

80 hours of classic dungeon crawling.

---

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Product Description
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha versus King Abaddon is the newest game in a popular Shin Megami Tensei subseries that delivers significant gameplay advancements over the original while maintaining its stylish design and unique setting. New features, like demon negotiation, combine with fully enhanced and retooled components of the previous game, like the battle system, weapon alchemy, and more. Possibly the PS2’s RPG swansong, and sure to be one of the more popular games in the famed SMT series, Devil Summoner 2 is poised to make a big splash among genre fans upon its release.

View larger. View larger. Story A new threat to Japan's Capital calls for the return of Raidou Kuzunoha the 14th, the case-solving, tube-slinging protector of the city. When a woman walks into the Narumi Detective Agency and asks to find a man, Raidou's boss is reluctant to accept, but soon it's clear there's more to the case than it seems on the surface. It isn't long before Raidou is on the trail of crooked gamblers, masked ninja, and strange insects... a trail leading him inexorably to the mysterious King Abaddon. Key Game Features: Massively upgraded battle system--Advancements to the battle system include a MAG balancing system, dodge and hide abilities, and the ability to command two demons in combat. Use the retooled Weapon Alchemy system to create new swords with unique special attacks.80 hours of classic dungeon crawling. Deeper demon integration--Demon negotiation returns with more than twice the number of demons to attempt to recruit to your side. Create more powerful demons through fusion and skill transfer. Control two demons in battle and choose from more tactical options. Phenomenal creative team--The rich environment of this Taisho-era Japan comes to life with the character designs of Kazuma Kaneko and the musical score of Shoji Meguro.

---

Customer Reviews

An enjoyable and more than solid RPG
Yes, the PS2's days appear to finally be dwindling down (I feel like I've been saying that for two years plus now), but Atlus continues to release some solid games for the aging system regardless. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon (I am not typing that whole thing again) is an enjoyable and solid RPG that delivers the goods in terms of moments of fun combat and atmosphere, all wrapped up in a detective narrative. Playing as the devil summoning Raidou Kuzunoha, you're up to your neck in a missing person's case and end up taking on a whole bunch of otherworldly baddies in the process. Like nearly every other game that bears the Shin Megami Tensei brand on it, Devil Summoner 2 has quite the immersive world to explore, and the real-time combat makes the game that much more fun to enjoy. The detective elements don't always work too well, but the game's story ends up being one well told given the elements of the narrative. The only drawbacks to Devil Summoner 2 end up being the just plain bad camera angles that can impede exploring, and the fully rendered 3-D graphics definitely show the age of the PS2. Flaws aside though, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2 is an enjoyable and more than solid RPG that is definitely worth playing, and here's hoping that Atlus keeps the RPG train on the PS2 coming for some time yet.

Seamless experience after the adjustment peroid
Many of you may ask me in my opinion what justifies giving a game 5 stars. As a reviewer I care about a few key factors. Originality, good game play, decent atmosphere/plot, and a seamless non broken experience rate the highest on my list. Things such as "glitches or bugs" can knock down a grade on my end.

Let me state right off the bat any title with "Shin Megami Tensei" stamped on it somewhere will be a Japanese rpg but not a "stereotypical" J-rpg. Devil Summoner 2 continues this proud tradition in style.

As someone living through a new recession the story line hit home. Devil Summoner 2 has a mystery novel vibe to it. You are Raidou, a young man who can negotiate with demons so they will join you but you are a detective during the 1920's in Japan as well that is struggling to hold onto traditions as it enters the modern era.

The Capital's people are hauntingly enough a reflection of us. For some unknown reason "luck" has become imbalanced in the universe. Those that are poor and unlucky are EXTREMLY destitute while the wealthy with good life circumstances go about charmed oblivious existences often not caring or even knowing about the suffering around them. The back drop of this "past Japan" is much akin to "Modern America". There are unemployed workers that are completely without hope. Those fortunate enough to have jobs are forced to labor in harsh conditions thus resort to alcohol and other vices to dull the pain. There are nice girls who turn tricks at the red-light district because they cannot make ends meet any other way. The only glimmer of optimism is as Raidou you can accept cases and help many of these people thus turning back the tides of misfortune.

SMT games are good for addressing issues that effect normal people. The Persona series is most renowned for that and Devil Summoner 2 is no exception to that rule. Sure, things may eventually lead up to an epic confrontation with a mad-man trying to plunge the world into Armageddon but the bigger focus is always "monsters" created by our own society more so than denizens rising from the depths of hell.

The game-play in Devil Summoner 2 is "improved" over the first game in many ways. Raidou can roll and cartwheel with the dodge button to avoid attacks and he no longer has limited ammunition. However after 6 shots he still must reload. In close quarters the hero brandishes a sword to dish out the justice. Normal attacks focus powerful slashes on one foe whereas "special attacks" can hit multiple foes but normally do less overall damage to each adversary.

Now comes the real treat for you traditional SMT fans. Demon negotiation is back. Any person who loved Persona 1-2 or Nocturne knows what demon negotiation is. At any time during combat you can talk to most demons. They all have quirky traits. Like real people demons will judge you based on a first impression and they all have likes and dislikes. Have a stimulating enough conversation and various cute, scary, and sexy beasties will ally with you, allowing you to have them as friends in combat and even during investigations. Negotiating has many layers. For example your friends can better your chances of impressing another demon and may add their voices to the peace-talk. If you have a certain demon type already in your party other demons from that species will almost always be friendly to you if you choose to interact with them kindly instead of slaying them outright. Demons have as much "personality" and "heart" as your back up class-mates in the Persona games so you will get attached even to the weakest ones. (As you raise in level you get more "tubes" which store more demons.)

Speaking of Persona you can fuse demons in much the same way. Instead of dropping by the velvet room you talk to Victor, a mad scientist who loves making new creations from meshing demons together. As with the velvet room you can make more powerful buddies and even call back demons in their separate forms by paying a fee. The more powerful a demon was, the more it costs to recruit them anew. A good thing to also remember is registering your demons often. As they increase in level and rank you'll want to be sure Victor records their improving stats.

By itself the system of "negotiating" and "fusing" is fun enough as it is. However what is really innovative is you can summon one demon from your list to help you in non-combat situations. Inugami can read minds when you question someone showing you their true thoughts. Petra is good at diving down wells to retrieve items for you. A skill caste demon such as Pixie can even let you take on the appearance of your suspects and enemies in order to get past guards or other obstacles. All this accumulates into an engrossing and entertaining romp whether you are fighting creatures or merely gathering clues.

However there are a few minor gripes. First and foremost if this is your first SMT game you may not know the weaknesses of every demon type. I suggest using the analyze skill whenever you can and attempting different things in battle. You can switch out demons in combat so never be hesitant to trade someone out if they don't seem to be doing well in the present situation. If a creature can do insane melee damage try distancing yourself and using your gun. Sometimes bullets can temporarily stun foes. Lastly remember you can "hide" your demons by pressing one of the left shoulder buttons. This reduces the punishment your party has to take.

Beyond battles occasionally spiking in difficulty level my only other qualm is a mild one. There is no voice acting. The main characters are so deep, artistically rendered, and expressive the lack of speech did not phase me much but if you got spoiled by the great localizations and voice talent from the digital devil and persona games this maybe a red mark on your scoring sheet.

Overall Devil Summoner 2 is a great rpg. I liked its' strategic yet live action battles as well as the various ways demons can offer their aid both on and off the combat field. I'd go so far to say I haven't seen as much charm and creativity woven into many next gen titles. Give Atlus a stone wheel and a crank and they'll make you a reliable yet flashy all terrain automobile! Atlus does so much with last gen hardware and software I cannot wait to see what heights they will soar to once they catch up with the pack!

Pros

+Great story

+I could relate to the desperate gritty semi industrial setting of 1920's Japan.

+Interesting and lovable antagonists and protagonists

+Combat physics improved upon since the first game

+Don't have to play DS 1 to appreciate DS 2.

+ Demons are valuable friends both during investigation and in the thick of battle.

+Touches on issues experienced by real people. Sure there is epic cheese too, but not too much of it.

+Talking black cat familiars are awesome.

+If you love pokemon (Aka collecting creatures, fusing them to make more powerful variants, and interacting with your adorable entourage of misfits) you will love Devil Summoner 2!

+No longer run out of ammo though you still must "reload" after 6 shots.

Cons

-Those new to SMT are not going to know the weaknesses of all the demons

-Battles can easily go from "reasonable" to "OMFG....it shanked me with one hit!"

- Status ailments which "mind-frag" your allies really suck. Stock up on appropriate items to keep your demons mentally and physically sound.

-The very term "demon". It encompasses all creatures you interact with even those whom are not truly classified as demons by mythology. For example "pixies" are fey. However modern religion does "demonize" all things of the old faiths so it makes sense if you look at it from a certain perspective. Aka "demon" is the term humans give to any creatures they fear and don't understand.

-If you enjoyed the turn based battles in Digital Devil saga, Nocturne, and Persona 3-4 the new "live action elements" may take awhile to get used to.

-No voice acting

-It's a shame certain gamers may get the wrong idea by the title "Devil Summoner". While there are adult themes it also is about doing the right thing, using negotiation instead of violence to make new friends, and impacting the lives of other people in a positive way. Kind of a chuckle-fest to consider how many yokels are going to assume this game encourages satanic worship and deflowering virgins to bring ol Horny back into the world.

Pro or con? +/-: Raidou is yet another silent protagonist. He's cool, chill, and fashionably verb but doesn't express much emotion. Compared to say Yuri from Shadow-Hearts he is a stick in the mud. However Raidou is supposed to represent the player and if he was given an opinionated and wacky personality would we be able to relate to him any better? That is debatable. Gouto, Raidou's familiar luckily has plenty of pazaaz as does the lovable cast which offer support. Perhaps even a quiet hero is a bit more impressionable with a black cat side kick pouncing around at his side. Either you like "silent protagonists" or you don't which is why I bring this up as a big neutral point.

Overall: Despite its' flaws DS 2 gets 5 stars from me. There are no game halting glitches, lag, or other nuisances which actually seem to pop up more in next gen titles. The 1920's era is portrayed perfectly, I love the artistic direction, and as with Persona it touches on the struggle and triumph of the human spirit. For the price you cannot beat this bargain. Also though it shames me to admit it I love my Raidou plushie. Apparently I'm not as macho as I thought. Oh well, back to playing!

not bad, but not as good as some other shin megami games...
I have not finished the game yet, but am at the beginning of chapter 6 [of 7]...
I'm not [that] long winded, so I'm just going to lay out pros and cons:

Cons -
+ everything is too laid out and obvious, instructions are explicitly given for everything, there is no challenge like there was in digital devil saga or nocturne on finding hidden areas, secret endings, no fun subplots [there are 'case files' most of which are simple] no uber long and challenging dungeons [dungeons in this game are maybe 20 stories versus 99]... I liked when the shin megami games were not as user friendly, it was more of a challenge to figure it out and the game was exciting to play...
+ leveling up goes *way too fast* limit is 99, I'm already almost at 70... I do run around killing things more than the average person who is just playing straight through, but still...
+demon development is predictable - the skills the demon will have their next 2 levels up are just greyed out... who else misses the nocturne system where this is sometimes a mystery... or demons develop skills after going up like 5 levels instead of 1? Again - too easy
+dialogue gets repetitive...
+they dumbed down the dialogue, the philosophical questions get less philosophical
+would have loved the game to be larger, like more places to go.

Pros:
+the four horsemen are back!
+the story line sounds lame in the description of the game on here, but it's actually really good... you think you're going to be playing out one story line through the whole game and it gets weird... in a fantastic way.
+nice atmosphere and costume design in the game, allbeit the character development is shallow

would pretty much agree with a lot of the reviews here...

Price:

Related Links : Product by Amazon or shopping-lifestyle-20 Store