NIS America held a Prinny Event in San Francisco to showcase its latest games being released in early 2009. While a life-sized Prinny walked about capturing the attention of all the journalists, I dutifully sat amidst the pandemonium, ignoring all the distractions — the biggest of which was an open bar — to play the latest titles from NIS America.
On the PlayStation Portable, Mana Khemia: Student Alliance is the first title on the system from developer GUST, makers of the Atelier Iris series. This is a port of Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis released on the PlayStation 2 earlier this year. It is a quest-based, classic style role-playing game in which players work through a variety of missions to complete the game.
New features to the PSP include a multiplayer mode in which players can choose up to a total of six characters for co-op battles. This mode comes with new stages, monsters, a tournament mode and additional story backgrounds. Added to this are dozens of special items that can be crafted through synthesis, recipes of which are found in the added stages.
The focus of the gameplay in Mana Khemia is on alchemy; players explore the world to gather ingredients to create items, weapons and even character stats. With more than 400 items and ingredients in the game, you’ll spend more than your fair share of time figuring out how to best use the ingredients you collect. The battle system is a typical turn-based system found in most RPGs. While it is entirely functional and should appeal to classic RPG fans, those looking for innovation won’t find it here.
On the visual side, Mana Khemia looks good on the PSP. Characters are designed in anime-style, and the 2D sprite graphics are a perfect fit for the small screen. Backgrounds are colorfully suited to the environment but exhibit less detail than the characters. While it may not be a visual feast, it suits the style of the game and succeeds wonderfully in this aspect.
During my playtime, I noticed some loading issues. Getting in a battle, loading a new map or even accessing the menu could take up to 10 seconds. Luckily, Mana Khemia comes with a Jump Start feature to partially load the game onto your memory stick for faster gameplay. It’s a good idea because you’ll probably need it.
There’s plenty of opportunity for you to become completely immersed in Mana Khemia: Student Alliance. You get to work through missions, craft items and customize your characters; to do everything can take more than 100 hours. So for $30, if you’re gaming on a budget, this can be your next project. Look for it when it drops Jan. 20, 2009.
Also at the event, I got the chance to check out the sequel to Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia, Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica, developed by Namco Bandai for the PS2. When you start Ar tonelico II, you are immediately thrust into the middle of the story. The region of Metafalss has been hit with a mysterious illness called Infel Pira Dependency (IPD). As a young knight named Croix, you are sent to contain the epidemic but become entrenched in the mysteries of the planet Al Ciel, seeking the lost song of Metafalica.
The battle system is not the typical turn-based structure we are all used to for an RPG. In Ar tonelico II, there are two phases when fighting an enemy: an offensive phase and a defensive phase. During the attack phase, your characters can keep attacking until the time gauge runs out. This also is the phase in which you choose what song magic to cast for your Reyvateil. When the battle switches to the defensive phase, enemies will always try to attack your Reyvateil necessitating you to defend through quick and accurate button response. Added to the mix is an emotion indicator showing how well you cheer on your Reyvateils. Your performance during the defensive phase affects your Reyvateils emotions. By keeping them highly motivated through solid defense, you can achieve a high level of emotional synchronicity between two Reyvateils, allowing them to cast powerful magic.
The game contains an interesting character development feature. It’s called the Dive System or Cosmophere, where you can dive into the subconscious of a Reyvateil, learn more about the character and acquire new spells. There is a whole different set of worlds inside the Cosmosphere to explore, and once you beat these worlds, your Reyvateils get stronger.
Ar tonelico II adheres to a visually traditional anime style. Characters and environments are well-rendered and imaginatively designed to suit the RPG fantasy elements of the game. It’s nothing mind-blowing, but like Mana Khemia, the true value of the game lies not in the visuals but in the extensive and seemingly limitless gameplay.
As a casual RPG fan, I found myself enjoying the battle system, exploring the environments and getting caught up in the storyline. With four different endings and an almost endless ability to customize, hours upon hours can be spent with this game. Like Mana Khemia, this game will be released Jan. 20, 2009.
The last game presented at the event was Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? developed by Nippon Ichi Software for the PSP. For those who don’t know, Prinnies are a blue penguin-like creature with small bat wings and are famous for their appearances in the Disgaea series. Often overly upbeat, they are the most unlikely of heroes, so it was only a matter of time before they got their own video game.
Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? is a challenging side-scrolling action platformer. You start the game with 1,000 lives to play through the levels. While this may seem like a lot, after dying about 20 times in a span of minutes, you’ll realize that you’ll need every last one. As Prinny, you are tasked to find ingredients for the ultimate dessert and therefore have to work your way through the Netherworld to find them.
The game is a side-scrolling platformer in which you can lift and throw objects, butt-stomp, double-jump and slash your way to the end. You also can hop into the occasional vehicle to shoot or flatten your enemies. Prinny has a nice retro feel mostly attributable to its relatively high difficulty and the fact that you can’t maneuver very well when you jump, similar to the very first Castlevania on the original Nintendo. There are two difficulty settings: Standard mode or Hell’s Finest. On Standard, you get three hit points per life before you die, while in the other, you only get one. So if you think you’re too good for three, try one and watch those 1,000 lives rapidly vanish before your very eyes.
You start with instant access to six different stages from your headquarters. After beating six, you unlock four more and then possibly even more after that. Each stage has a boss at the end that will make you work for victory. Their health meters are long, and your attacks deal a pitiful amount of damage. Patience and fortitude are a must if you’re ever going to get through Prinny.
While the game carries within itself a comical lighthearted tone, its gameplay is brutally unforgiving. If you make a mistake, you’ll pay for it. Like some of the classic platformers, you work your way through the game, not necessarily by skill, but by stretching your progress bit by bit until you’ve engrained the entire level within your mind to anticipate everything that will happen. Through hard work, you really feel like you earn your success and that’s what makes this game so fun.
An interesting feature to Prinny is how the difficulty level changes depending on what time of day it is. During the daytime, the game is at its easiest while it progressively becomes more difficult in the evening and even more so at night. This feature adds a fair amount of replay value since depending on what time of day you’re playing, a level will be different.
Visually, Prinny is a treat. Each stage is well-designed with a unique look. Different backgrounds and colors add a distinctive stamp to each level, which keeps the game fresh while you painstakingly work your way to the end. Prinny looks as heroic as one can look in a red scarf and fanny pack. As the ultimate underdog, you can’t help but root for it.
Even on its easiest setting, Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? is fairly difficult, but that only means beating it will be that much more satisfying. Look for it when it is released Feb. 17, 2009.
And these were all the games that were being shown at the NIS America Prinny Event in San Francisco. If this is a sign of things to come, 2009 is looking to be a great year for the company.
