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| Brave Story: New Traveler: We're hitching a ride with this one, baby!! |
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A truly next-gen RPG has been slow to arrive on PSP, which is why we were excited to see screens of the new joint from XSEED Games, Brave Story: New Traveler. The initial impression was a bit of head scratching, with thoughts of, "Why are they showing the PS2 screens if this is a PSP game?" This was immediately followed by a lot jaw dropping when it became clear that the screens were in fact on PSP! My memory of playing through beloved RPG franchises in the past on PlayStation and PS2 is how the battle scenes became more dolled-up as the system became capable of rendering more powerful 3D scenes. We've seen examples of what the PSP is capable of in some 3D action and platforming titles, but Brave Story: New Traveler will break some new ground in the RPG category for graphics. The visuals are complemented by some nice music and spoken dialogue during battle. When it all comes together and the game hits stores later this summer, PSP RPG fans will have a serious reason to get happy.
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The story of the game isn't as groundbreaking as the visuals, based on the preview cut we played, but there is potential. The main story is a good one, but it remains to be seen how the party dynamics will play out over the entire arc of the game's story. In the beginning of Brave Story: New Traveler, you are thrust into a modern-day setting. After seeing the gameplay movies online, it was a strange feeling to watch characters sitting around in jeans and t-shirts playing PSP (no lie!) instead of fighting prickly creatures with swords and magic. The story then takes an interesting and mysterious twist when the protagonist's friend falls ill to some strange condition that he feels could have been avoided if he had been more involved. Like any of us would do, he skips off to an alternate universe where he is enticed by the promise of helping his friend Miki recover from her strange illness.
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Miki isn't the hot cat-girl you see in the screenshots; that is Yuno, sort of like "Miki of another world" where the protagonist is concerned. Let me tell you now that my vote for a long, fulfilling romantic life will always be with the cat-girl. I'm not a Furry freak or anything, but what is not completely hot about a girl with furry ears, an ample bosom, and a long tail? Okay, maybe I am a Furry freak... Back on topic, the "traveler" motif is something that is played up immediately when our hero meets up with Yuno. She recognizes him as a stranger, and a traveler. Former travelers have been grown-ups, big, hairy and strapping types, so everyone is immediately confused to see a boy Traveler. The play on traditional RPG/hero stereotypes caught our attention immediately, and this type of sly humor is apparent in other areas of the game.
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Developer XSEED has a past and present of innovative gameplay through a line of other titles such as Valhalla Knights, Shadow Hearts: From the New World, and two Wild Arms entries. Their design aesthetic in both the look and feel of good RPG gaming is distinctive. Seamless transitions in exploration, battle, and dialogue with NPCs in the game make for a really engrossing experience. Especially in exploration of towns, you'll find that the camera just slides down on an NPC as a cut-scene with dialogue begins. When the scene is finished, all played out in the game's 3D engine, the camera pulls back out. The dungeon action is similar, but still has more of the random battle dynamic that is typical. What is new in the battle department looks to be a fairly deep system of customizing characters and their weapons. The members of the party can also get together for so-called Unity attacks that deal major damage. "Brave" points gathered during battle are cashed in for these Unity or the individual Bravura attacks. The visuals and overall style of battle keeps things very interesting and lets us know that Brave Story: New Traveler will be hard to put down once the full version slides into our PSP later this summer. We've got our thumb out for this Traveler, without question.
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-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock |
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