As any fan of the show knows, David Tennant ended his four year stint as The Doctor in Doctor Who recently.  Again, for any true fan of the show, this is a terribly saddening departure.  Taking his place is newcomer Matt Smith, the youngest actor ever to take on the role of The Doctor.  I just thought I’d post Tennant’s last scene as The Doctor, as well as Smith’s first scene replacing him (so, possible spoilers if for some reason you didn’t see the special).

For those that don’t know, when The Doctor (who is not human, but rather a Time Lord, an all but extinct race of the brightest beings in the universe) is near death, he can choose to regenerate himself, effectively changing every cell in his body, and returning in a new form but with all his memories intact.  Please join me in tearing up over the end of the best Doctor run ever.

I’m not really sure how I feel about Smith.  He reminds me of an uglier, more awkward version of Heath Ledger.  And there can only ever be one Heath Ledger.  We’ll find out this April if he can keep the series going on the high note Tennant left it with.

Greetings and salutations, my dear Limiters.  It’s been a while since I wrote a proper blog, but given the apocalyptic fumes in the air, I figured it might be time to give it another go.  However, I am sad to say that this is not a joyous return.  Far from it.  For a matter has arisen that both frustrates and disappoints me.  Quite deeply, in fact.

By now, every gamer and his/her grandma knows of the frantic situation that has gripped the video gaming community.  Specifically, I speak of the PSN “calendar bug” that seems to be claiming the lives of innocent PS3′s all across the world.  Let me assure you that this blog is not about analyzing what is and isn’t wrong with the system, who’s fault it is, and why it has suddenly become preferred ammunication classification uno in the console war.  Instead, this blog is designed to offer a little bit of perspective and friendly (but firm) advice on how we conduct ourselves.  This is that advice:

We need to grow the hell up.

I can’t tell you how annoyed by this whole scenario I’ve been, and not because I suddenly cannot log on to the Playstation Network, or play games offline, or unlock new trophies.  No, my dear friends, I’ve become enraged by the fact that we, as human beings first and foremost, seem to have absolutely zero perspective when it comes to our complaints, or treatment of each other for that matter.  I know, I know, you’re probably sighing to yourself in preparation for the philosophical onslaught that I’m about to unleash on your tired, tired souls.  But hey, when I turn the lights off, I switch to “contemplative” Dylan.  So get ready.

Mere days ago, Chile was hit with a monumental earthquake that registered a whopping 8.8.  Countless more aftershocks measuring anywhere from 4.0 to 6.6 followed suit.  Hundreds, if not thousands are dead, and more are trapped underneath the rubble, fighting for their lives.

On a related note, the recovery effort in Haiti continues to this very day, with its people actively try to rebuild, mourn, and overcome the incredible tragedy that befell them a few months back.  The level of togetherness and friendship that has been the result of this terrible occurrence is truly inspiring, and continues to be so today.

Meanwhile, the Olympic games, a joining of various countries in the spirit of friendly competition, wrapped up just last night.  It featured some truly magnificent and inspiring stories, culminating in a heart stopping hockey match between the United States and Canada.  The closing ceremonies, as is often the case with the Olympics, emphasized uniqueness, pride, and friendship.  An excellent spectacle to observe, and uplifting for those of us living in a world in crisis.

And yet, when I look away from these incredible events that are taking shape around me – these inspiring and uplifting and heart warming and terrifying encounters with togetherness, redemption and struggle – to the industry and group of talented and creative, fun loving and supportive people I love the most in this world, what do I find?  An absolute *** storm of pessimism and cynicism over a minuscule and, in the scheme of things, unimportant, event.  Seriously folks?  The same industry that has for years tried to make a name for itself, that has finally succeeded in being taken seriously and been acknowledged as an important artistic medium by some who five years ago wouldn’t have given it a second look, is all in one fell swoop brought back down to the immature and underdeveloped culture of yesteryear.  We would rather spend our days writing doomsday articles, condemning a piece of hardware that a lot of people worked very, very hard on (and continue to do so for you, around the clock, to eliminate what can barely be called an inconvenience), then take part in encouraging and basking in the wealth of great ideas and developments that our beloved culture is forging ahead with.

In comparison to those other real world events, that have effected hundreds of thousands of very real people, I think the insignificance of this issue speaks for itself.  Why don’t we go ask the orphaned children in Haiti or Chile how much they care about a network error on the PS3?  And before you shout and yell about how people are just having some fun to pass the time, and how the problem here is very real to Playstation owners, let me offer you a simple response:  Doesn’t make it right.  The sort of whining and arguing that I’ve seen has been, across the board, what you’d expect to see from a five year old.  Lost some of your trophies, and your save data to the problem?  I’m sorry to hear that, I truly am, and wish no one had to go through any undue stress over something as small as this, but that doesn’t excuse the overwhwlemingly dense and pigheaded responses to the situation.

Sony doesn’t owe you, despite what you may think.  They offer you a service, and you’ve chosen to invest in that service.  And admit it, the positives outweigh the negatives, right?  So where then do people get off demanding a fix when they want it, as if they have some sort of extreme entitlement to results (results which, by the way, I guarantee Sony is working their asses off to get).  Worse, why must this then be turned into fuel for the console war, on both sides.  “My Xbox never had these problems!”, “Well, this is only one time.  The Xbox RRoD’s all the time!”, “I’ll take this and better exclusives over *insert system here* any day!”.  Please.  People need to open their eyes and realize that we’re all in this together.  We all love games, we all love stories and adventures and quality time with loved ones.  We’re all human, we all bleed, we all feel.  Just like those children in Haiti and Chile bleed and feel.  And when it comes down to it, what we’re going through over here doesn’t really come close to comparing to what goes on out there.  So why even bother fighting about it?  All it serves to do is embarass us as a culture, and as a group of individuals that purely and simply love one thing:  Games.

So, instead of lambasting Sony fans for investing in technology that, like ALL technology, is overcoming some hiccups, lets all wish the situation a speedy remedy, so that they can get back enjoying their games.  Everyone else, do me a favor, and play an extra match of Modern Warfare 2 tonight, and be grateful that you get to play at all.  Hell, be grateful that you’re in a situation that allows you time to play and have fun – something that a lot of people in the world cannot afford right now.  I’d really appreciate it!

Just as a side note, I apologize if I went a little overboard in this.  I was simply writing what came to me, and while I support the content therein completely, I also apologize if I came across as too blunt or heavy handed.  That was not my intention.  I simpy wished to put things in perspective for people.  Cheers!

I can’t really put into words how excited I am for Ignition’s upcoming RPG Arc Rise Fantasia.  Sporting an art style similar to Eureka 7, and a story that reminds me a hell of a lot of Drakengard for some reason, this game definitely looks like it’s going to give the Wii some much needed RPG love.  Check out the official site for the game, along with the neat trailer, and tell me what you think.

Hi there folks.  I was doing a lot of thinking today, some really deep soul searching, that sort of thing, and I decided that I really needed to get this down in a concise form of some kind.  I figured that this blog, which has actually become a very enjoyable and important part of my life, was as good a place as any, and so I got to writing this.  It deals with a very emotional experience I went through a couple of years back (still feels like yesterday).  I don’t want to bum any of you out, as these blogs are meant to interest and please people, but the subject matter is decidedly personal and tough to speak about, at least for me.  So if you would rather not read that sort of thing at the moment, I won’t hold it against you!

January 5th of 2008 wasn’t all that different from most typical days.  I was at school, cramming away, trying my best not to fail second quarter.  I chatted with friends, got through class, and was excited for the day to end.  I was going over to a friend of mines house to lay in to a playthrough of Bioshock we were doing, and we were gunna pull an all nighter.  I called my mom as the bell rang to signal the end of the final period of the day, just to update her on my after school plans.  When she picked up, I could tell something was wrong.  Since you guys don’t know her, let me tell you that my mom is one of the cheeriest, nicest people on the planet, and I’m blessed to have her.  She’s also one of the strongest people I know, and I’d only ever seen her cry once in my life.  That was, until that day.  After a couple of exchanges, she just broke down sobbing.  It took me a few minutes to calm her down, and when I did, she spoke the words that would change my family’s existence for the next several months.  ”Your uncle’s in the hospital honey.  The…the doctor says things don’t look good” she said, through barely contained emotion.  I was absolutely dumbfounded.  It was so unexpected.  ”Alright mom, I’ll be right there, don’t worry” I said, surprised at how steady my voice was.  Though she tried to assure me it was ok, and that I should go to my friends house, I insisted.  She shouldn’t have to be alone at that moment.

Me with my mom and sister

My dad had rushed into the city to the hospital where my uncle was being cared for, leaving my mom with me and my sister.  I knew my mom would have a tough time with my sister, who wouldn’t understand the gravity of the situation.  While in the car, my mom asked if I would watch my sister while she joined my dad at the hospital to, as she put it, “See my brother before he dies.”  This was followed by more crying, and it was all I could do to keep it together.  I of course agreed, and she dropped us off at the house.

Later that night, my mom and dad returned home.  I asked them if they had any details about what had happened.  Apparently, my uncle had checked himself into the hospital a couple of weeks earlier, complaining of nausea and various other symptoms, but in relatively good spirits.  However, his condition quickly degraded, and he became disoriented and distant.  When asked if he had any way of contacting next of kin, he gave the staff an incoherent list of 20 or so digits.  Not helpful in the slightest.  Normally, that would have been it – open and shut case.  However, one of the head doctors had a hunch.  He sat down for days, deciphering the digits my uncle had given him, until he had a usable phone number.  That’s when he contacted us.  We were shocked, because we hadn’t seen my uncle for years.  He had run into some trouble in life, with alcohol, and as such had alienated himself.  He had stayed with us for a few months years before, but went on his way soon after.

Anyway, as my parents continued, I was strangely complacent.  I’m not a big crier either, and generally will get more internally depressed than externally upset.  Getting back to his condition, my parents explained that his liver was failing (probably due to the aforementioned alcohol abuse), and he was in terrible, terrible shape.  He had 24 hours at the most.

However, somehow, some way, he kept fighting.  Though he was mostly out of it for the remainder of his life, my uncle fought for nearly two more months, overcoming various, rapid changes in condition and assurances that his time was up.  My cousins and aunt, who had just lost my other uncle the year before to the same problem, got to fly in to see him.  His ex-wife, my other aunt, visited, as did his young daughter Lauren.  Everyone got to say their goodbyes, but it was probably hardest for my dad.  He and my uncle were extremely close, and would stay up all hours of the night before I was born playing Nintendo games and music.  For those two months, my dad was with my uncle every single day, talking to him and taking care of him.  Making sure he looked cleaned up for his daughter, for my cousins, and anyone that saw him.  I’ve never seen my dad more physically shaken than he was the day my uncle finally passed.

That’s as much as I’ll elaborate on those events, as frankly I’m getting a bit emotional writing this, and I apologize.  It’s still not easy.  But rather, I’ll move on to the real point of this blog.  While staying with us for those three months, my uncle and I had gotten pretty close.  He was a really great guy, who made some bad choices in life, and it’s extremely unfortunate.  When he left us, he left behind some stuff in our closet downstairs, that he forgot I suppose.  I used to sneak downstairs, and open up a box filled with clothes and other trinkets.  However, my interest centered on a strategy guide he had for Final Fantasy VII.  I used to just lay on the floor and read through it.  I grew to love the characters and story simply by reading that book.  And after my uncle passed, I was depressed for weeks.  I didn’t talk to anyone, I was confined to my room most of the time, and I did a lot of thinking.  But then I realized how pointless it was to do that, because I had family members who were hurting, and I needed to be strong for them.  So, I made a promise to myself and to his memory, to do something in his honor.  To remember him by.

So, I went online and bought a new copy of Final Fantasy VII from Amazon, and waited anxiously for it to arrive.  It finally did, and the following weekend I dug in, ready to conquer the game that my uncle had loved, and that I was now going to play straight through in his memory, having never touched the game before then.  It took the whole weekend, countless hours of effort and some frustration, but I did it.  Throughout the process, I was aided by the very same strategy guide that had been my uncles, and it made the whole experience that much more special.  But it wasn’t the most important part of it.  No, that came when about halfway through my playthrough, my day joined me in the basement, and spent the remainder of the playthrough helping me and enjoying it with me.  When we finally beat it, we were nearly euphoric.  I know it must sound kinda stupid, but I felt like I was honoring my uncle in a great way, and I know for a fact that I will NEVER forget him, especially now.  So while FF VII may not be my favorite game, or even favorite Final Fantasy, it still holds an incredibly important place in not just my gaming career, but my life as well.

So thank you, if you read through this whole big mess of a blog.  I just NEEDED to get this off my chest, and now that I did, I’m feeling a little bit better.  Hopefully, none of you has ever had to go through this sort of thing, nor do I hope you ever will.  It’s draining, depressing and downright awful.  But in a way, I’m glad I did.  It made me stronger, woke me up from the lack of direction I had in life, and gave me something to be proud of.  And rest assured, I am proud of it all:  My uncle, for fighting as long as he did, for my family, for fighting through with him, and for myself, for pulling myself together and doing something about it, something that mattered.

Thanks for reading.

So I finally wrapped up my playthrough of Bayonetta today.  Suffice it to say, never before have I had this much fun with a straight up action game.  Sure, I’ve made my way through the God of War’s and Devil May Cry’s of gaming, but none have had the production level, polish, or sheer scale that this offering from developer Platinum Games and publisher SEGA does.  That’s right, I said it.  God of War isn’t as big as Bayonetta.  In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that Bayonetta is in a whole different league than God of War.

It all starts with the sultry heroine, Bayonetta.  Sure, other hero’s of the genre, like Kratos and Dante, have their fair share of badassery and humor, but neither brings them both together as completely as this bespeckled newcomer.  Not to mention, she’s downright sexy, in a “I-totally-get-that-she’s-not-real, but-for-some-reason, I still-find-her-ridiculously-hot” kind of way.

On a related note, not only does the games protagonist look beautiful, but so does the world she resides in.  The locales populating “Bayonetta” are some of the most magnificent, and downright huge, I’ve ever seen.  Perhaps that’s an overstatement at that actual area that you traverse, but the path the team has you following to cover the expanse in front of you translates into some of the best level design I’ve seen in a long time.  Not to mention the set pieces.  Oh, the set pieces.  A chunk of building as it plummets to the ground.  The flailing tentacle of a boss as you run along it to strike at your enemy’s heart.  The cosmos as you fight the battle to save humanity from destruction.  All beautifully rendered, and all a ton of fun to fight in.  Bravo to the design team here.

Moving away from visuals into the sound department, “Bayonetta” continues to shine brightly.  The soundtrack forgoes the usual Metal tendencies that litter the genre, and instead chooses light, poppy mixes that really go well with the slightly nonsensical story and main character.  This includes a truly addicting rendition of “Fly Me to the Moon”, which makes numerous appearances throughout the title.  Truly great.  Also, fans of Devil May Cry’s audio style during stages and battles will feel right at home here, as they sound almost identical to “Bayonetta”.  That is NOT a bad thing, by any means.

In terms of combat, “Bayonetta” features probably the smoothest combo system I’ve ever encountered in an action game.  You can, literally, make up combos as you go, and there are SO many different combinations, chances are even the most dedicated players won’t experience them all the first time through.  The best way I can describe this system is the best parts of Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, and God of War’s combat, rolled up into one, with 500% more hair.  Speaking of hair, the different hair-constructed demon summons Bayonetta brings into the field are all really cool to watch in action, and really play in to the combat very well.

The limited quick time events found throughout the game are all integrated well into the combat, so that they never serve to detract from the overall flow of combat.  However, there are events that flash up so quickly on screen, that you will most likely miss them the first time, leading to a “The Witch Hunts Are Over” screen.  This will most likely only bother people vying for spots on the leaderboards, or trying to get all the Platinum trophies possible, as Continues greatly hurt your score.  But other than that small bullet, combat is nearly perfect.

The only real problems surrounding “Bayonetta” are minimal.  The novelty gameplay segments are all that great, and could have been removed completely.  At some point in the game, a little more than halfway through, there is a huge difficulty spike, that make certain parts infuriating, especially on a higher difficulty.  But with mastery of the combos, things should be fine.  A couple of glitches (like falling through the world) are littered here and there, but almost never happen.  Mind, I’m talking having played the 360 version of the game, which is leagues better than the sloppy PS3 version.  Trust me folks, Xbox is the platform to experience this masterpiece on.

The bottom line here, is that despite a couple of small (very small) flaws, “Bayonetta” is infused with almost unfair amounts of charm, fun, polish, and downright sexiness.  It isn’t often that an action game this *** good comes along, but when it does, you have to be sure to cherish it.  Which is why it’s a good thing that “Bayonetta” packs some good length, clocking in on about 15 hours at a decent pace on “Normal”.  I would recommend this to all of you, especially those of you on the fence about whether or not this game is THAT good.  Let me assure you, it’s THAT good.  So, you better appreciate this wonderful woman.  Because, as Bayonetta would say:  ”Don’t *** with a witch.”  Preach it sister, preach it.

Games are truly a sight to behold.  They represent a true melting pot of various types of media, converging to form one emotionally charged entity.  Ok, that might be a bit much.  But games, more than any other medium, offer the chance for a true connection with the experience at hand.  Where else do you find a melding of music, storytelling, character development, AND interactivity on the same level as games.  Yeah, it’s tough to find one.

Because of this, video games are in the unique and advantageous position of being able to control how we feel, and delivering a strong message that we can really put our faith behind.  Take, for example, the events toward the end of Final Fantasy VII.  Unexpectedly, one of the main characters was killed, and it left many a gamer stunned, and deeply saddened.  Some people even cried.  That’s a long way from the days when moving a block into a position where it could fit with other blocks was as deep as you got.

I myself didn’t cry for that moment, and for a long time, didn’t cry for any other moment – in ANY game I’d ever played.  However, that all changed in 2005.

Many gamers are familiar with the Final Fantasy series, and quite possibly, were touched by that very moment in FF VII that I mentioned above.  For an exceptionally long time, Square has been crafting stories that will forever stand with the elite tales in video game history, and they don’t look to be stopping anytime soon.  Pry enough, and I’m sure you can get a very sizable number of gamers to admit an event in a Final Fantasy game that really effected them.  That could not be said for me, until I decided to go back and finish one of their games, that I had never quite had time to complete.

That game was Final Fantasy X.  Many different people think many different things of FF X.  Tidus has an annoying voice.  Tidus is a jackass.  Tidus looks like a complete loser.  All very sensible statements.  But unfortunately, those very attributes often cause some people to overlook the true brilliance of Final Fantasy X’s story.  I should say that X is my favorite game in the series, and was so before the moment I’m about to share with you.  That moment being the first, and to this date, only, time I have ever cried from playing a game.

Something you should know about me, is that I always connect with one particular character in any given Final Fantasy game, more so than all the others.  For example, in Final Fantasy VII, it was Vincent.  In Final Fantasy XII, it was Balthier.  In Kingdom Hearts, it was Riku.  I just tend to pick out my favorite, and they’re generally not the main character.  I don’t know why, but I find the supporting casts’ stories to be much, much more compelling.  Anyway, in Final Fantasy X, that character was Auron.  Maybe it was he cool shades, or his even cooler outfit, or his EVEN cooler sword – I can’t be sure.  All I know is that I latched onto him, more so than Tidus, Yuna, Rikku, or any of the other characters in the game.

I spent most of the game building up the idea that Auron was, in fact, the coolest character ever created.  I still believe that.  However, the funny thing about Auron is that he isn’t technically alive.  He is kept so by his need to protect, and to see his mission completed, but for all intents and purposes, he should have been laid to rest.  This only served to bolster his awesomeness.  However, when you find out his reasons for remaining part of the living world, you’re taken aback by the lengths he has gone to to help others.

Auron became what was known as an Unsent.  He finally reveals this to Tidus toward the end of FF X.  A bit of a ‘Sixth Sense’ twist, and it was pretty cool to learn.  At that point, I was pretty much expecting everything Auron did to be awesome.  What I wasn’t expecting, however, was my reaction to his fate.  At the end of the game, Yuna finally sends Auron to rest in the Farplane, where he joins Jecht (Tidus’ father) and Braska (Yuna’s father).  During this scene, I was speechless.  I should point out that there have been plenty of times in my gaming career where I’ve been speechless.  When I believed Master Chief dead at the end of Halo 3.  When Sora is ripped from his homeworld in Kingdom Hearts.  Too many to count.  The difference here, was that there were tears running down my cheeks.  I didn’t notice them at first, and when I did, I was surprised.  This had, obviously, never happened to me before.  That moment will forever be embedded in my mind as a gamer, as one of my favorite moments in a video game, period.

I’m sure that many of you have similar moments, and I’d love to hear about them.  Games can have a profound effect on our lives, and ignoring that fact is a foolish mistake.

Just writing up a quick post to complain (In a matter of speaking).

While I adore this site, and think it’s of the utmost quality, I’m a bit less enthused when I see the lack of Nintendo coverage.  Maybe it’s just me being a whiny ol’ Nintendo writer, but I would very much like to see more of it covered throughout the site.  You guys do a bloody brilliant job with all things PS3 and 360 (Hell, even the PSP gets lots o’ love), but where’s my DS and Wii stuff.

I also could be wrong, and the times that I check the site are just right so that I miss all the Nintendo goodness, but it really bums me out that I can’t read up on all the stuff I love

Please please please don’t take this the wrong way, and don’t get mad at me, I’m just trying to protect my homies over at the big N!

Eh, this has gotten a bit out of hand.  Keep up the great work, just sprinkle a bit more Nintendo flavor in there!

For awhile now, a friend of mine and myself have been hard at work on a new site, devoted entirely to the budding Uncharted series of video games by Naughty Dog.  After a long period, and much blood, sweat, and even a few tears spent on this endeavor, we finally have something to show for it.

www.allthingsuncharted.com has launched, and I couldn’t be happier.  Sure, there’s some work that needs to be done, but for the most part, things are on their way.  What better way to fawn over my favorite video game this gen, and everything surrounding it, then to devote a site to it.  So if you want some interesting news, analysis, and video, head on over to All Things Uncharted.  After checking the latest Gamer Limit posts, of course!

Thanks guys, and I hope to see you around ATU!

-Dylan

Is it just me, or do way too many people hate Pokemon?  The first videogame I ever played in my life was Pokemon: Red Version.  As I’ve stated in a previous blog, me and my cousin Anthony took our brand-spankin’ new Gameboy’s upstairs and booted them up.  After choosing our starters, we conquered the face-off with our rivals, only to win and turn the game off.  We didn’t realize there was an 80+ hour experience lying beyond that first battle.  And yet, when we finally did venture beyond Pallet Town, it was into a world that would be a part of our lives for years to come.

So, imagine my surprise when, as I grew older, I found groups of people who despised Pokemon – absolutely hated the franchise with all their might.  Their reasons for doing so were as varied as the people themselves.  Some people hated it because it was viewed as a “kids game” (an image which I maintain was established by the cartoon show, and not the game itself).  Others disliked it because it wasn’t hardcore enough.  And finally, there were those who hated it because other people liked it.  Regardless of the reason, most of them were irrational and unfounded.

For thos who think it’s a “kids game”, let me point something out.  The game can be boiled down to “People enslaving animals, and using them to fight for money or fame.”  Not very kid like, if you ask me.  Just like the film “Wall-E” is wayyyy more than a kids flick, Pokemon is wayyyy more than a kids game.

To those who think it’s not hardcore enough, you obviously don’t play the game right.  All those funny numbers next to things like “Sp. Attack” actually have a purpose, and especially in recent entries, the items and means of manipulating those numbers has sky rocketed.  Needless to say, Pokemon can get pretty intense if played like it’s meant to be.

And finally, to those who hate it because it seems like just a bunch of remakes with a few new monsters each time, I must take fault.  How can Madden get buy each year, being a simple roster update and a useless new mechanic, and Pokemon, which actually does change things up each time, gets the boot.  Just because it’s a handheld game doesn’t make it any less quality.  The game has excellent multiplayer activities to partake in, a lengthy main quest to complete, seriously daunting 100% completion requirements, AND, some serious strategy if you want to play the damn thing correctly.

Before this turns into a full fledged rant, I’ll wrap it up.  I can’t write nearly as much as the Gaming Llama, I’m just not that interesting.  The Pokemon franchise is a fantastically made series.  Sure, it has flaws, but what series doesn’t?  I’ve just never understood the blatant dislike attributed to it.  Hating the cartoon is one thing, but I don’t think you should discredit the wonderful RPG that it’s based on.  So go out, buy Platinum, and play it the way it’s meant to be played!

So true

To be honest, I’m not a huge RPG guy.  Not because I dislike the genre, but because of how quickly and completely I get sucked in to the damn things.  So imagine my surprise when I found myself addicted to the number one downloaded PSP game on PSN, Brave Story: New Traveler.  I purchased this role=player due to a yearning for some quick, portable, turn based fun.  This game has it in spades.  

With a story full of charm and excitement, a reasonable cast of characters, and some excellent combat, Brave Story really is the perfect RPG for the PSP.  So far, only two other RPG’s have grabbed my attention on PSP, and those are Final Fantasy VII and Suikoden, both of them PS1 Classics.  So it was refreshing to have a title with modern visuals step up to the plate.

I also found myself drawn into the story, which despite the games interesting style, is quite compelling.  While a bit fast moving at first, you’ll quickly discover that you love every bit of the game.  Trust me, if there’s any game out there right now that you should be playing, it’s this one.  I’m willing to bet that many of you, like myself, missed it the first time around.

Honestly, I hope some sort of sequel or new iteration is in the cards, because I’d gladly pay full price next time around.  This game crept up and charmed the hell out of me.  Let’s see this trend continue!