PoPoLoCrois (PSP)

The battles are super easy, and you can even set the game to auto mode by assigning your characters specific actions like attack, assault (use skilled attacks), or defend. This way, the characters will automatically behave as you tell them, without requiring you to select commands each time. In auto mode, you can sit back and pretty much let the game play itself, which is handy, but it also doesn't leave you with much to do. Still, you'll probably want to use auto mode from time to time just because the random encounters occur so frequently that you'll quickly get sick of playing through the same battle over and over again. When you're not in a town, you'll be sucked into a battle every few seconds, which really drags down the pace.

Frequent load times also drag down the pace of the game. Every time you're drawn into battle or you step into a new area, the game will pause for a few seconds to load up. Even in battle there's a very noticeable lag as attack animations load. It also takes a few seconds just to bring up the map so you can see where you're going. Usually these load times only last three or four seconds, but it's still a very noticeable problem when the game is constantly stuttering.

Aside from the frequent loading, the presentation is quite charming, like it was adapted from the pages of a children's book. The world is a bright and colorful blend of typical fantasy and light sci-fi themes. The characters are all squat and cute. They also animate well and do a great job of expressing quite a range of emotions. Some of the battle animations are flashy, but compared to the rest of the game, they seem a bit out of place. The anime cutscenes are interesting and they look nice, but they occur so infrequently that they don't really add much. The sound in Popolocrois is pretty good as well. The music is light and quirky, but it's well done and remains listenable for the length of the game. The sound effects are about what you'd expect from a role-playing game. There are appropriate noises as swords swoosh through the air and lighting bolts and explosions strike your enemies. The voice-overs in the cutscenes are also good, and they fit the tone of the story perfectly. Unfortunately the in-game voices are much less appealing, and it gets old real quick to hear the same squealing battle cries over and over again.

Popolocrois is a good introduction to role-playing games for young people or for people who have been wondering what role-playing games are all about. Its simplicity works to its advantage as a portable game, making it easy to pick up and play for an hour or so at a time. Unfortunately, it is so simple and shallow that experienced role-playing fans will get bored well before the 30 hours or so that it takes to finish the game are up.