"Every video game system needs a good RPG"

Legend of Heroes is the closest thing the PSP has in English..so far. But the question is, should RPG fans wait until more level upping goodness arrives or must they hold out until better things come their way.

Story
Boy with sword and group of friends save the world. That is the basic structure of an RPG. LoH doesn't stray too far from this, sadly, but that doesn't mean the story is weak. Avin and his sister are orphans living in a church when one day it is attacked and evil forces try to kidnap her. In the chaos, they are separated. Avin is raised by an old man who is one of the four great knights. He changes from a depressed and angsty child to a brave and kind man through the help of Miles, a friend met in the neighboring town. As the story unfolds, more and more is learned about why is sister was kidnapped, who did it and what role Avin plays in it all. A good story however the ending leaves you with a mix of disappointing and a wanting for more.

Characters
Since this game is character driven, I decided to tell you a little about some of the main ones. I would like to add a lot of these names suck and they didn't put much effort into them.

Avin is the main character in the game and the only character that stays with you the whole time. After his separation from his sister, he loses his way and falls into a pit of depression. Only the thought of saving her and his newly found friend Miles help him cope until he is old enough to search for her. Brash, rash and packing a lot of attitude, Avin is your average lead character.

Miles meets Avin eight years before the game begins and annoys Avin until he gains his friendship. Sweet, pure and very calm, he is the ying to Avin's yang. Though the two seem to have an almost homosexual relationship more than that of just brothers, Miles does charm the ladies as does Avin (in his own...special way.) Even more so than Avin, players may feel a bond with Miles as plays the strong and always by your side true friend that everyone needs.

Eimelle is Avin's very beautiful sister. It isn't explained if they are truly related or not, though even if they weren't it wouldn't matter to them. After the chaos, Eimelle spent her life much like Avin, longing to find him once again. Even though she is the Durga's Daughter and very powerful it would suggest, you can't play as her! Eimelle is sadly stuck being a weak female who needs a man to save her.

Rutice is the female version of Miles to Avin. She starts out as an enemy but underneath her hard edge is a soft woman who is lost and hurt, she finds a new vision and a new self when she meets Avin. Watching her transform during the game is very enjoyable.

There are many other characters, some playable and some just part of the story. However, these are the four most important ones, but all the others are also very important to you'll have to play to get to know them.

Gameplay
It's an RPG so there isn't anything amazing here. You fight monsters, you win money, you buy stuff, you try to level up. Rinse, dry and repeat. To try and spice things up, the money system is a little different. When you defeat a monster, you get Pia which you can't spend. You need to go to the store and exchange Pia for Roze which you can spend. One Pia is worth more than one Roze so money isn't much of an issue. The weapon system is horrible sadly. Sword, broad sword, mace, whip, boomerang, knives and that's pretty much it, maybe one more. Not much change up, and the only secret weapons are gotten from the only mini game in the game, which you can only play at certain times. Aside from the lack of stores, weapons and armor and variety, things are ok. Unless you tackle the fact that the game has no other mini games, no side quests, no hidden weapons or items or characters. There is a side quest in the Japanese version but it doesn't sound like it much which is one of the reasons it might not be in the English version. There is also two "collect items" quest, which I guess give you two special items...but you don't need them to beat the game at all. A couple of other things, I don't think there is any humanly possible way to get to level 99. The exp system just doesn't allow you to do it. Basically, if the enemy is stronger than you then you'll get more exp. If it is weaker then you then you'll get barely any exp. So by the time you get to the end of the game, enemies will just be giving you one exp. Lastly, there is a pet system in the game. This was one of the reasons why I bought it since I like taking care of pets. Sadly, it seems like the developers didn't finish this part of the game. Your pet has food you can feed it, yet you don't need to feed it. It never gets hungry so buying food is a waste of money. Also, if the pet is angry it will attack your enemy, for very little damage. If your pet is happy it will caste a defensive spell on all party members which is very helpful. You can have a cat, dog or rabbit. You can't choose and there is no difference between the three. The main thing pets do is find items are for you, which is helpful for the first half of the game, after that you should have almost all healing items maxed. Which is the last bad thing I'd like to mention, your backpack can only hold ten of each item. You can't upgrade your backpack either, why did they do this? Oh yeah, and the game is far too straight forward, they won't let you go backwards most of the time or enter a town unless it's on your mission plan so to speak. Characters will actually say "Why are you going there, we need to go to ____."

Graphics
Very good graphics, cute sprites and character portraits. And that's about it. The level design is boring and repetitive, basically you'll feel you're seeing the same rocky path over and over again. LoH doesn't take advantage of the PSP either which is a bummer. I was very sad that there were no cut scenes at all, not even an open scene. Huge let down.

Sound
Another let down is that there is no voice over in this game, nothing at all not even when they attack! Also, this game could have used a cool J-pop song, though it would need a cool opening scene to go with it. Sadly, all you get is basic midi music. The music isn't bad but nothing amazing, you could easily play the game on mute.

Replay Factor
Like most RPGs, once you beat it there isn't much else. There isn't a New Game + or a ton of quests to finish or quests you couldn't finish the first time around, just nothing to make you want to pick this game up again aside from the story.

Scores
Story - 9
Gameplay - 6
Graphics - 6
Sound - 4
Replay Factor - 2
Overall - 6

Closing Thoughts
In all honesty, this game is mediocre. The only feature which stands out is the story and characters. Other than that, it's nothing special. It's also short, due to the fact that there are no side missions and the fact that you can't try to get to level 99. However, this is a good RPG and is worth getting if you have a PSP. I enjoyed it and think any RPG fan should add this to their collection or at least rent it and beat it. I do hope more games in this series get brought out in English, especially if their written as well as this one.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 02/21/06