I must admit that I never expected the RPG genre to play an integral part in the handheld console industry. The “pick up ‘n go” mentality associated with portable gaming conflicts with a role-playing game type requiring many hours of commitment and patience. Sony Online Entertainment, however, felt confident in its release of Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, a hack n’ slash RPG featuring warriors, monsters, and magic. Brotherhood of the Blade was met with mixed reviews, complimenting the game’s combat experience while bashing other gameplay issues including a flawed story-driven campaign. Now, about a year after the PlayStation Portable’s release, the developers are offering up a sequel to Untold Legends, Warrior’s Code. While the game is definitely an improvement upon its predecessor, some of the major drawbacks associated with Brotherhood of the Blade are back including a few new ones. 

The story is a bit uninspired: an evil emperor has risen to power in a world once plentiful in birds, berries, and squirrels (Martha Stewart’s paradise). The emperor has turned his kingdom into a realm of darkness, and it’s up to you and a few other warriors to destroy him and his evil forces to restore pleasantness to the kingdom. Before playing, you must choose a character to play as, each with their own unique abilities. I chose the Guardian, a massive warrior perfect for close-ranged battle but lacking in speed and magic skills. Other classes include the Mercenary who sports a long saw-blade, the Scout who is as small as she is versatile in combat, and the very large Disciple whose magic more than compensates for his desperate need of gastro-bypass surgery. Because there are such stark differences between the characters, it is important to make sure you pick the right one. In determining which character to choose, focus on the four main statistic references each character has including strength, stamina, intelligence, and dexterity (Intelligence is specifically focused upon the character’s ability to use magic).

The problem Untold Legends: Warrior’s Code faces, just like many hack n’ slash titles, is the large amount of nonsensical button-smashing required. The simplicity of pressing ‘X’ over and over again to successfully beat the game provides little entertainment value, and I soon grew in the habit of the repetitive button-smashing to progress further. Each character has an armory menu to store the items and weapons they collect on their quest. I was pleased that the developers included a simple and straight-forward menu option featuring a slot-system for which to place armor and weapons, although the button-smashing limits the need to actively utilize it for varied combat.

Through the game, you travel to distant lands smiting armies of beasts along the way. As the game progressed, I felt as if the level design wasn’t diverse enough to hold a player’s attention. I started questioning “Haven’t I been here before?” which greatly detracted from the gameplay. The baddies you meet in-game are relatively easy to annihilate (with the right dose of button-smashing, of course) and the ability to perform special attacks become of little interest to you. Attack of Opportunity, a charge-up attack you utilize with the Square button often resulting in devastating damage to the enemy, was used infrequently as I progressed through the game. I found this attack most useful in boss fights, which require more effort and patience to successfully finish. Warrior’s Code also features several multiplayer modes via Ad Hoc and Infrastructure (both co-op). Unfortunately, I was unable to successfully find other gamers around the world playing at the same time to test the capabilities.

Warrior’s Code looks better than Brotherhood of the Blade, with nice looking visual effects and cutscenes. But the bland environment and level design is a lot like its processor and brings the visual allure down. There is some solid voice-acting featured in the cutscenes and the sound effects are on par with the visuals, but the music isn’t awe inspiring.

I tip my hat to Sony Online Entertainment, who is trying to deliver an assortment of genres to it’s PlayStation Portable. I think role-playing games have a place in the future of the handheld industry, but the simplicity of hack n’ slash button-smashing detracts from an otherwise excellent opportunity to introduce an action RPG for portable gaming. Untold Legends: Warrior’s Code tries to find an audience between casual gamers and hardcore RPG fans, but it fails in achieving success because of this. It’s too complicated for the “pick up ‘n go” player and too simple for the niche RPG consumer.

Gameplay: 6.7
The button-smashing greatly detracts from an otherwise good RPG

Graphics: 7.0
An improvement on Brotherhood of the Blade, but still features uninventive level design and environments

Sound: 8.5
Nice voice-acting and sound effects with a forgettable soundtrack

Difficulty: Easy

Concept: 8.5
I believe the future is bright for RPGs in the portable console business

Overall: 6.9
While Untold Legends: Warrior’s Code is definitely an improvement upon its predecessor, there are major drawbacks including bland level design and nonsensical button-smashing