“Gredia – a land where humans, dragons and spirits live in relative harmony. When an evil black dragon appears in the nation’s capital, Valen, a Dragoon, and the healer Euphe must travel to Mt. Baird to seek answers from the Fire Dragon. But Valen has yet to discover the tragic fate of the dragons…”

No console has had more RPGs than PSone and PlayStation 2. It took a couple years for each machine to get going, but once the floodgates were open, new RPGs continuously poured through. Many presume that PlayStation 3 will follow suit, assuming Xbox 360 doesn’t steal its thunder beforehand.

In the handheld market, Nintendo DS scored an advantage with the next Dragon Quest. But other than that, the majority of handheld RPGs – most notably those from publishers other than Square Enix – are being released for PlayStation Portable. NIS America, one of the frontrunners of this market, is set to bring a port of the original Disgaea to PSP this October. But that’s not the only game they’ve developed. The publisher’s newest saga, Dragoneer’s Aria, is in stores now.

Combining Final Fantasy-style combat and camera angles, Dragoneer’s Aria tells the story of a young man named Valen who is trying to save the great protectors of the world – the dragons. He’ll fight countless battles and have to withstand the forces of the world’s most obnoxious monsters, all the while communicating with comrades, upgrading his personal stats, and raising his party’s level to heights capable of defeating whatever beasts come their way.

Looking The Part

Starting things off right with a well-voiced real-time intro, Dragoneer’s Aria is one of the most broadly developed RPGs for the system. Battles flourish with large polygon counts and a high magnitude of full-size environments. The puny, cartoony, and sometimes super-deformed locales of other games are nowhere to be found, leaving only the best architecture to see and explore. Stages are not limited to towns and dungeons. They serve as the base points for most RPGs (this one included), but this game goes off in its own direction.

Towns and cities aside, going to a new location means having to fight new types of monsters. You never know what creatures may be waiting in the next area, and how much of a beating they’ll need to be defeated. Leveling up is an option most players use to combat strong opponents. But this game doesn’t dummy-down the experience by offering clear level-up points (with a save and health replenishment spot right in the middle of a dungeon). You can pick a location and pick off enemies until your HP has nearly emptied – the strategy I often use – but without a guaranteed save spot, or the chance to save in a dangerous area while broke and inexperienced, players could end up cornering themselves into a deadly scenario.

 
Navigate thin and winding platforms while fighting off enemy encounters,
which aren’t random but are typically hard to avoid.

Dragoneer’s Aria has an excellent collection of music and voice-overs, bridging the gap between handheld and console gaming experiences. The score is not one of massive emotions – you won’t tear up at every tune. But it is extremely catchy, frequently original, and forever entertaining. The antagonistic battle themes are just a small sampling of what the game offers. Whether exploring a town, visiting an inn, or viewing an ominous story sequence, the game is packed with tunes that warrant a standalone listening session.

Combat is purely turn-based; no real-time battle, active time battle, or any other kind of turn-altering system has been employed. Your main points of action include Attack, Mana, Guard, Item and Escape. The second one is special because it doesn’t consume the hard-to-replenish MP of most RPGs. In this game, Mana is a form of energy that’s gathered every time you perform a regular attack. Once a certain amount has been acquired, any Mana abilities within your party will become accessible.

Dragoneer’s Aria is only partially successful in its effort to meet the quality of Final Fantasy battles. They’re not excessively fast, which keeps the game from transforming into a one-button process (an occurrence all too common these days). But the motions are slower than the average PS2 RPG. If you were into the genre during the PSone era, you’ll likely remember the mix of speeds that were used in the abundance of games that followed FFVII’s release. In general, PSP is closer to PSone than PS2. That being the case, Dragoneer’s Aria is not too far off the mark.

But you will still need patience of steel to get through certain parts of the game. In addition to the slow battle progress, players will also have to deal with an excessive number of load times. The pre- and post-battle loading isn’t too awful, but you’ll sit for as long as six seconds per sequence when the story is developing. That’s a fault with the PSP hardware and is nearly impossible to avoid. Unfortunately, the presentation – which makes or breaks the experience for some role-players – is obstructed by this issue.

Take on a vengeful boss before entering a coliseum-style hub
that can transport you to and from various locations.

On the up side, it doesn’t kill the game. There is still a lot of good fun to be had with Dragoneer’s Aria. The 3D graphics, behind-the-character view, and movable camera are a definite plus. Those of you who play RPGs first for their stories may not be fazed by the loading, even though it means you’ll have to wait a bit for each sequence to appear. If that doesn’t sound like much of a problem, then wait no further – there are dragons and Dragoons anticipating your arrival.

Gameplay: 7.0
The Mana system is by far Dragoneer’s Aria’s best feature. Execute a few standard attacks, stock up on Mana points, and unleash its power for a number of devastating attacks. Mana can also be used outside of combat to enhance your character’s exploration abilities. Other than that, the gameplay is the standard conglomerate of RPG content – turn-based battles, frequent encounters, large worlds, etc.

Graphics: 8.2
Excellent worlds and character art, pixelation-free backgrounds, impressive boss battles, and several other graphic elements give Dragoneer’s Aria a striking visual boost. Few other games on PSP – whether RPG or some other genre – can compare.

Sound: 8.0
Hokey moments aside, the decent voice acting help to create a more believable storyline. However, it’s the soundtrack that’ll form permanent memories.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Most challenges can be overcome just by leveling up. But don’t get cocky – there are some battles that will test your endurance, as well as your ability to flee the scene.

Concept: 7.0
Role-playing like everything before it, Dragoneer’s Aria is a quaint homage to the Final Fantasy series with original music and a good story.

Overall: 7.0
Not the freshest game on the market, but if you want a slower-paced quest with an engaging story and hours of battles to conquer, Dragoneer’s Aria is one of the better RPGs you’ll find exclusively on PSP.