In October 2000, Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver had already been out in Japan for quite some time. I had a preorder for Gold, due out October 14th. It was a day I couldn’t wait for. I remember I didn’t sleep the night before and I showed up at the mall a half hour before it opened so I could pick the game up right away.  I took it home and played, played, played, and played the crap out of it. So much, in fact, that the only game that I have ever played more than my beloved Gold version is Tales of Symphonia.

Pokemon Gold and Silver introduced a lot of new things to the series that wasn’t around in Red and Blue: A real-time clock, day/night phases, pokemon genders, battle screen enhancements such as experience meters, new plot events, and Pokemon Crystal took it even further by introducing a playable female character, battle animations, a “second rival” (Eusine) and a forced legendary battle after the seventh badge; Something we’ve seen in every game after Crystal.

Nine and a half years later to the day on March 14th 2010, Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver made landfall in North America. Just like before I had it preordered, although I didn’t rush out to get it.  As I unboxed the big package that the game came in (which includes the Pokewalker, which I will get to in a bit) and started playing, I came to realize that not only has all of that been improved on, but things that had been added later on had also been put into this game, along with a few new things.

So, now that I have the remake of one of my most beloved games of all time, what do I think of it?

Game Overview

If you were gaming when Pokemon was all the rage back in the late 90s, then chances are you know what this game is already about. For those that are a bit newer, Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver are remakes of the second-gen games; Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Summed up, it’s basically the same game with a lot of updates an additions to bring it into this generation of gaming. Aside from the obvious and necessary visual update there are new things such as enhanced touch screen functionality, (you can pretty much do anything except for moving via the touch screen) and most other things added to complicate the game. (Such as pokemon abilities) Additions from other generations can be seen by simply looking at the new Johto region map: Gold/Silver was the only generation not to have a Safari Zone; This was fixed by adding one by Cianwood City. A Battle Frontier was added where the Battle Tower was in Crystal, and a new type of pokemon contest, a more “athletic”-like competition called the Pokethlon, was added to the national park to try something different from the third and fourth-generation contests. The most apparent addition, however, is one long-forgotten from Pokemon Yellow. When you first start the game, you’ll notice that your lead pokemon now follows behind you as you walk around. You can interact with it in a similar fashion as you could with Pikachu in Yellow, and usually you’ll get a quirky comment such as your pokemon “breathing fire” and whatnot. The game of course features all the multitudes of additions made to the original Gold/Silver that has been seen since, such as the real-time clock, day/night phases, trainer re-matches, etc…

Chances are, old gamers who played the original will like this just as much. If you’ve never experienced the original games, now is the time to get this and see what made me play the living hell out of my Gold version.

How does it play?

I earlier mentioned that you can do just about everything with the touch screen, aside from walking. I wasn’t lying; You seriously can. The menu is now a permanent fixture on your DS’ bottom screen and can be accessd with a single tap. All of the menu screens from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum have been moved to the bottom screen for a more streamlined touch interface, and you can also toggle your running shoes on and off. Any time you talk to someone and a response is required it will pop up on the bottom screen. The only thing that does not utliize the touch screen as I mentioned before is walking. Unfortunately because of the design, it tends not to be very left-handed friendly, so if you’re like me you’ll likely still be using the buttons if you only need to access something on the bottom screen very briefly.

Online functionality was expanded compared to Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. A new Wi-fi plaza has been set up that allows you to just muck around and play minigames with a random group of people, ending with a parade. The Global Trade Station from the fourth-gen has also gotten an upgrade as well, turning into Goldenrod City’s new Global Terminal. As well as having a GTS in the far corner, this allows you to access various functions, such as peeking into PC boxes that people have decided to share online, and viewing uploaded battle videos. All in all, the new online features don’t really add much to the game and maybe aside from being able to upload and share battle videos from your VS Recorder, is pretty much useless. I guess as an added plus, you can enter your Wii number into the game and Nintendo WFC will send a message to your Wii message board whenever a GTS trade is completed.

The general plot, catchable pokemon, and other things hasn’t really changed, although you do have the ability to trade with the fourth-gen as well as import pokemon from any of your GBA games (Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and FireRed/LeafGreen) given that you’re not playing on a DSi.

Included with every copy of the game is a device called a pokewalker. This fancy pedometer designed to look like a poke ball is in fact a minigame in itself. You can take one of your pokemon out of your box, and transfer it to the pokewalker. As you walk around with the device in your pocket, it will gain experience based on the number of steps you take, as well as watts, which can either be used to try to find items or catch pokemon on the walker, or can be transferred back to your game in order to unlock new “areas” on the pokewalker, which basically don’t really do much other than offer up different varieties of pokemon and items.

All in all, it’s a still well-rounded package. Newbies to the series will indulge in all the extra features added into this game while veterans coming back for a second time will enjoy the nostalgia induced by it, much like with FireRed and LeafGreen six years ago.

Pros:

• Utilization of the touch screen
• Bringing a classic game up to speed with the current fourth-gen games
• Nostalgia

Cons:

• Introduces useless online features
• The overall formula hasn’t changed (Although, you can’t really expect it to for a remade classic)
• No Mudkip (Because we all like them… okay, this one isn’t a real con.)

Do I like it?

Let’s do the math. It’s a classic pokemon game that clocks in as my second-most played video game ever, remade for the DS. Why would I not?  But really, Nintendo did a bang-up job recreating the second-gen in these two titles.

I can remember when I first got a DS. It had already been out for about a year and a half and it just so happened that the first New Super Mario Bros. was on its way, promising an experience that mixes Mario’s new moves in an old 2D-style game.  Nevertheless I got it when I had the chance and loved every minute I spent with it. Being an 80′s kid that logged countless hours playing Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3, the game brought back many nostalgic moments from the plumber’s 8-bit glory days.

Despite this, I didn’t know what to think when Nintendo showcased New Super Mario Bros. Wii at this year’s E3 press conference. It could have been the fact that they spent all the time on boasting about 4-player simultaneous half co-op, half competitive multiplayer, but it really took me a while for this one to settle in… In fact, it was only yesterday that I actually was sold on the game by demoing it in single-player. (I’m really the only gamer in the household so it’s really hard to be sold on a game that only offers local multiplayer.) A couple of trade-ins later and I find myself headed home with the game’s bright-red box in hand, ready for yet another classic Mario experience.

Game Overview:
The actual storyline of course is just a shadow to the same old thing. Bowser comes, kidnaps Peach, starts terrorizing the Mushroom Kingdom, yadda yadda yadda… Nothing new there.  Okay, so now that we’re past that… New Super Mario Bros. Wii follows in the footsteps of its DS predecessor by offering a modern Mario game in a classic 2D environment. It’s the type of game that will no likely please just about everyone in one way or another… There’s really just no way I can describe this in greater detail.

How does it play?
With the exception of the mega mushroom, all of Mario’s moves from NSMB can be done here. The controls, assuming you’re using just the remote, (which if you’re like me is the only way to play a game like this) have been simplified down to something reminiscent of an NES game, with a few extra things that require you to shake or tilt the remote, such as spin-jumping or tilting a special kind of platform.  The game takes a lot out of Super Mario Bros. 3 in a way.  The game features the return of airship-style stages, replaces the SMW-style “reserve item” system from the first game with an inventory system similar to 3′s, and even brings back the Koopalings from a long leave-of-absence.  Yoshi also makes an appearance and controls much like he did in his debut nearly 19 years ago complete with gobbling berries, stomping out most enemies in 1 hit, and jumping off his back. (Many times causing him to make noble sacrifices so that Mario can complete his quest.)

Progression is similar to that as in the DS version; Worlds are set out into branching paths and each world contains a castle at the end and 1 or 2 towers along the way. Ghost houses, mushroom houses, warp cannons, and now even enemies that wander the map make a return in NSMBWii. Mario must jump, stomp, and slide his way through to the ever-so-classic flagpole at the end of each level, which obviously opens the way to the next level. He does have the help of a few new powerups along the way; The ice flower works much like the fire flower except that Mario can freeze enemies. This allows him to pick a frozen enemy up and toss it like a koopa shell. The propeller hat allows Mario to fly straight up with a shake of the remote, then slowly float back down. Penguin mario negates the effects of ice and also enhances his sliding ability.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to try multiplayer yet, though I’m confident that one day I’ll be able to give it a spin… I just need people that I can actually play it with.

Pros:

Cons:

• Stale story. Seriously… I don’t know how many ways you can conjure up a story that has the same result… Princess gets kidnapped, plumber sets off to save her.

Do I Like It?
It’s… Mario, and it’s a Mario that just about everyone can relate to.  The presentation is a nice mix of old and new and controls with a similar style to that of the older Mario games. As I said before, I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like this game until I was able to try it out for myself, and once I did it was golden. This game is a must-buy.

Who should buy it?
Everyone that has a Wii. I’m not saying this as a fanboy, or a Nintendork, or an old-school gamer. There is something that will please just about everyone in this game unless you absolutely hate platformers… Or old-school games. (I have yet to be given a valid reason as to why someone should hate an old-school game, though.) People who grew up with an NES will like it for its single-player gameplay, and maybe the young ones will like the multiplayer aspects.

First Impression: Very Good. At this point I don’t think Nintendo could have done better… aside from the story.

First on the list: Namco Bandai’s Retro Game Challenge

Namco Bandai once again tried to screw us out of another game they developed, but XSeed stepped in to publish it!

Okay, not really. As the game is based off of the Japanese show Gamecenter CX there would’ve likely been no commotion had this game never been released outside of Japan, unlike another certain Namco franchise. (coughtalesofcough)

As much as my gaming history dates all the way back to the Intellivision and the Commodore 64, I can safely say that I was never aware of this game until I heard the Destructoid guys talking about it on Podtoid shortly after it came out. (Unfortunately I can’t remember which episode; Likely near the end of February.) What I heard from them sounded like an amazing game based around my childhood pastime, although I had kind of written off ever trying to find it.  It was only a couple of weeks ago that I had an ample amount of cash burning a hole in my pocket, and so I was browsing the shelves at my local EB games when lo and behold, what do I find? Yes, Retro Game Challenge. It was a no-brainer; The game was mine for the taking.

This is going to be quite odd for a “First Impressions” because really I’ve nearly finished the game. I only have one more game to go and then the final challenge.

Game Overview
As I mentioned before, Retro Game Challenge is based off of Fuji Television’s Gamecenter CX, a show featuring mediocre gamer Shinya Arino trying to beat some of Japan’s hardest games, or try to pull off feats that take a bit of grunt work to clear.  In the game, a “virtual” version of Arino haunts your DS and then sends you back in time, as a child, to his house in the 1980s. From there, you must tackle Arino’s challenges in eight different 8-bit style games. Although these retro games aren’t real games from the 80s, they are all similar to at least one type of game of that time period, whether it be the Galaga-inspired Cosmic Gate, Dragon Quest-esque Guadia Quest, Star Soldier-ish Star Prince, or Haggleman, which could resemble various NES platformers back in the days.

How does it play?
Imagine yourself in the late 80s in a room with an NES, with a stack of games on one side, and a bunch of Nintendo Power magazines on the other. That is Retro Game Challenge. Every aspect of home console gaming from the 80s has been recaptured, from the gameplay style, to the old cheat codes, even the cheesy magazine articles  and features back in the days. If that isn’t enough, try talking to young Arino with the chat feature. He’ll even start using cheesy schoolyard words and Fresh Prince quotes. (“Take it from me, parents just don’t understand.”) Just about all of the eight games are addicting to play except for maybe one, which is more or less showing how some developers got away with pallate swapping stuff and calling it a “new game.”  Otherwise, there’s much fun to be found in this game.  Every once in a while, Arino will pick up a magazine that will reveal some hints and cheats for certain games if you thuroughly read them.  (All of the challenges are “no holds barred” meaning you can use whatever cheats you want to clear them)  As well, after you beat all the challenges for a game and move onto the next one, you can play the game in “freeplay” mode; Your stats from playing these games in freeplay mode contribute to your overall “gamer ranking” and even keeps track at how well you are at rapidfire. (Without the use of a turbo button.)

All in all, this game is bound to leave any old gamer with a nostalgic experience that will have you coming back to it over and over again.

Pros:

• Game experience is bound to give most old gamers a BIG throwback to the 8-bit era, and also show to the younger crowd what gaming was like before they were born, without the flashy graphics and the Internet.
• Addicting gameplay
• Authentic representation of retro gaming

Cons:

• Some challenges and games can be a bit too easy
• The game also emulates the “bad” side of retro gaming (i.e. Rally King SP)

• Young Arino can get on your nerves when playing a game.

Do I Like It?

Am I a gamer? Yes. Was I a retro gamer? Maybe I was a bit young being born in the mid-80s, but you bet I was.  I didn’t have too much time over the last week to play very much but when I did play this game, I just could NOT put it down. This game is just amazing and brings back so many memories, and I seriously like it.

Who should buy it?
If you ever owned an NES or anything similar, and you own a DS now, you need to go out RIGHT NOW and get this game. No, seriously. Step away from the computer, go to your nearest GameStop or whatever, (except if you live in Europe, then you’ll likely have to import it) and buy this game. Now. You won’t regret it.

That ends my First Impressions coverage for Retro Game Challenge. Now onto what is one of the most anticipated DS games of the year so far: Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

In what was probably the only game worth mentioning from Nintendo’s E3 conference last year, Rockstar Games has brought GTA back to the handheld some five or six years after the GBA version of GTA.  This time, though, they’ve created an original game rather than a downgraded port.  GTA: Chinatown Wars is much like a GTA3 or 4 from a GTA2 perspective, offering most of what the recent games have to offer from a top-down view.

As much as I was an idiot for following all of the mindless media drones in how GTA3 was a bad influence on everyone (and how they claim it still is) the GTA series has grown on me as of late. I took quite a liking to the vast world that San Andreas was and really enjoyed the previous entries in the series, despite not being able to play GTA4 yet. It hasn’t gone too far up my list and so I wasn’t trying to hard to acquire it, and would really only get it if I could find it.  Believe it or not I managed to find this game on release day (Which is unheard of around here) and so it was an easy 40 dollar buy.

Game Overview:
The game takes place in GTA4′s version of Liberty City, minus the westernmost island, in the present day. (Early game dialogue reveals that the game takes place in the year 2009.)  After word of his father’s death, Huang Le flies into Liberty City from Hong Kong in order to deliver a sword to his uncle “Kenny”, whom would become the successor to the Triads in his father’s place given that the sword was delivered into the proper hands.  However, Huang is ambushed the instant he touches down, shot in the side of the head, and is then dumped into the harbour as his assailants make off with the sword. Huang’s delivery is about to get much much harder as he delves into the criminal underworld.

How Does It Play?
As I’ve already mentioned, this game takes many of GTA 3 and 4′s features and throws them into a game with a GTA2-like viewpoint. With the DS being the least powerful of all the consoles and handhelds out on the market right now, Rockstar was able to make this game look nice and crisp with cel-shaded visuals. Although, with many games that aren’t completely top-down, the game can get a bit disorienting at first but it becomes quite easy to find your bearings.  You also have to discover points on the map by yourself, so you may need to just explore once in a while in order to find the locations of scratch card shops and dealers.

One thing Rockstar did differently is that they took the chase mechanics and turned it upside, down.  You can now slowly fight off your wanted level by taking out police cars that are chasing you.  When you take out the number of police cars equal to your wanted level, one star turns grey. Once all your wanted stars are grey your wanted level is suspended. (Which means your level will be cleared as long as you don’t do anything in front of the cops until it disappears.)  Of course, you can always try to hide from the police or rush to one of your safehouses as well, although it’s actually quite easy to evade the cops as long as you’re able to duck down an alleyway without being spotted and there’s always an alley nearby.  One thing to note, though, is that your wanted level is never instantly cleared now. When you exit a safehouse or evade the police altogether, your level is suspended before it’s cleared making it more important not to cause any extra havoc once you’re out of sight.

Progressing through the game is like most others; you’ll have people that will give you missions and it’s your job to complete them all. As you progress through the story, missions through other people become available; It’s just like it’s been since GTA3. One thing that was brought back from the classic games was Rampage mode, which requires you to kill a certain amount of people in a certain time with unlimited ammo for a certain weapon. (I think it was GTA2 that we last saw this feature?)  This game also introduces you to trading and dealing, as you buy some “controversial merchandise” (Sorry. I don’t want certain activists going bonkers over my blog.) from certain dealers and then try to sell it to others for a higher price.  This is definitely the easiest way to make money in the early going, as long as you don’t get caught doing it. (Though outrunning a 2-star level isn’t all that hard.)  At times, dealers will send you e-mails saying that they’re selling especially cheap or buying higher than usual.

Although this game is really great in a way, it does have a few technical issues with it, other than the noticable slowdown when you have a lot of cars on screen. The game seems to have a couple of glitches related to vehicles, though they don’t happen frequently enough to become a problem, (especially since you have the autosave feature) and the game tends to freeze up often if you leave the game online. (Though, I have yet to discover what you can do with this game online besides uploading your game stats to the Rockstar Games Social Club, but god forbid that this happens while the game is autosaving.)  However, since most of these glitches are either rare or have a workaround that won’t hamper the game experience, it only slightly hampers the experience.

Pros:

• It’s GTA on a handheld!
• Meshing the features of GTA3 and 4 with the viewpoints and some features of GTA1 and 2
• Easy to pick up and play.

Cons:

• Lack of online multiplayer. Online functionality only really good for one or two things.
• GPS route plotter frequently plots idiotic routes, such as doubling back on a road.
• Rare technical glitches and freezes

Do I Like It?
Although not like the more recent Grand Theft Auto 4, this game is definitely not any worse off than its console bretheren. GTA: Chinatown Wars did not fail to impress me in most areas (aside from online functionality) and is easily one of the best titles I’ve bought for the system.

Who Should Buy This?
Any GTA buff regardless if you prefer the classic or modern games.  Many first-timers have also said that this game is gold, so if you’re looking for just any open world experience, this game is for you.

I have a couple of top 10s lined up, but for now here’s something that I can effectively write about.

For once, American Fire Emblem fans had to go through what European gamers go through in general.  Believe it or not, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon has been out in Europe since mid December.  The game finally made landfall in the US early this week, although it sucks to be you if you live in the land down under right now as you still have a couple of months to wait.

Realizing that I had some extra cash to spend, I ended up picking this up.  Although I’m not all that great at this notorious difficult SRPG series, I’ve always picked them up starting with the first, but now how does the latest version of the game that started it all hold out?

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is the latest remake of the original 1990 Fire Emblem. You know… the one with that Marth guy that we only knew through Super Smash Bros. Brawl? This also marks the first time that a Fire Emblem game before the seventh has been released outside of Japan.

The game’s been nicely updated and takes full advantage of the DS, adding in touch controls (possibly running on a similar, if not the same engine that Advance Wars: Days of Ruin ran on.) and online features, making it the first game to do both.  One thing I can’t get used to is having unit information displaying on the top screen, leaving the bottom screen virtually uncluttered, save terrain info and an HP bar that is now placed on the top of each unit.  It’s a difficult transition to get used to after simply hovering over a unit for so long to get detailed stats.  As well, the battle draws out on the top screen while the “quick” version of the fight displays on the bottom. (Although I’m sure you can turn the top screen off, and there are no battle animations for healing, much like it is in Path of Radiance and onwards.)

One of the nice little features that have been brought over from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn is the ability to highlight an enemy unit’s attack range on screen to allow you to better strategize and place your tank units in an effort to draw the enemy out into an ambush.  The guide functions from the later games are also made available here.  In addition to the original campaign, they’ve also added a short prologue to help ease players into the game, rather than thrust them right in. (As this is the original, I would expect that this will have been the hardest of the series to be released here, so it’s welcome enough for me.)

One of the most prominent features in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is the addition of online play.  For the first time in the series, you can now take your team online in an all-out battle against anyone else in the world.  Unlike in the past where you fought in an arena, this takes place on an actual battlefield and plays out as if it were in single player mode. This is something I would most likely look into, as I found the arena quite dull.  In addition to fighting online, you can also loan your characters out to another player that needs help getting through a harder part of the game. (It’s also a good option if you’re close to the end and your characters stats have been “RNG screwed.”)  The online shop is also there if you’re in need of an item but don’t have open access to an armory or vendor from where you are in the game.  I don’t know if maybe prices are influenced at what other people are buying, but it’s nice to see ways to possibly make the game a tad easier.

Intelligent Systems also added mid-chapter save points on certain maps in which you can save your game. (Instead of just suspending it.)  These save points are usually close to the boss unit which I guess is convenient enough for most.  However, I kind of see this as a double-edged sword, as this would allow you to save and not worry about having to restart the whole map if you lose a valuable unit, but at the same time, as this game still runs on the infamous “random number generator” it could also prove to be a crippler if the next sequence of numbers ends up giving the boss a critical. I would say if you want to use a save point mid-chapter, use it with due caution.

Other than that. This is it for all your Fire Emblem fans out there; An official translation of the original.  The general consensus among gamers so far has been a mixed bag, but I would say that if you’ve liked at least one of the games so far, pick this one up and dive right into it.  It’ll be worth it.

Sega’s been really busy with their long-running RPG franchise in the past while, first releasing this, Phantasy Star Portable, in Japan, and then Phantasy Star Zero on the DS, and then getting their localizations underway.  The demo for PSP, which takes you up to the first boss then leaves you to explore the multiplayer option as much as you choose, has been available for download on PSN for a good portion of the last week now.  With turn-based combat pushed aside a long time ago, being replaced with the real-time combat of MMO entries Phantasy Star Online and Universe, how does this fare on the handheld?

I do have to say that I’m impressed so far. To make me want to play a demo over and over again in anticipation of the release for the full game is quite a feat.  I’m definitely not all that experienced with the PSO-like systems since most of my experience has had to do with playing offline multiplayer at my friend’s house.  I do remember enough of PSO though to know that they’ve greatly improved things in the long run, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Phantasy Star Portable is like a Sequel to MMO Phantasy Star Universe, with the story picking up not long after it.  In this game you’re playing a new recruit to GUARDIAN, and in your first mission your task is to eliminate the cause of a number of robot malfunctions in a certain area of the GUARDIAN base, along with your mentor and a new CAST. (Cast being the name they give humanoid robots in the PSO timeline.)  In the demo you can only play story mode up to the first boss, but you already get quite the story progression as you come across mysterious woman that could be behind the malfunctions.

Most of the gameplay improvements aren’t new to you if you’ve been playing Phantasy Star Universe, but if you’re an old PSO player that hasn’t touched Universe than you’re bound to love some of the things they’ve done.  First off, moving around is much faster than in the first game, and for you ranger enthusiasts, you can now move and shoot at the same time. (Meaning no more getting ganged up on because you’re stuck shooting in one spot as you get surrounded.)  Targeting is done a bit differently; Where in the original targeting was automatic, holding down the L button will target the closest enemy in front of you and also tell you, in the form of a red reticule, when you are in range.  You can also strafe while targeting, which if you’re a ranger type person like me allows you to spread and hit multiple targets as well.

Along with your usual repitoire of spells you also now have photon arts that can be linked to certain types of equipment.  This gives your weapons special attacks and elemental attributes that can also inflict status ailments on your enemies as well.  The use of technique points has also been abolished in exchange for photon points, which works the same as TP except that it’s linked to your weapon instead. (In other words, each weapon has their own set amount of PP that gets used up as you use photon arts that you’ve linked to said weapon.)  Also new is that photon arts and techniques level up as you continue to use them, unlike in PSO where you had to buy or find a higher level disc and have a high enough mind strength stat.

Along with your base EXP. level now, you also have a class level. You now gain class EXP. whenever you complete a mission in both story and multi mode, which in turn will level your class. This gives you not only an additional stat boost but also raises your proficiency with weapons associated to that class. You are able to switch between the basic classes: Hunter, Ranger, and Force, and also advance to higher classes such as Fighmaster, (I kid you not, it’s listed as “Fighmaster” and not “Fightmaster”) and Gunmaster.  This is a welcome addition as now you are no longer committed to staying to a single class, and can advance to higher ones.

The action pallete from the first game has been improved as well.  Instead of just having six slots for various attacks, techs, and items, which are all assigned to a certain button, you now have six slots for items and six slots for weapon configuration. (You can now hold two weapons at once, although some weapons take up both hands. You can use your “left hand” weapon by holding down the R button)  Each weapon usually has a basic attack which is executed by pressing the square button, and its linked photon art is used with the triangle button.  You can change your weapons or use items on the fly by holding down the circle button, selecting the weapon set you want to switch to/selecting the item you want to use, and releasing circle.  Although in the heat of battle, it takes a bit more time to heal yourself with an item than it did with the one button press in PSO, I find this a lot better.

I only have two beefs with the game so far right now, one being the “city” areas being replaced with menus, which is something I’ve never been used to before.  The other is the fact that things get screwed up when you change weapons on the action pallete slot that you’re currently using. You’d think that if you changed a weapon in the pallete that you currently had equipped that it would automatically update it, right? But it doesn’t; You have to reselect it in order to use the new configuration, else you’re going in weaponless.

And that’s all I have to say so far.  I’m absolutely digging this right now, and if you’re an old PSO vet, or maybe you haven’t played any of them past Phantasy Star IV, I would highly suggest giving this a try if you have a PSP.  Go ahead and download the demo, as it will definitely keep you busy up until its release.

Phantasy Star Portable is developed by Sonic Team (They did something right for a change!) and Alfa System, (The same company that also brought you Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology and Radiant Mythology 2) and published by Sega.  PSP has been out in Japan since last July and is currently slated for release in North America on March 3rd.