When the PSP came to the market many critics complained about its lack of original content. These people complained everything was ports of console games, and that nothing incredible can be found with such a system. I, myself, was cautious of the PSPââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s future for just that very matter, but then I popped in the PoPoLoCrois UMD.
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PoPoLoCrois for the PSP is a port, of sorts, from the original PPLCââ‚ ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s 1 and 2 from way back when. The PoPoLoCrois for the PSP doesnââ‚ƚ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t fully include every single detail from both games, but it includes a great deal leaning more heavily on the classic RPG PoPoLoCrois 2. PoPo isnââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t like standard cut and paste turn battles in that while inside battle its characters move around through a small grid. The controls on the grid donââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t feel quite right; sometimes I knew I could put a spell on two people but it took five minutes to get the spell in the right position to hit both of the monsters. Other than the grid though, PoPoLoCrois is all about the classic RPG. Turn based battles return and you can either select to attack, use magic, use item, etc. The enemies are quite definitely enemies, so you just beat up on them or are beat up.
PoPoLoCrois does a great job with its graphics. One might look at the screenshots of the game and not think much of it, but PoPoLoCrois has its roots in old-school and keeps them there. PoPoLoCrois might not take advantage of the PSP's graphical power, but it just feels pleasant; the game feels like returning to your good childhood memories. The characters and spell animations looks superb as well. Agetec, the developer of PoPoLoCrois, has included clips of anime that show action and/or more develop the plot, and these cut-scenes are really the epitome of the game; childish, yet classic. This beauty comes with a fault though, which is loading. The loading isnââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t very long per se, but constant. You load to go out of a city, to go into a room, to go into a cave, to start a battle, and to use a spell. This loading can be annoying, but not detrimental to the over-all effect of the game.
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PoPoLoCroisââ ¡Ã‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ sound is either hit or miss. Some songs will stick right to your brain, and others can just fade away very easily. The voices in the anime clips are very good, and there are voices before doing each spell in battle, which are also fairly well done. Sound effects are mostly standard fare, with nothing outstanding.
Pietroââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s adventure through PoPoLoCrois is well done, albeit there are some flaws. Making 2 complete games feel like one was a good idea from Agetec, although PoPoLoCrois 1 seemed to have a lot of loose holes that Agetec could have filled. PoPoLoCroisâââ€Å ¡Ã‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ NPCs do not tell you where to go next to continue on withthe story, unlike most RPGs. This openness is both relieving and frustrating. Not knowing where to go will sometimes make you lost in the world of PoPoLoCrois, and since the only direction lies within the story sequences, you better pay attention. This happened to me three times, and around 2 1/2 hours overall were wasted trying to get back on track.
The story is basically the same as the original games, pretty darn good. Character development isnââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t superb, but decent. The anime cut-scenes are incredible; I am looking forward to completely finishing the game so I can watch the clips again.
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One problem with PoPoLoCrois is that between battles Pietro only gets around 12 steps. That means finish battle, 12 steps (around 3-4 seconds) then another random battle occurs. While this isnââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t much of a problem at first, it can become an annoyance later in the game when you are crossing the low level maps. Agetec attempts to alleviate the problem by giving Pietro a spell which stops all random battles for a certain time, but this stops all random battles. What I wanted was a filter that sort of minimized the battles.
PoPoLoCrois will slate a lot of RPG fanatics thirst for a solid RPG on the PSP. It gives you story, graphics, sound, and gameplay all in good fashion. The cut-scenes are well done and deserve some recognition. PoPoLoCrois might not be for newbies due to the high encounter rate and immense freedom, but If you like traditional RPGs then pick up PoPoLoCrois.
Audio: 9.2
Controls: 7.8
Gameplay: 9.0
Graphics: 8.8
Lastability: 8.0
Overall: 8.9
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Goodbye and good luck. Make your decision.