Game Title : Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner
Firmware Required : CFW/OFW
Release Date: 02/19/07 US
Developer: Atlus Co.
Game Description : As some of you may know, Atlus is behind the famous Shin Megami Tensei and Persona Franchise. The Company stands right next to Square Enix when it comes to RPG games in Japan. Being the 2nd game next to Riviera by Atlus for the PSP, any Fan of Atlus would sure try to find this game. This game is a mix of Pokemon vs Final Fantasy. You catch monsters, fuse them with jewels to make them stronger and enter dungeons to fight other monsters and bosses in a turn based battle engine. This game concentrates on replay value, which gives you 2 endings of the game and team combinations [Who Like each other] to choose from in the beginning of the game. Not only does that game have replay value but bonuses. When you complete the game, you can fight the bosses all over again to obtain boss medals which is similar to the aspect of fighting Ultima in Final Fantasy. You don't gain anything besides the merit of fighting uber strong bosses. There is a Almagamy system which you can bestow your monsters with elemental stones that make them learn new abilities. You can add items in which can speed up the fusion or use items which teaches them new abilities.
Storyline: The Story has it's twists and turns but can be sometimes predictable. The characters can be quite stereotypical and the dialog can be quite corny and annoying. The hero of the game is named Vice who has a special talent of summoning jewel monsters without prior training. You set out to take revenge on the Abomination that killed your mother. The legend in the story describes that back in ancient times, monsters and humans used to coexist in peace. Then a great disaster happened which turned all the monsters into jewels. The jewels can allow people to summon monsters or use it to create jewel energy which allowed the humans to recover from the great disaster. Abominations also appear quickly after the use of jewel power and throughout the game you uncover the mysteries of jewels.
Number Of Players : 2
Genre : RPG
Retail Price : $19.99 USD
Graphics out of 10 : 6/10
- The 3D Graphics of the game are quite decent but could be more smoothed out. The main character when displayed in 3D form looks quite rough and could use more detail to look more smooth. There are no Animated scenes, only pictures of the characters + dialog and voice acting. The expressions of the characters are quite limited. You expect the characters to have more expressions because of the dialog but usually they just stand there with the same poses. There is also a limited amount of NPC's for example during a festival there would only be 4 people to talk to, which is displayed as drawn pictures of them. Most of the NPC's look the same. The old women looks the same and so does the young child or the usual just plain Man. The graphics are overall decent but I've seen better.
Sound out of 10 : 7/10
- The music in the game isn't that noticeable and is only acknowledged when you put the game down to do something. There isn't a wide variety of battle music either but it doesn't feel repetitive because you really don't notice it. The Voice acting Is great and you can recognize some familiar voices but the dialog can be quite corny and the voices with those dialog can be quite annoying,
Controls out of 10 : 9/10
- The controls were amazing and smooth throughout.
Gameplay out of 10 : 8/10
- The game can take you from 1-2 days to complete depending on how long it takes you in dungeons and depending on if you want to broaden your amount of monsters to fuse. The replay value also takes effect because you have a choice of 2 teams to choose from and 2 endings available. What you choose to say during the game can give you some interesting dialog. In the end of the game it can either give you the true ending or bad ending Depending on what you believe. For example you can promote the use of jewel power or not. So the game is 2 sided because your team mates also reflects those views, one would approve of jewel power and one wouldn't. You also have endless amounts of monsters to fuse, they can also evolve depending on the jewels you use on it. Elements also take a part in the game which allows you to change the elements of your monsters. There is also online play which you can trade monsters or battle others. You also have a field effect which you can choose from which allows you to float, or reveal hidden passages in dungeons which allows you to solve puzzles in the dungeons. The puzzles in the dungeons only consist of switches which are on the ground but thats it.
Overall out of 10 : 7.5/10
C+
- Overall i recommend this game to you if your into RPG games. Of course despite the fact that the dialog is corny, it can be funny sometimes. The game feels like its missing some aspects, even though you can equip accessories it would have been nice to equip weapons that give an effect to your monster. Also Dungeons can be long and tedious but it also takes skill. Depending on how you customize your monsters you can easily take down bosses and because of the effects of the abilities it takes strategy to take down monsters. This game is a great asset to your collection, so go grab it!
Video:
YouTube - Atlus USA Trailer: Monster Kingdom Jewel Summoner Screen Shots 
