Stylus= Nintendo Got The Magick Stick
The story begins at a school of magic, in the vein of Harry Potter. After about 15 minutes of reading text, your teacher is kidnapped and the character you create (pick from male and female and choose an name.) sets out to rescue her, as well as find the other students who have crashed landed on various planets. the game sticks to a cast of 6 playable characters, so people who expect a buch of characters as in games like Pokemon will be disappointed. A positive spin though, is the opportunity to learn about each character, which all have different powers and personalities.
The story is all presented in text, which is understandable, seeing as how there's so much dialogue. It is filled with funny moments, and not in the mistranslated "Engrish" sort of way. The localization team put funny stuff in the dialoge, and not just "American jokes." You are encouraged to talk to as many NPC's as possible, as the game doesn't really pont you in the right direction. it's rather open-ended. I'm not entirely sure what a traditional RPG is supposed to play like, but this game seems like it gets the fundamentals right, while imploring the use of the touchscreen. You could play the entire game with the stulus if you chose, and it makes waking around much easier than the D-Pad. The top screen displays the action, while the bottom screen moves the characters and serves as a menu. If timed right, you can also gain a power-up by tapping the screen. Potions, spells, and physical attacks all make thier obligatory appearance. The graphics are not a selling point. The game looks like a slightly polished GBA or SNES game. The art style is inspired, but it's hard to appreciate it if you're not a fan of 2D. There are some cool special effects which are on the higher end of psuedo-3D. The camera will sometimes zoom in, exposing the harsh reality of pixels. On as positive note, the game also inclues a few short pre-rendered cutscenes, mainly in transition between planets. The music is charming RPG fare. The score is whimsical, highlighting the magical theme. There are a fewvoice snippets when battling, but they get repetitive quickly, if not instantly. The sound effects all have a 16 bit feel to them, which could be seen as nostalgic or cheap. it's all a matter of preference. All in all, this game is good for beginners in the RPG genre, such as myself, as well as people who can dig the subtle nuances of games such as these. If you are searching for a Pokemon-type collect-em-all game, look elsewhere, because this one is a bit more intimate than that.