PoPoLoCrois will surprise you with its addictive nature and delightfully indulgent storyline!
GAMEPLAY ~
PoPoLoCrois will originally feel a bit odd even in the most experienced player’s hands. I for one thought the game should have been a "Zelda-type" experience, but once I started to progress I completely saw the charm LoCrois can hold. First off, LoCrois is your average run of the mill RPG in gameplay. But the one thing to change all of that is the battles.
Yes, LoCrois does have way too many random battle experiences, but those mostly happen when you run everywhere, so walk sometimes. So what makes the battle so special? They are fought on a grid, so now your random battles become a tactical RPG of sorts. To fight you need to move in for the kill.
Each character gets their own unique set of skills which have a max level of 5. Abilities are leveled in battle on a whole different experience point chart, and the amount you earn is dependable on your level, this goes the same for experience points. LoCrois offers battle AI programmable in options, but that should really only be used for the constant random encounters, do not rely on it for boss battles.
Basically, the whole feel of the game is battle-wise and that is how the game feels programmed. Let’s not forget the R trigger zooms in! OK... it was just added in for some off reason, not really useful.
So enjoy it for what it is!
STORY ~
PoPoLoCrois is two different PS games rolled into one, so you'll see the Prince and all the other characters grow up right before your eyes! There is alot of twists and turns, love and humor (thanks in part to Gami) which really makes LoCrois shine like no others!
GRAPHICS ~
PoPoLoCrois packs in alot for such a short game. First off, the cut-scenes are wonderful and add in alot of depth and really show the PSP muscle on this one.
Many of the characters, enemies and so on are a bit childish but I guess it was just to make this game different that it's completely serious counterparts. So I forgive, because it’s nice and bright and the worlds are huge and explorable for the most part.
Battle specials and magic are perfromed without flaw and it's just the little things that make LoCrois shine! Like when lighting is cast you can see the skeleton of whoever is hit! An not one skeleton is the same!
Wonderfully done, but the game does have alot of slowdowns thanks in part to constant random battles at certain areas of stages. These really drag down the game, there is some ghosting with the colors but again, it's the PSP processor, not the game.
Lastly LoCrois offers a map you can access by pressing Square; this really helps out when you don't know where to go. An if you do need a hint, the game offers you a little flag to indicate your next destination!
BRAVO!
SOUND ~
PoPoLoCrois holds and amazing amount of songs that really add strength to the game and overall enjoyment. Some songs get repetitive (battle music, but LoCrois holds around 3 different battle songs… each repetitive) but many of the tracks fit the areas like Gami Gami's Techno rock track of his city to the songs of the mountains and forest, each one is wonderfully arranged and worth hearing.
LoCrois has some voice-overs to offer as well, many are good, others get annoying. I believe they can be turned off so no complaints here! An finally, SFX, a little sub-par but with such a beautifully arranged album, but you couldn't ask for more than that!
REPLAYABILITY ~
PoPoLoCrois offers only a scant 25 to 30 hours of complete gameplay, which many fans will feel like all they did was battle and nothing more. Which is sad, because the game has a deepness not seen in other RPG's, but experience players want more stuffing with thier meals than gravy! An LoCrois doesn’t offer much more.
There is a quick save option, but with the PSP sleep mode option, what is the point? There is hardly any side-quest once the game is finished and what it does offer isn't too going to hold your interest. You can recruit all the games characters for the final battle, but even that will only extend the game 2 hours if that, and Gabo can learn some summons... but if you are like me... he isn't as useful as other characters.
Besides that, it holds only an ALBUM once the game is completed where you can go back and watch the cut-scenes and other still animations of the game as well as a bestiary accessible anytime during the actual game by pressing the L trigger... but it takes heck of a time to load you might ignore it like me.
OVERALL ~
The best PSP RPG to date, it holds enough originality to hold you over 'til the next big RPG to emerge; too bad once it's over... it's over...