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Playstation "Port"able?

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Michael "Macstorm" Cunningham
STAFF EDITORIALIST

To this point a staggering amount of PSP RPGs both in the US and Japan have been ports. Look at the list: Breath of Fire III, PoPoLoCrois, Suikoden I & II, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, Tales of Eternia, Spectral Souls, and the upcoming Magna Carta: Tears of Blood and Disgaea Portable. In the case of some of these, they might have added a little bit of content, but the game itself is still the same as its original version. Is this sad trend of releasing port after port with little to no original RPGs and the few original RPGs seeming to be low profile to continue? Maybe not.

As of right now, Sony's PSP has four possible saviors: Valhalla Knights, Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, and Jeanne d'Arc. Valhalla Knights by XSEED is an action RPG with forty race/class combinations available. It looks to offer online play as well which is always a plus if done well. Bethesda's Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion is coming in the wake of the PC/Xbox 360 success, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. While walking close to that game's footsteps, it is not a port, but more of a combat focused bonus version of the original. The original game has done impressive with sales, so this could possibly be the kick that the PSP needs. Square Enix still has Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII up its sleeve as well. Claimed to be an action RPG, gamers will have to take their work for it until more details or screenshots are released. It has the Final Fantasy VII name, which could be a major selling point all on its own. Last, but certainly not least is Level 5's Jeanne d'Arc. This tactical RPG could well be the most exciting of the group with Level 5 at the helm, but as with all of there titles, only time will tell.

Four RPGs. Are they enough to help the PSP out? Just four would be a tough sell, but in some cases it only takes one major title to change the tide. XSEED, Bethesda, Square Enix, and Level 5 have all done impressive work in the RPG field as of late, so hopefully these games will help to be a gateway for many more titles. The PSP needs it.