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It's a bit disconcerting that the PSP has failed to receive the same love when it comes to RPGs as its fellow handhelds the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS. In fact, the much older and much less powerful GBA has seen better, higher profile (and a few niche) RPG releases over the past year than the PSP. Sadly, Monster Kingdom, an Atlus-published RPG by the man behind Shin Megami Tensei, is yet another average entry on a system that even 2D SRPG developer NIS has yet to master.
Monster Kingdom isn't a complete waste of time however, quite the contrary; it's an enjoyable turn of the RPG mill with just a bit too much dialogue and far too little action. The game is also excruciatingly linear, so fans of open-world style RPGs beware. The premise involves a mysterious hero Vice who inherits the ability to summon monsters from his mother. While searching for a powerful enemy known as the "abomination," he comes across the Order, a group of trained Jewel Summoners that take him under their wing.
Monster Kingdom feels like it never really gets moving, a common problem at the beginning of most RPGs, but one that shouldn't carry over to the end.
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With these skills, and the tutelage of the buxom head mistress Anhj, Vice and two other allies head out on missions to help rid the world of monsters, over and over again. You'll actually talk more about each mission than enjoy playing them, because dialogue eats of much of this adventure. Make no mistake, the scenes are almost all voiced, and done well, with character portraits to support them. There's just waaaaay too much talking, especially with such a generic story. Some humor helps to break up the monotony, especially when visiting the perverted old jewel-meister, but overall this is the major reason many people won't put up with the game long enough to finish it.
Monster Kingdom feels like it never really gets moving, a common problem at the beginning of most RPGs, but one that shouldn't carry over to the end. When there is action, say as you escort a group of merchants along a dangerous road, it's turn-based and somewhat generic, though the monster catching and the sheer diversity in how you customize them adds an addictive factor the game. Thankfully, holding down the O button speeds up battle, but it would have been nicer to have a permanent setting for this. While running around, field skills enable you to find hidden paths, increase encounter rates, and more.
When fighting golems, dragons, and other enemies, you can either kill them or, once their life is low enough, capture them using items of the same element as the enemy. Actually, much of the combat is based on knowing an element's counter and exploiting it. Once captured, the monster can be equipped and rotated out of combat as needed. Beyond regular attacks, there are spells that can target single enemies or several, as well as healing, defense, and other standard spells. The fun part comes with amalgamy, where you can tweak and evolve monsters (by combining them with additional items) as well as use points earned in battle to boost stats and add experience to them.
There are plenty of monsters to catch and customize, but will these be enough to stave off the desire to look elsewhere? As a cookie-cutter RPG, the production values are top-notch, but the lack of exploration and excessive dialogue make this a tough one to see through to the end.
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