Published: Tuesday, 4th March, 2008 12:00
Dragoneer's Aria
By Narin Bahar
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RPGs are pretty much the Marmite of gaming - you either love them or you hate them.
The enduring power of the Final Fantasy franchise, plus modern classics like Knights of the Old Republic and Fable shows there's plenty of life in them yet, although for every stand out classic you get something a bit more identikit. Dragoneer's Aria falls somewhere between the two extremes.
The world is at peace, guarded by six elemental dragons of fire, water, thunder, earth, wind, and ice - no I didn't think half of those counted as elements technically either. In this world, dragons control both nature and the climate and they are worshipped as the guardians of the world, and protected by an elite knight corps known as dragoons.
When Nifhogg, a mysterious black dragon, suddenly appears and injures one of the dragons, the plot is set in motion for a young dragoon recruit called Valen to start his fight to save the world.
Japanese strategy specialists Nippon Ichi are at the helm and - as you'd expect - that means this makes Dragoneer's Aria a proper old school RPG. Combat happens on a turn by turn basis, giving players a rest from button mashing to go for more strategy led battles. The plot and graphics are beautifully done, although if you are an afficionado of the genre you're not going to see anything new. From the requisite love interest (a healer named Euphe who joins your party early on) to the the usual issues with regaining mana and levelling up it's all solid, simple stuff.
Don't let that put you off though. If you are a fan of RPG games then there's a lot to love here. While initially at least the plot is a bit slow, it means you have time to get to grips with the mechanics of the game and the combat system before things get more difficult. There's a lot of depth here and it's one of those games where suddenly your PSP has run out of charge and you realise a couple of hours have flown by.
It's no Final Fantasy but it's still worth a solid four stars if this is your kind of game. If you're at all unsure about RPGs though I'd give it a miss - this isn't going to change your mind.
* Dragoneer's Aria is out now on the PSP, RRP £29.99.
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