Kingdom of Paradise Goes PSP

Climax Entertainment Introduces A New Action RPG For The PSP

(CBS) 

Now this is a pretty basic story line and as far as plot goes, K.o.P does a pretty good job. The dialogue throughout the game can get a bit dull at times and the voiceovers could use a bit of work -- but it's entertaining nonetheless. There are tons of cuts scenes that reveal much of the plot and direction and help to heighten the game experience. But some could've been left out, or serve only as sheer comic relief.

What I find quite annoying is that you can't just quit out of the cut scene when they get lame. The most you can do is speed up the process by pressing the talk button, which usually involves progressing the subtitles along -- often causing a delay since the voiceovers trail behind the subtitles. The one plus behind all this is the cool semi 3D effect. Each character talking takes on a nice clear big 3D design where you can actually see facial expressions a bit more clearly. Sadly though, those facial expressions aren't all that impressive.

Aside from the funky dialogue and storyline, one of the other driving forces behind this game is the action, specifically the fighting system.
The fighting system is intriguing. It’s based on an elaborate combo system comprised of five different fighting styles each with their unique strengths and weaknesses. They way in which you create the combo is the fun part.

They are two things that are necessary, a "bugei" scroll and a "kenpu" form. A bugei scroll holds a specific number of slots where you can chain together a specific number of moves. That movement is referred to as a "kenpu" form. A "kenpu" is kind of like a kata, which consists of a series of movement used to attack, defend or evade an enemy.

For the most part you pretty much make up any combination of kenpu you want, depending on the type of bugei you have. You can increase your inventory of bugei scrolls by exploring the vast world of Ouka, defeating boss characters, knocking over boxes, speaking to the right NPC, or simply earning them through special missions.

There are over 150 sword attack styles that you can combine to make some really titillating combos. In the selection screen for your bugei scrolls you can see each and every one of your bugei, including their respective kenpu along with a cool 3D demonstration of your selected kenpu.

I've spent hours in this part of the game just making up attack combos, which purely served as a delightful distraction from the main objective. Though this might seem a distraction from the main purpose of the game, making up those combos is a cool reprieve from the drudgery of the single button press to execute your combo.

Along with the attack combos you also have special "Chi" attack moves. These are special moves (very much like powerful magic spells) that are designed to inflict a large amount of damage and can often affect more than one attacker. The power and intensity of the attack is entirely dependent on the level of that particular special attack you’re executing. There are 5 different types of "Chi" attacks, some more powerful than others depending on the type of enemy you're facing.

You can also increase the level at which the "Chi" attack does damage. The one draw back to these dazzling special attacks is that they can be a bit overpowering. If I were a lazy gamer I would just focus on advancing my "Chi" arts and use that almost 80% of the time to advance through the game. You can take out hordes of enemies with these powerful strikes. If ever there were a cheat in the game, this would certainly be one of them. But using them makes it way too easy for you to advance through battles including boss battles as well.