Review: Phantasy Star Portable

Phantasy Star Portable – PSP – 2008
Rating: 6/10

The first edition of SODOFF would be on Phantasy Star Portable—a name unfortunately abbreviated the same way as the PlayStation Portable (PSP)—is going to be referred to here as PSPU to avoid confusion. The game is more closely tied to the Phantasy Star Universe subseries than to Phantasy Star Online, so the abbreviation fits.

A bit of context: I’ve had a long, complicated relationship with the Phantasy Star series. I genuinely admire the original game—it’s easily one of, if not the, best 8-bit JRPGs ever made. But as a whole, the franchise has left me more frustrated and bored than entertained.

Phantasy Star II was a massive step down in almost every way. Poor pacing, brutal difficulty spikes, labyrinthine dungeon design, and clunky UI all made it a chore to play. It had some atmosphere and decent music, but not enough to save it. Phantasy Star III and IV? I’ve tried them off and on over the years but never stuck with them. PSIV is widely regarded as one of the best Genesis/Mega Drive games, and I do want to finish it one day—but with so many other games calling my name, that day hasn’t come.

After Phantasy Star IV (and some forgettable Game Gear/MegaNet spin-offs), the series returned with Phantasy Star Online, by far its most influential and beloved iteration. It was a system-seller for the Dreamcast and a huge step forward for online console RPGs. I respect PSO and even enjoy the aesthetics and some of the gameplay. But the gameplay loop—go on a mission, kill enemies, get loot, fight boss, return to base, equip/sell loot, repeat—starts to wear thin fast.

Games like Diablo or Mystery Dungeon manage to pull off this loop more effectively. Mystery Dungeon keeps it fresh by resetting your gear every time you leave a dungeon. Diablo offers variety through classes, builds, and a tighter runtime. They give just enough depth to keep you engaged, at least long enough to hit the credits. PSO, being an MMORPG, asks for hundreds of hours of your life—and for me, it just doesn't offer enough substance to warrant that kind of commitment.

Which brings us to Phantasy Star Portable. PSPU is a standalone entry based on Phantasy Star Universe, using its mechanics and characters—none of which I had any prior experience with going in. I assumed the game would be similar to PSO, but tailored for a single-player experience. I was hopeful that the portable format and presumably shorter runtime would make it more digestible.

And to its credit—it did, at least at first.

I got into a routine of playing a mission or two in my car before work: grind a bit, get some new equipment, maybe push the story forward. And you know what? It was fun. The first half of the game is decently paced. Combat has a bit more depth than PSO, levels are a bit more intricate, and the difficulty curve hits that sweet spot of challenging without being annoying. The music is good, and the visuals are impressive for the system. The only major issue was occasional framerate drops when too much was happening on screen. The story exists—it’s not great, but it also doesn’t get in the way.

If the game had wrapped up at the 7–8 hour mark, I’d be singing its praises as a solid, simple ARPG for the PSP. It’s not quite on the level of Crisis Core or Birth by Sleep, but it’s still fun and worth playing.

But it didn’t end.

The final chapters are where the quality takes a serious nosedive. The pacing, which was decent in the beginning (5 chapters in 7 hours), completely falls apart in the last third. It took another 8 hours just to get to the final mission. The boss fights—especially ones with flying enemies—are tedious, and the lock-on/aiming system is borderline useless. Standing still equals death, and even ranged weapons like guns or magic aren’t reliable.

The friendly AI is hopeless. Enemies, while not much smarter, are able to two- or three-shot you in later stages, making them disproportionately dangerous. Levels stretch to 20–30 minutes and start to feel like a slog. There’s minimal variety in layout: just endless corridors with the occasional keycard or teleporter thrown in.

Once that initial "this is pretty fun" high wore off, the game’s flaws became impossible to ignore. The combat is fine—for an 8-hour game. Not a 17-hour one. Weapon variety doesn’t really change how you play, outside of weapon arts and differences in speed or DPS. The nice visuals start to fade into the background once every area begins to look the same. Framerate issues get worse. The controls—passable at first—become more of a headache as camera management and inventory navigation become more demanding.

I can’t say Phantasy Star Portable is a bad game. I had fun with it. But man, I really wish it had quit while it was ahead.