Class of Heroes is a modern day RPG that doesn't feel like a modern day RPG. It is almost as if the developer, Acquire, made it their goal to make the game as close to Wizardry as possible. Some gamers will love it; some gamers will hate it.

RPG fans that need a gripping story to keep themselves moving forward should look elsewhere, because Class of Heroes is not a very story driven title. A new academy, known as Particus, has opened  up for new adventurers. You control a group of those new adventurers. The first portion of the game is for you to learn about your new virtual school life, how things are handled, how you enroll new students, go about taking classes, all that good stuff. You also attend classes in this game that cover things the majority of RPG fans already know about. It's a lot like classes in real school: some of them are useful, and some are just there to waste your time. The boring stuff is usually only dealt with in the first portion of the game, as many of the later classes will send you into dungeons in which you will either accomplish the task given, or die a horrible death. Also note that unless you take the time to grind, you'll probably die...a lot.

Who needs math when you can learn how to kill giant insects?

Pre-made characters are available from the get go, or you can make your own characters. Character creation is pretty bare. If you want to have two male humans in your group, they are going to look exactly the same. Even if one is a cleric and the other is a warrior, they will look the same. Granted being the only time you will see a full body shot of the characters are in their status screens, any other time it's just a simple portrait of their faces on the left and right of the PSP's screen. Aside from gender and race you can also give the character an alignment of either good, neutral or evil.

The game does feature fifteen different classes – called majors in the game – to choose from. You can't just choose whatever class you want, though. If you want a character to be a samurai then they will have to have the proper alignments and enough bonus points to allocate to their stats to reach the required stat requirement. Four of the classes even require them to be of a certain gender. Some of the classes will require a bit of work before you can access them, so you may have to start with a class you don't really care to use until you can change majors. If you change from a magic based major to a melee based major then your magic will transfer over, but any skills from the previous major will be lost. Your level is also dropped back to 1, your stats stay the same but your HP is dropped to 50%.

Exploration is handled mostly with menus, except when in dungeons. When you're outside of a dungeon everything is controlled via menus. Want to go to the dormitory? Select the option and you are there. Simple as that. When in a dungeon, though, things can get a bit confusing. Dungeon exploration is handled in a first person perspective, so it's easy to get mixed up. It also doesn't help that the dungeons change layout upon exiting, so toss out the plans of memorizing which way leads to what. Maps that fill themselves as you explore can be obtained, which help out a good bit.

Class of Heroes best feature is the battle system, which is about as old-school as it gets without having to use a set of oddly shaped dice. Enemies of equal level will put up a decent fight, and some can come pretty close to putting you to shame. It's very grind heavy. Whether you want to gain a level or earn the money needed to upgrade your weaponry, then you're gonna need to go into a dungeon and start slaying the ugly, bizarre creatures that reside there.

A dungeon. You'll be spending a lot of time in these...a lot.

Characters and enemies both are placed in rows. Characters on the left side of the screen are in the front row, and characters on the right side of the screen are in the back row. Characters in the back row can not attack with close ranged weaponry, so they will have to use either ranged weaponry or magic. Characters in the front row can attack with close ranged weaponry, but are the main targets of the enemies. Enemies appear in layers, the ones in the front are, of course, in the front row. Enemies in the front row deal out the most attacks but generally receive the majority of attacks. Enemies behind the front row can not be attacked by melee characters but are still free game to magic users.

The game's entire presentation is very simple, the majority of the graphics are hand drawn – which look good, but not great – with the dungeon environments being made up of simple 3D graphics. Characters are not seen during battle so the majority of battle animation is simple, even the magic attacks. The static character and monster images are well done, but once you have seen them, you've seen them.

Class of Heroes isn't a horrible game, but it isn't a great game. Some RPG fans will dig the old-school, first person RPG experience that it offers, but many will probably just get their RPG fix elsewhere. The game can offer up a pretty decent amount of play time even during post-game, you'll just have to be willing to stick with the game. When it comes down to it, there are better RPG choices available on the PSP that can offer just as much play time and are more enjoyable.

The original Final Fantasy VII was praised for transferring the series into the 3^rd dimension with great results. Since the original release, fans have screamed at SquareEnix to give them more, and so there is an overflow of FFVII memorabilia and games available. Some good, some absolutely abysmal. Luckily, Crisis Core falls into the former category.

FFVII charts the journey of Cloud, an ex-member of the evil corporation, Shinra. In the game, Cloud – with his motley crew of friends that he meets along the way – has the task of saving the world from Sephiroth.
Crisis Core acts as a prequel to the original game, where the player assumes the role of Zack – one of Cloud’s friends who is frequently referenced in FFVII – following his career as a member of Shinra. This game works on a much smaller scale than the original – instead of an epic quest involving preventing the apocalypse, the player is presented a tale of personal development and a deeply complex protagonist.
A lot of familiar faces make an appearance throughout the game, reintroducing Aries, Sephiroth, Cloud, Tifa and several other memorable characters. A lot of unanswered questions are satisfied as well as introducing new twists in the FFVII universe.

The player has access to key areas around the city of Midgar, which one is free to explore, but for the most part, the game revolves around more mission-based content, transporting you to different areas around the world.

The combat in Crisis Core isn’t quite turn-based and not quite real-time either. Battles occur through random encounters but give the player control over character movement in the battle arena.

One of the most difficult aspects of the game to get used to is the DMW (Digital Mind Wave). This is a sort of slot machine, fueled by soldier points gained through combat. When in battle, the slot machine spins. If 3 character portraits align,a limit break associated with that character will execute. Aligning certain numbers will make the character level up and there are also certain combinations that will give special abilities such as temporary invulnerability, or unlimited mp.

As the game progresses, the player will have access to a variety of features allowing them to tweak skills into a formula that best their your playing style. As well as being able to equip various accessories, they will also gain access to a complex Materia – which is used to perform certain magic – forming system. The customizing system allow the player to combine various Materia in order to increase their general statistics as well as gain new magic skills.

Graphically, Crisis Core offers some of the best visuals available for the PSP – All of the character sprites are intricately designed and are placed in a full 3D world, designed with painstaking detail. Crisis Core also offers a large amount of CG footage, which, like many games in the series, are absolutely stunning and a treat to watch. Fans of the series will enjoy exploring many of the locations, which offer a nostalgic return to the original game.

A lot of the music is recycled from FFVII, but with major updates from the original midi melodies. The voice acting is also fantastic, helping to flesh out the complex characters that one meets along the way.

The game will take around 20 hours to get through the main story, making it somewhat shorter than other RPGs. But with all the extra content, and taking into account that the player probably wants to explore every inch of the rich world, the time can easily be doubled.

One of the excellent features of the game is the side mission option – these missions are short yet action packed, perfectly complimenting the portable element of the game. These missions will reward the player with special items, summons and footnote points of interest concerning the FFVII universe. A lot of the environments in these missions are exactly the same, so they can get a little repetitive, but if played sparingly, they can be quite enjoyable.

Crisis Core is an excellent game but if you’re expecting another FFVII, you might be a little disappointed. Whilst there are a lot of winks to the original game, it is made accessible to newcomers as well. The game isn’t perfect with its initially frustrating DMW system and repetitive side missions, but what Crisis Core can offer you is a new formula with an intriguing storyline that’s genuinely enjoyable to play. If you own a PSP and enjoy the RPG genre, I strongly recommend adding this game to your collection.