When I first heard that Nippon Ichi had a strategy RPG coming out for the Sony PSP I was really excited about it. I can't tell you how many hours I spent scouring the Netherworld and such in Disgaea, Makai Kingdom, and Phantom Brave. There's just something about the way they approach the genre that brings their games alive with personality, great gameplay, and innovation. Sadly the new title in their catalog doesn't live up to the greatness of its predecessors.

While Generation of Chaos may be new to the States, the RPG series has been going strong in Japan for quite some time now. It has been so popular that it was actually translated to the anime format in 2001 with a couple of OVAs under its belt. I do have to admit though that I had only heard of the franchise before and haven't actually had the opportunity to play it. That means I am approaching the PSP version without experience from the prior games purely due to my inability to play import titles and read Japanese fluently.

As with any good RPG it's the story that tends to drive the player to keep going. If you've been playing SRPGs for a while then you have had your fair share of political mumbo jumbo and ancient wars. Well, I'm afraid to tell you that Generation of Chaos offers both of those things, since it pits you in the middle of a multi-kingdom conflict. The plots effectiveness is a little daunting at first but as you get to know the characters and different regions you'll eventually see the generic nature subside.

One of the nice things about this particular title that we have seen in other Nippon Ichi releases is that there are a lot of unique characters. They each bring something to the table and have their own personality to show off. The only problem is that as things drag on you'll eventually realize that what's going on during cut scenes doesn't really have a lot to do with anything else. It's a little befuddling to say the least. Also, while Disgaea and Makai Kingdom were able to charm the pants off of me (not in the literal sense…) and offer easy to get into gameplay; Generation of Chaos did not. The presentation here is the very definition of a non-user friendly SRPG and in no time I found myself lost in a sea of abbreviations and confounding menu systems.

Gameplay:

My irritation with Generation of Chaos hit me right at the start. Now, I don't know about you, but I enjoy being eased into my games. I don't exactly want to have my hand held, but there is something to be said for a title that includes a tutorial whether it's optional or not. Developer Idea Factory decided to take a different approach. Like a newborn thrown to a pack of wolves you are immediately thrust into the thick of a grand scale war and left to your own devices. Of course in this case "devices" basically translates to the instruction manual for a breakdown of what most of the abbreviations in the clutter menus mean.

Fortunately as you become accustomed to the system and being to understand what's going on things do get much easier. The only problem that I can imagine is in order to get to that point you have to be a very dedicated SRPG fan; and I'm talking hardcore. If that describes you however, then let me tell you; you are in for a treat.

Instead of lighter SRPGs which put you in control of a band of, say, ten characters or so, Generation of Chaos gives you complete control over a kingdom. You command legions of troops and employ several generals to oversee the rabble. As you fight your way through the war and the tides start to turn in your favor you'll also be able to recruit more people, build your resources, gain powerful items, and retool your empire. There is so much to do in this game that you could literally play for days and still find something new waiting for you just around the corner. Though to be fair it could be something as simple as figuring out what one of the convoluted abbreviations mean.

As you move your characters and armadas around the map and come up with a strategy for gaining new land, you'll have to duke it out with an opposing kingdom. Instead of seeing a handful of characters tackle some enemies on screen, Generation of Chaos actually squishes like 60 people on the screen at once. Granted the flow of the battle constantly changes and most of the attention is paid to your general, but having a mini anime-inspired Braveheart war on your PSP becomes a reality. My only beef with the system is that you don't really feel like you're in control of everything (even though you are).

You issue commands to your general and can choose exactly what you want to do, but with so many characters on the screen it seemingly removes you from the thick of it. I like being right in the thick of things but often times you can just sit back and let your army do your dirty work for you. Part of that feeling may have to do with the egregiously slow gameplay from start to finish. Movement of your forces and battles take so long at times that by the time you can actually get to the good part you'll probably have to shut your PSP off. This is something that may not have been as glaringly noticeable on a home console, but on a handheld it's almost unforgivable; especially when you factor in lengthy load times.

In the end Generation of Chaos plays almost like a digital form of Risk in a way. You go around the map (board) and strategically try to conquer your opponents various strongholds. This is undoubtedly a game designed with the hardcore SRPG micromanager in mind. There are so many details tossed at you all at once that it can get overwhelming very quickly; and that's this game's biggest flaw. It's really a shame too because the groundwork for the gameplay is there in spades. Idea Factory just crammed too much into the game and it just doesn't work well for a handheld title. If this had been a console release the nitpicking gripes probably wouldn't have seemed as glaring.

Graphics:

Filled with hand drawn anime characters and super-deformed sprite warriors, Generation of Chaos is easily identifiable as an SRPG. If you have ever played a Nippon Ichi game before then that should come as no surprise to you. They are known for publishing games of that certain visual caliber and to be honest it's a look that works better on the PSP than on the PS2 somehow. Special attack animations are nicely implemented though regular animations seem a little lacking comparatively. Textures are decent for the most part but nothing that will blow you away.

The aforementioned clutter menus don't only affect the gameplay, but they hurt the graphics as well. Menus and such block a lot of the background graphics though the real killer is that the font is so hard to read on the LCD. I almost wish I had a magnifying glass while playing the game in order to make out some of the smaller text.

Audio:

The sound department may not yield the same impact that the graphics has, but it's nothing to scoff at. The music, sound effects, and voice work is pretty decent for a PSP title and SRPG respectively. The only real problem is that none of it really makes an impression worth taking away with you. With or without the headphones the sound quality can also get a little sketchy at times, but that's mainly attributed to load times.

Conclusion:

Generation of Chaos is a game that is trying really hard to do its own thing and appeal to a wide audience. The only problem is that there are so many functionality missteps that most of the details will be lost on the bulk of people that play the game. Unless you have a resolve of steel and don't mind not knowing what's going on for the first few hours of the gameplay, then you're better off looking elsewhere for your SRPG fix. Sadly when it comes to the PSP there isn't a lot on the market to consider.

I appreciate the effort here by Nippon Ichi and Idea Factory, but the fact remains that this game is just too big to fit on this system. Now maybe if we were to get a port of Disgaea then PSP owners would have something to be excited about.