Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner

"I think I just stepped in a pile of awesomeness!"

When I saw this game in the store, I had never even heard of it. I'm a big fan of monster collectors, so I bought it. I'm not going to lie, it's pretty confusing to understand some things about the game without the game manual (I usually don't even bother with them). Overall, it's an engrossing game.

Story: 10/10
If you think this game is going to be a better graphics version of pokemon, you're wrong. You start out as a hunter with an uncommon ability, you can summon monsters from jewels. You've got your heart set on defeating a certain monster, and you won't let anyone get in your way. When you get caught up with a bunch of summoner trainees, they induct you into their group. The story isn't anything special, but it's a lot more interesting than "get a monster and become the league champion, after beating those rocket fools". The characters are well developed, and they interact differently depending on who joins your team at the start. It's a well-developed story, and it all comes together in the end.

Gameplay: 10/10
You control three characters who each have three monsters of their own. If you never passed third grade, three times three equals nine total monsters you can have with you at one time. In battle, each person sends out their primary monster, and you battle from one to three enemies. In dungeons, battles become a little repetitive, (especially if you don't train enough, rendering the escape option useless) but they usually don't take too long. When you're ready to experiment, you can fuse your monsters with quartz stones, which can give them new moves, open up a fifth ability slot, or in rare occasions, evolve your monster to a new form. Once you've set your quartz in the "amalgamy lab", you have to wait a designated time for your monsters to evolve. This amount of time can range from about a half hour to a full twelve hours. You can reduce the time with rare items you find, but it's usually best to save those items for extremely difficult evolutions. I've been annoyed a few times while playing this game, but overall it was incredibly enjoyable.

Graphics: 7/10
What can I say? The graphics in this game aren't too great. The monsters look cool, but the backgrounds in battle could use some work. Also, I was very angry when I realized that there is only one animation for each element... I mean, even the original pokemon stadium for the nintendo 64 had different animations! Plus, there isn't a very large selection of different abilities, so I just couldn't see why they didn't include various battle ability animations... This in no way ruined my game experience, it was just something I had to get over. On the bright side, the dungeons are all well rounded, so it's not very easy to get lost. The graphics aren't special, but there not something to put the game away for.

Audio: 10/10 (Freaking Amazing)
I love the audio in this game. I've never been someone who enjoyed game audio, I always mute my volume to save myself from a headache. But not in this game, I never turn the volume off! Every main character has a voice actor, and it really defines their whole personality. There are some really funny scenes (especially if you choose Elycia and Grey as your partners). In battle, the tunes set the mood, and the attack sounds get the job done. The BGM for each dungeon fits it well, and it isn't too repetitive. I just can't find anything to complain about with the audio, and that's all there is to it.

Difficulty: 9/10
This game is EASY. It's not as easy as the other monster collector games out there, (*cough* pokemon *cough*) but you're not going to be utterly decimated if you don't train enough. You might face defeat one or two times, but if you put in a little extra training (maybe two hours or so) you'll be slapping your enemies in the face in no time. Even the "difficult" abomination bosses won't put up an amazingly difficult fight. But the easiness of this game is what makes it good. If your enemies took forever to die, dungeon grinding would be a hassle. If you're looking for a challenge, then try to beat the game using a trent or a caterpillar as your main monster. It's a fun game, but the only real challenge is in finding out how to evolve the monsters.

Replay Value: 8/10
This is a fun game, but you probably won't want to start over. The story is linear, so you won't really find anything different, and starting over would mean losing days of gameplay time. It's an entertaining game, but once you've collected an amazing team, you won't really have much left to do. There's an option in the start menu titled "Network", but don't let it fool you. There's no infrastructure connection for this game... It's a great playthrough, but unless you really love monster collectors, you won't want to replay it.

Rent or Buy?
Buy. I don't even know where you can rent PSP games, but that's beside the point. First off, when you need 12 hours just for one evolution, I don't think you'll have the time you need to beat the game while renting it. It's an amazing game anyway, I enjoyed it much more than pokemon (even if it's not at long as diamond and pearl).


Overall: 54/60 --> 9/10
Before I got this game, I was thinking about killing myself, but this game changed my life. Just kidding, but it is a really awesome game. I played it almost constantly until I had beaten it. It's just that fun. If you like monster collectors and you own a PSP, this game is for you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/17/07

Game Release: Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner (US, 02/19/07)