Generation of Chaos

"Despite the few technical problems with it, this game is a solid title for any PSP owner"

Have you ever wanted to command an entire army that blows up planets with laser swords that fire death beams? Well sorry to disappoint you but that's nothing like Generation of Chaos.

The main story, of the beginner's arc that is, is that Dravania, once a peaceful kingdom, has now overthrown its king and become an Empire. It has broken all its peaceful ties and begins invading countries. Gena, the main character of this particular storyline, is the head of one of Dravania's combat divisions. She and the rest of her unit are mobilized to start taking over nearby countries in the name of Dravania. What she and everyone else don't know is that the current emperor of Dravania and the head of the Black Knights, Billyo, are secretly looking for a weapon called the Dragon King; a weapon once used by the Gods. What will Gena's success in capturing countries lead to? Only time will tell.

The graphics in the game are magnificent. The character models are similar to game models such as Wild Arms 1(world map) where the characters are all chibi in size, yet fully detailed. The landscape both on the world map and in battle are very well done, and even the different terrain such as forests and water play a role in battle. The music is also well done, and the game also includes voice acting. A lot of the voices fit the characters very well, but some like the phoenix that accompanies Gena make me want to rip my ears out. Although I'm sure that phoenix sounds like that intentionally.

Now, on to the gameplay. Before I even start, let me state that although you will be engaging in many battles, a lot of time will be sent into castle management. Or should I say castles, as you will be in charge of many castles and towns as the game progresses. I'll get back to this in a little bit though. You have your battalions, each represented on the map by their Generals sprites. Each one of these battalions contains 29 soldier units, counting the General that makes 30 units. There are several types of soldier units, who grow in strength with the General when he/she/it levels up. There are many different classes in this game as well. There are Knights, Magicians, Clerics, Ninjas, Samurais and many more. Each has their own skills that they can use in combat that take SP, and they also different in stats. You can also use Super Attacks when your Super(SUP) game is filled at least one. These are extremely powerful and can wipe out all your enemies units minus the commander depending on your character. There are also several races in this game. Some include Humans Lizardmen, Undead, Feline(cat), and Winged people. Also, although I should have stated it before, each General also has a specific combat unit. Some have Knights, others Warriors, other Dwarven warriors, Magicians, etc. So there's a lot of differentiation when it comes to the units alone.

"Ready Men? Atttaaacckkk!"

The thing you'll be spending time on in this game is town/castle management. There are a large number of castles and towns you'll have control over, which only grow as the game progresses. Each town can be fortified to be strengthened incase an enemy attacks it, have a landlord appointed to it, who is basically a General that oversees the town. Your units also regenerate HP and SP if they end a turn while in a town or castle, as well as have the ability to recruit more units if some of your units died in a previous battle. It's an easy way to increase their loyalty points, as well as protecting the town incase it comes under attack. With a Landlord present, towns become harder to take over. Towns also give you money every turn, which can be increased if you invest money into them. You also capture the general of the opposing side when you defeat them. Upon taking the winning unit to a town, you can release a prisoner, execute them, or take a chance to convert them to your side, allowing your numbers to grow. All of this doesn't come for free though. You have to pay all of generals' money every turn, investing and fortifying require money, holding prisoners costs money. This is why the whole town management feature is important. If you invest in towns over time, the income will become greater and will eventually start yielding profits. Then you can invest in more towns, and before you know it you'll end up making money each turn instead of losing it.

The way the game is designed, there is lots of replayablility. There are two different story modes to be cleared, as well as Kingdom mode that is unlocked once you beat one of the story modes, which offers many more features that further add depth to the game. Being a strategy game, a single match can last you an hour at the least. With the different variety of Generals and classes you can try solo combinations or a specific kind if you wish. There's a lot of time to be put into this game.

This game isn't without its cons though. Mostly due to programming I guess. One of the main problems is the loading time in several places. After awhile I got used to it, but in the beginning it was annoying. Also the text sometimes freezes for a second during cutscenes, even though the voices are already readying off that very text. Also the game offers no in-game tutorial, so reading the manual is MANDATORY. I'm not kidding. All the actions in the menu are abbreviated, so unless you looked up what they meant in the manual you'll get lost, quick. These three things are the only real gripe I had with the game, but it was the main reason why I didn't give the game a straight 9, as I feel it deserves it for being a killer strategy game on its own.

Despite these little flaws, Generation of Chaos is a superb PSP title. It holds true to the game is was ported from, and all the options the game gives you allows for alot of freedom in customizing your army and town. With at least 15-20 hours worth of gameplay, not counting in replaying Kingdom mode more than once, Generation of Chaos is a worthy purchase for PSP owners or just to fans who are familiar to the series.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/15/06