Final Fantasy may be the best known and most beloved Japanese RPG series out there. It certainly seems to be the first name to come to mind when people consider the genre. There's certainly no doubt that Final Fantasy Type-0, the next Final Fantasy title to be released for the PSP, is a game many fans of the genre and the franchise are looking forward to. If you've been wondering what to expect, you're in luck because we have our hands-on impressions after getting some time with the newly available Japanese demo.

Type-0 is part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis sub-series, which also includes Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. The Fabula Nova games supposedly all take place in the same world, but during different time periods and featuring very different casts and stories.

The game is set in the Peristerium School of Magic, and the playable characters are all students in Class Zero. It's a world full of several factions that are supposed to be at peace with each other, but Cid Aulstyne has broken that treaty and seems determined to take over the world. There's certainly more at stake and something else going on behind the scenes, but players will have to wait for the game's release to find out what it may be.

Upon starting the demo, one of the first things any player will notice is how good the game looks. It is easily the best looking game on the PSP, and the game's pre-rendered cutscenes wouldn't feel out of place on even the PS3. It looks stunning and is definitely a visual high note for the PSP to end on, given that this may be the last big game for the system.

Even so, the real point of interest with a demo like this is the gameplay, and Type-0 more than delivers on this front. It's unique, fun, and provides a sizable challenge, which should make players of all types more than happy.

The combat is real-time action, similar to that of Kingdom Hearts if one had to draw comparisons. Players can lock-on with the right trigger, and their basic attack is executed with triangle. One interesting twist on this is that players actually hold the basic attack button to keep a combo going, as opposed to repeatedly pressing it.

At times, enemies will make themselves vulnerable to a critical strike. The game communicates this by a changed targeting reticule. If players are able to quickly attack and land a hit when this happens, the damage they'll do is staggering. This serves as a sort of balancing factor that keeps players from simply holding down the attack button without relenting.

Each character has a special ability that is unique to them. These abilities are mapped to circle and come in a variety of flavors. For example, Nine wields a spear and does a ground stab with area of effect damage. Machina does a forward thrust where his weapons spin like drills. Characters can also equip a variety of attack magics to the square button, and these magics aren't just the same elements players have come to know from the franchise.

About the Author

Skyler Bunderson

Skyler Bunderson has been covering video games for roughly two years. He started Gamepad Dojo as a source for long-form reviews with humor, and has also contributed to the feminist game site The Border House. When he isn't playing games or writing about them, he spends his spare time designing his own titles.