If there are two things you should know about Atlus, it’s that they publish about 75,000 video games a month, and that a good percentage of those games are RPGs. Crimson Gem Saga is yet another role-playing game localized by Atlus, and though it’s been out in Japan since late last year, North American gamers can finally get their hands on the PSP exclusive at the end of May. I got some hands-on time with a full copy of Crimson Gem Saga, and so far it’s intriguing, even if it does seem to employ a lot of RPG clichés.

A role-playing game with a plot focusing on some sort of crystal or gem is nothing original; half the early Final Fantasy games did, along with a handful of others. What is it about shiny rocks that RPG developers find so fascinating? I’m not sure, but at least I know what I’m getting into with Crimson Gem Saga—the word “gem” is right in the title. Luckily, other than a brief intro, there’s not much of a focus on this crimson gem in the early parts of the game.



You play as Killian, a recent graduate of the Green Hill Chevalier Academy. Actually, your first mission in the game is to get to the graduation, to which Killian is late due to drinking too much the night before. After that, he must travel to a nearby town, but of course the roads between villages are plagued with enemies, so it’s not long before you get to try out Crimson Gem Saga’s fighting system.

The game sports an extremely traditional turn-based fighting system, again making it feel like an RPG from ten or so years ago. I have mixed feelings about this, because I love the strategy of turn-based battles, but I feel like there should be more to it, something to really make this game unique. Is it better to have a dated, but enjoyable battle system, or to try something new, which isn’t always a good thing? I’m on the fence, but also keeping in mind the fact that I’m still early in the game, and there is plenty of time for Crimson Gem Saga to impress me further.



One area where the game has stood out thus far is the dialogue. Instead of traditional RPG talk, which often ends up sounding like something no person would ever say, the characters are humorous, and even relatable. For example, when Killian asks the bartender about the flashing mission box on the screen (which is for the player), he gets chided for “breaking the fourth wall.” It made me laugh, and adds some charm to a game that needs help standing out.

It’s not that I don’t like Crimson Gem Saga, it’s just that so far, it doesn’t seem like more than a run-of-the-mill role-playing game. As someone who has spent countless hours playing RPGs, that’s not a terrible thing, but I want something more. That being said, I’m going to keep playing it, and I’m interested enough in finding out where this is going to go. Hopefully I’ll see some more unique features over the next forty hours or so.