Marvelous Interactive is best known as the developer of the Harvest Moon series, though they have also developed a number of other titles that haven’t found their way to the States. Valhalla Knights, their latest offering, blends the mechanics of an old school dungeon hack with the open-ended, quest-based gameplay of an MMO.

Valhalla Knights’s visuals have a very Western feel. For the most part they are passable, though they also carry a very generic feel, a trait that becomes even more apparent the deeper you get into the game. One of the better visual features is that all armor and weapons are visible on your character when equipped. It is a small thing, but at the same time it offers an appreciated sense of ownership over your party. It is clear that this was the developer’s intent since you will come across several armor and weapon choices that feature similar stats, but completely different looks.

Sound isn’t very impressive, but it gets the job done. There are a few interesting musical tracks, though I do not see wanting to listen to them outside the context of the game.

Valhalla Knights is the latest attempt to bring an RPG to the PSP, a venture that has proven difficult for developers. In some ways, Valhalla Knights is successful; the lack of long load times and action-based gameplay works. At the same time, the open-ended feel isn’t as open-ended as it seems. Also, a majority of quests are confusing, bland and require too much backtracking through dull dungeons.

Gameplay begins with the creation of a main character. At first you are limited to just a human and four job types: Fighter, Thief, Priest and Mage. Eventually you can create party members who draw from a larger pool of races, including dwarves and elves. Another race, Machines, become available later on.

Upon creation, all characters are limited to the same four job types. By collecting special items, you can unlock more advanced jobs like Knight, Samurai and Ninja. The job system is kept interesting by allowing you to switch job types at any time by visiting the Guild Hall. You also have the option of adding sub jobs to your main one, giving your character a more versatile skill set. Similar to the armor/ weapon system, the job system adds ownership to your party rarely seen in other games.

The two biggest problems facing Valhalla Knights are the bland quests and that you are fooled into a sense of freedom. Story-driven quests unlock new areas and push the narrative along. Side-quests are available from the Guild Hall as well, though actually figuring out what to do is an adventure in itself. Side-quests are written in riddles and, though you have a general idea of what to do, they are still tricky and directionless. Most require you to backtrack through dungeons, making them a chore.

As far a layout goes, Valhalla Knights presents the feeling that you can tackle quests however you want. At the same time, there is an unstated linear method for how you are supposed to complete tasks. If you don’t drop your first bit of gold on a new party member at the beginning of the game, there is little chance you’ll make it through the first dungeon. Instances like this are not uncommon.

Valhalla Knights is not an easy game. Whereas most RPGs usually start off with a few easy enemies, Valhalla Knights starts hard and keeps getting harder. Levels and new party members, two things that should help make the game easier, are hard to come by. The amount of experience between levels is sizeable and new party members cost a fortune. Equipping and maintaining your party of six only adds to the financial hardships.

All enemies show up on the play field, giving you the opportunity to sneak past them. Of course, this isn’t advisable since you need all the experience you can get. Instead, the sneak feature is better used as a way to get the drop on an enemy from behind, nabbing you a useful attack bonus.

Valhalla Knights feels like an MMO during exploration sequences, but jumps to a more console feel during battles. After encountering a monster on the playfield, you are transported to a small arena where your party squares off with a group of monsters. From here, the game takes on more of an action twist.

Battle controls are simple. Most of the time you will hack away with the attack button, while mixing in a few special attacks. You can also access a command menu that lets you select spells, use items and issue commands to your party.

At any time during battle, you can switch between party members. For the most part, party A.I. is competent and will do what it needs to do. The A.I. can be adjusted in the menu screen. If you want your fighters to concentrate on fighting, you can set it to do so. The system works, but isn’t perfect. Even when adjusted, A.I.-controlled party members will frequently find themselves with low Health. In addition, magic users aren’t conservative when slinging spells and will quickly run out of Mana. Also, they aren’t selective about which spells they use and will sometimes use worthless spells. Generally, it is a good idea to swap between characters frequently during battle. It is more efficient in the long run and you will save yourself from being put in a deep hole.

Valhalla Knights tries a lot of things with varying degrees of success. It gets a lot of smaller things right, though major elements are mishandled. Valhalla Knights should, however, find an audience – namely with hardcore, niche RPG players rather than mainstream ones.