It's not fair to judge a game this long by its first few hours, but the beginning of Legend of Heroes II is definitely a bit of a slog. Extended maritime Scooby-Doo sequence aside, everything else is as you'd expect, particularly if you played the last game: beautiful visuals that blend 2D characters with 3D backgrounds and turn-based battles with magic and special attacks. Your characters actually have to run across the battlefield to make contact with their enemies, but in the early stages of the game you don't have access to enough party members or abilties to make the battles interesting, so it kind of evens out. We look forward to uncovering more of this game's strategic depth as we play on.
Yes, Legend of Heroes II is a slow burn. Whether or not it builds to anything exciting, well... that's something we'll have to cover in the review. There are no surprises to be had, so far, though. It's a rough-and-ready RPG that will help the hours melt away while you travel with your PSP, and that's about all it aims to be.
