The Legend of Heroes: A Tear of Vermillion (PlayStation Portable)

After a whole fall season of game delays, it seemed as if RPG lovers would have to wait forever for one of their games to be released on the PSP. Finally, October came, and Legend of Heroes was released! I picked up a copy, and couldn't wait to play it.


At home I started the game, and I was immediately astounded by the simple, yet amazing graphics and music in the opening scene. As this excellent game progressed, I was only disappointed in 2 things... but we'll get to that later.


The graphics for this game are cartoonish, mostly 2D sprites that might cause players to reminisce to Golden Sun, or some of the older FF games. But in comparison to those games, the graphics in LOH are extremely colorful and detailed... it seems to bring the world to life.


All RPG storylines follow the "save the world" cliche, and LOH is no different. What is different about LOH is the complexity and development of all the characters in the captivating storyline. If you're the kind of person who likes a lot of details and who doesn't mind reading a lot of text, you'll be very pleased with what LOH has to offer. However, there is one VERY noticeable flaw in this game... the translation. There was a time when I wondered if the translators spoke English. For example, instead of "(Name) has learned Slow", you get "(Name) was slow mastered". And that's a mild error. I found myself shaking my head at a lot of things the characters said. But overall, the storyline was well done, and well worth the bad grammar.


The gameplay of LOH had its ups and downs, as do most RPGs. The battle system is an extremely simple turn-based system, with not a whole lot of skill involved. Not till the end of the game did I have any real trouble with bosses, although I'm the kind of person who likes to level up and take my time through games.


But the absolute best aspect of LOH has to be the music. Amazing. Astounding. Beautiful. Simply the best soundtrack I have EVER heard in a game. The music was so good that I stopped a few minutes to listen every time I stepped into a new area. The music adds an unbelieveable amount of passion and emotion to the already deep storyline.


Overall, LOH is a great first RPG for the PSP. It does lack in the battle system, but more than makes up for it in the music, graphics, and storyline. If you're an RPG fan, this one is a buy.

Just started it and it's a pretty good RPG. There are definitely better ones out there but it's not too bad.

I played the old Falcom games on the Turbo Duo, back in the early 90's. One of my favorites was Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes. Much to my surprise, I went into my local EB Games and I saw a familiar name on the shelf for the PSP, The Legend of Heroes. I knew at that point that it must be mine. I was blessed with the game for Christmas this year and I am enjoying it like no other game in years. This is not a state of the art RPG. This will never be Final Fantasy XII, nor does it try to be. The English translation is mediocre at best but the game play and story are top notch. If I have my PSP with me, this is the game that's in it. I would recommend this to any RPG fan, especially any old school RPG fans.

had to rebuy this onee cause it got stolen before i could finish it. yeah it was worth it to buy it again. i hope to see more like it

I bought this game for my 11 year old son. He tells me the game play is really good, the graphics great and he loves the story line. So far he can't find anything he dislikes about the game, other than he is stuck. Thank goodness for strategy guides!

It's definitely not a GOOD game, only hardcore gamers who are looking for a decent (traditional) RPG will enjoy this at all. The graphics are sometimes difficult to look at, the battles move slowly, and the game overall sometimes can drive a man to death of boredom from how slowly the story moves along. I pushed myself through a decent chunk of the game so far, and am having second thoughts about ever going back to it.