Loved
Characters: Despite some rather generic voice-acting, Yggdra's character designs by Satoko Kiyuduki are stylish and compelling. The redone sprites for the PSP version significantly heighten the charm.

The Soundtrack: Yddgra's music, co-composed by Shigeki Hayashi and Minako Adachi, truly shines in the PSP port, imparting a sense of grandeur and adventure that almost feels out of place in a portable title. Perhaps the highlight of the entire game.

Battle Mechanics: At first Yggdra's battle system may seem simple to a seasoned tactical RPG veteran, but as the game progresses I found the system really lends itself to deep strategic thinking. While only one character can initiate a battle per turn, so many factors weigh in on how that battle plays out, from the card you use to the weapons the character wields, managing aggression levels to positioning your units to best take advantage of the Union system, the gameplay is deep, complex, and ultimately satisfying.

The Shoulder Button: The added ability to skip drawn-out, often boring dialog through applied use of the right shoulder button is by-far the greatest addition to the game. The right shoulder of my PSP has never felt so loved.

Hated
The Story: While they've deepened the story a bit from the original GBA version of the game, it still feels a bit on the light side to me, more of an excuse to fight than anything really moving. Perhaps I simply spent too much time fighting to care, but it certainly didn't leave a lasting impression on me.

The Menu System: Yggdra's menu system is a bit of a convoluted beastie, where buttons that you'd think should do something don't, and vice-versa. Without a manual handy there's a good chance you could get more than a little frustrated trying to navigate.

I think it is important to note that Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone is not a game that a beginner to tactical role-play would want to pick up in order to get their first taste of the genre. While it certainly looks like an adorable anime-style RPG on the cover, once you're deep into the game it is easy to be completely overwhelmed by the complex strategic decisions you'll have to make. You'll have to manage characters, master positioning, and level up a fair amount of cards if you want to excel at the title, and quite frankly it takes an amount of thinking that would completely put off the more casual player.

Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone is a deep, involving tactical strategy RPG for the PSP that may prove a challenge for even the most seasoned armchair anime general, and if not, there's always Hard Mode.

Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone, developed by Sting and published by Atlus was released on released on Sept. 16 for the PSP. Retails for $39.99. Completed standard mode, delved a bit into hard mode.

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As you may remember, Disgaea starts every new character you create off at level one, so no matter what level you are when you unlock a new class, they are starting off from the beginning, and some characters just don't level quickly during the course of combat. Take the cleric, for instance, who gets no XP for healing. Pretty soon you end up with a level 10 party and a level 4 healer, which doesn't work. In the original game this meant sitting in front of your TV for a good half hour or so taking your lower level character through beginner maps to help them catch up. While you still have spend the time, the PSP format means you can do this anytime, anywhere. My cleric has caught up to my party entirely during bathroom visits, hence the name Potty.

I know it really doesn't sound like much, but being able to level up my items while watching television, waiting for my roommate to get off work, or during pauses in my daily writing is extremely satisfying . A visit to the Demonic Assembly certainly isn't out of the question, as a quick vote or promotion exam can take only a couple of minutes to complete. There's just something inexplicably awesome about being able to pick up Disgaea anywhere, take care of a few quick tasks and then set it down again.

The game's wide screen presentation is pulled off without even a hint of stretching, maintaining all of the character of the original's sprites in tiny form. The sound is amazing as always, though of course this is the PSP and headphones are in order if you want the full effect. Japanese and English voices are both included in the title so you're free to pick your poison, though I highly suggest newcomers to the game leave it on English until after Flonne infiltrates the castle. Nin nin!

The sad thing about getting an early copy of the game for review is that no one is around to test out the local multiplayer with me, though since a great deal of my play time has been spent in the bathroom it would just have been awkward anyway.

I'd say that Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness is the best strategy RPG available on the PSP, for the simple fact that there are activities you can perform that take only minutes, as opposed to a game like Final Fantasy Tactics or Jeanne D'Arc, where gameplay consists mainly of long battles. Sure we love long battles, but the option to actually get something productive done in the span of a few minutes adds to the overall portability of the title. For fans of the original Disgaea as well as strategy RPG fans in general, this is a game worth buying a PSP for.

Now if you'll excuse me, Potty needs some leveling.