Platform: PSP

Genre: Action RPG

Number of Players: 1 - 2

The Neopets are back again, but this time they are taking their role on a much smaller stage. The phenomenon isn’t something that I have a great deal of interest in, at least when it comes to playing with the pets online, but there is a rabid fan base, and a number of them were a bit disappointed with the PS2 game because the pets weren’t really the focal point of the title. However, this time, they are the stars in their first PSP game; Petpet Adventures: The Wand of Wishing.

You’re about to take a journey to the world of Neopia, but all isn’t happy and pleasant. A fiend named Argos has been searching for the legendary Wishing Wand, rumored to be nothing more than an imaginary object, but young Megan is about to discover differently. While being pursued by Argos and his wicked Petpets, she and her pet have accidentally found the object. Before Argos can get his hands on it however, Megan’s Petpet grabs the wand and is transported away, beginning its spectacular adventure.

Before you begin, you’re going to need to select which Neopet you’d like to play as, and you have four different options. There’s Doglefox, Mazzew, Krawk, and Meowclops. All four of the pets are different, not just in the way that they look, but in their overall stats which are ranked from below to above average plus each pet has resistances to various elemental attacks. What Neopet you chose doesn’t really seem to have much of an effect on the adventure itself, though there are some slight changes in the animated sequences simply to reflect your character.

The design of The Wand of Wishing is an overhead action/RPG. Like with the PS2 version of the game, you have your primary quest to complete, but the other Petpets that you speak with will also give you quests to participate in from time to time, and it’s your choice on if you would like to help them or not. The rule of thumb with almost every RPG however is to help everyone as the rewards can be great. The game will keep track of what quests you currently have accepted to undertake, making things a little easier just in case you’ve forgotten what it was that you were trying to accomplish.

Your petpet has two basic types of attacks: physical and magical. You can equip different weapons and armor just like in any RPG to increase your attack power and improve your defense while magical spells will need to be equipped in your belt pouch. You can also store other items here as well such as food to heal yourself quickly and by using the D-pad, you will cycle through what you have currently set up. Equipping these items or anything else will be done in the sub-menu, and not only can you see the aforementioned quests, but also the map of your current location and any important places.

The Wishing Wand has a rather interesting method of leveling up. You won’t earn experience like you normally would but instead you will need to trade in the Neopoints you find and earn by defeating monsters at the battle area. Here you can choose a critter (or a friend via Wi-Fi)  to fight and if you are victorious, you will be rewarded with the means you increase your stats. However, Neopoints have another very important use and that is to buy items and equipment, and although you can find many of these (and sell them as well) spending all your Neopoints on upgrading your skills isn’t always going to be the best answer. The save points also offer a rather unique change and you can warp back to town or return to your adventure. This will take you to the nearest save point in any given location, assuming of course you have saved there already, and it saves quite a bit of travel time.

The world of Neopets is completely three dimensional meaning that by using the L and R buttons you can rotate the environment, the ideal way to locate treasure chests, enemies, and out of the way places. The surroundings are quite lush and vivid, bringing the world to life quite a bit. Plus, you’ll find other pets that you can speak with, and all of them are done in a rather cute style, though they don’t actually speak so much as make sounds. Since this is an above character game, the magical spells aren’t quite as elaborate as they are in other RPG’s, but they serve their purpose in this game.

The downside to the Wishing Wand however is that the game is a little repetitive and although you would think that getting new quests would add some excitement, you really just find yourself doing the same thing over and over again. On the other side though, this really does seem to be a game that is geared at a younger audience, not a bad choice since right now there really aren’t many games for the up and coming video game fan. That also assumes that parents are relinquishing their PSP’s to their children, and I have noticed that for the most part, Sony’s amazing handheld tends to be in the hands of adults.

Petpet Adventures is certain to be a hit with the true fans of the Neopet phenomenon, but for most, this game probably isn’t going to hold their fascination for very long. Although the action/RPG genre is steadily getting more and more popular, most fans of role-playing games are still quite happy with the turn based action that has long been associated with the genre and for them, The Wishing Wand isn’t necessarily going to offer up any major challenges. Still, it’s not necessarily a bad game to simply get lost in for a few hours, and that’s really all that counts.

-mike-