Summon Night 5
Overview -
In another world, 'Summon Night' might've become an RPG mainstay. Each entry nicely improves on its predecessor, the stories are always fun and filled with likeable characters, and even the spinoffs have remained surprisingly great. The franchise never really rose above niche status, and eventually, the developer of the franchise went bankrupt. That's why it feels like something of a small miracle that 'Summon Night 5' exists at all. Made by a new company containing many of the series' creators, Gaijinworks has taken the major risk of releasing a PSP game at the end of 2015.
This is a digital PSP title for western Vitas, so niche or not, this is a game ripe for review.
Video Review
For a PSP game, 'Summon Night 5' looks surprisingly good. The art direction is genuinely lovely, backed by great character designs and some surprising technical merits in combat itself. Even by the PSP standards, it's by no means mind-blowing, but it's a fairly pleasant looking game nonetheless. Unfortunately, it is still a PSP game, and it's hard not to wish for the visual leaps and bounds of the PS Vita over the PSP. This is typical for such rare out of time games, but series' fans can expect the visual standards of the preceding games.
Audio Review
The music here is often rather lovely. Utterly pleasant during the lighter moments of the game, and exciting when the mood calls for it. There's hardly a bad track to be found here. It's unfortunate that the game's voice acting was mostly cut for the localization, likely due to licensing and cost issues, as all that remains here are a few battle voices that only serve to make the lack of voice work in the dialogue more apparent.
Final Thoughts
A thoroughly traditional, pleasant, and overall lovely SRPG. 'Summon Night 5' likely won't capture a terribly large audience, but for fans of the genre, it's an absolute treat. The combat is excellent, the story is a lot of fun, and every facet of the game is wonderfully polished. As what seems to decidedly be the last game we'll see for the PSP in the West (outside of Gaijinworks' and Monkeypaw's own upcoming 'Class of Heroes 3'), it makes for a great swansong, and it represents a wonderful comeback for its series. With a new entry on the way for PS4 and Vita this year, the future looks bright for 'Summon Night', and I can't wait to experience it.
