The PSP is suddenly enjoying its new status as a great RPG platform, thanks to solid games like Radiant Mythology, Riviera and the awesome Brave Story - all solid titles that show the PSP has what it takes to deliver a great experience. If only more publishers would concentrate on original content instead of ports. Hoping to enter the fray and keep the roll going is the latest RPG from developers Hitmaker and publisher NIS America, Dragoneer's Aria.

What a surprise, another androgynous male character taking the lead in a Japanese RPG. While localization usually focuses solely on translating Japanese text and speech, I can only hope that some company starts localizing the sexuality of characters in the near future. While the main character may be decidedly femme, what with that flowing white gown and 5-feet of braided hair, the localization on order here is surprisingly top-notch, which is always a refreshing change of pace. Not only is the voice-acting solid but the producers have successfully used a wide-variety of accents that add texture to the world. This isn't to say that the actual plotting and writing is up to snuff. It isn't, and will undoubtedly induce several cringe moments, but at least competent acting raises the experience ever-so-slightly.

Dragoneer's Aria offers PSP owners a fairly standard RPG system, with a few notable twists. For instance, individual characters don't cast spells from their own mana pool but instead spend mana from a party pool; a pool that can only be increased by scoring hits or guarding in physical combat. This means you'll have to strike a delicate balance between normal attacks, building up your mana for a future unleashing; or simply saving that accrued mana for the next inevitable battle. Another interesting feature is that all of your various skills can be leveled up by simply using them, so the more you use a particular healing spell, the more effective it will become. While this sounds cool, it serves the unfortunate purpose of forcing you to use abilities when you many not even want to, all because you think you may need it further down the road.

Combat uses a turn-based system of issuing orders and the watching the action unfold, which I have no problem with, but the way in which Dragoneer's Aria presents the combat can be mind-numbingly dull after awhile. Simply put, battles take a very long time, far too long for the sensibilities of a portable where time can sometimes be limited. It's not out of the ordinary for a single engagement to take 15-20 minutes and this is just asking too much. This issue is further compounded by the fact that each zone you find yourself adventuring in is packed with roaming monsters that will relentlessly pursue you and never give up the chase until you're caught, meaning battles come at a rapid pace...and then take forever to conclude.

Outside of combat players can engage in a pretty robust and detailed crafting system, which is a nice addition, but it's not handled in the most intuitive way possible, involving endless button presses as you shift through various menus. This is something that is prevalent throughout the game...a lot of button pressing just to get to the screen you wish. Another problem is the camera that follows your movements through the 3D world. You can use the trigger buttons to rotate the camera, but the rotation is painfully slow and there is no way to speed it up by changing an option.

Graphically, Dragoneer's Aria is quite competent, featuring detailed 3D animations of characters and creatures, as well as a good-looking gameworld that is well-crafted and detailed. Music is also good, as are sound effects, and it all serves the purpose of offering up a solid presentation that does the PSP justice. If only the gameplay had received the same attention then we'd be looking at a winner here. As it stands, Dragoneer's Aria misses the mark in critical categories, especially in light of recent competition. You can do far worse than Dragoneer's, that's for sure...but with Brave Story out, you can now do far better.