PSP Game Review: Neopets: The Wand of Wishing

by smrrdn


A lot of people may think that Neopets is a kid's game. It may
be aimed towards children, but adults are like the Neopets games
as well. Neopets: The Wand of Wishing is the first Neopets game
on the PSP.

The Neopets brand used to only be an online site where you could
raise and create fantasy pets called "neopets" or "petpets". In
the website game your pet is able to participate in battles, go
on quests, and play mini-games to get things to upgrade their
stats.

The PSP version of this game is a lot like the online version.
You can choose your clothing and weapons, talk with the
villagers to acquire quests, visit the multiple dungeons around
the game, and upgrade your pet by training him. You can also
fight in the battledome against computer characters or with
wi-fi with other players.

The PSP version of this game is a hack and slash type role
playing game, which is actually my favorite kind. The game is
similar to most other role playing games. The map in the game is
broken up into different sections of settlements, jungles, and
dungeons. In the settlements you will find shops to buy weapons
and clothing/armor, you will also find other petpets that you
can talk to in order to get more of the story. Some of the
petpets will give you a quest when you speak with them. In the
jungles and dungeons is where you do all of your fighting. There
are many fun types of monsters you will be up against. When
fighting you will use the X button for hand to hand attacks and
the triangle button for long rage magic attacks. You can also
use the select button to access any weapons or spells your
petpet is carrying. In this game once you have killed a monster
it stays dead, they don't just come back to life once you leave
the room, I think this is another good feature for this game.

Unfortunately this game has a little bit of a lag. When you push
a button or move the "joystick" it takes a second before the
action is actually performed. Sometimes it gets in the way when
you are trying to fight. This is only really a problem toward
the beginning of the game. Once your character is more developed
and has better weapons the lag doesn't really have much of an
effect on your battles, because you can do more damage and you
take much less damage.

Upgrading your character is a little different in this game then
in other role playing type games. This is not an experience
based leveling system which is popular in role playing games. In
Neopets, when you kill a monster you get neopoints and items.
You use the neopoints to enter the battledome. In order to
upgrade your petpets attributes you must win in these battledome
matches. These can cost anywhere from 250 to 50,000 neopoints.
The sad thing is that you don't get the points back if you lose
the match.

You can also upgrade your your character by catching and
collecting little "petpetpets"...(try to say that 10 times
fast). In order to catch them you have to locate them, and then
decide what kind of food you think it will eat. You lay the food
in front of them, and if it is the right kind of food then your
petpetpet will eat it all and get so full that it can't move.
Then you pick it up and it is yours. Once you have caught your
petpetpet you can equip it just like you would your weapon or
clothing. Each petpetpet will give you certain extra attributes.
The only thing is that you can only have one equipped at a time.

You will notice that there is a lot of upgrading that needs to
be done as you start to explore new areas in this game. When you
enter a new area all of the monsters are going to be stronger
than your petpet. You have to catch up by visiting the shops for
new armor and weapons, visiting the battledome to increase your
attributes, and you will also have to visit the local trainer.

The graphics in this game are very fun, it will be very familiar
to those who have played with Neopets online. The audio isn't
anything to special. I really enjoy the way the enemies interact
when you are fighting them. They don't just stand in one place
while you hit them, when you hit them they fly backwards, it is
actually kind of funny to watch. The only part of the audio that
stuck out in my mind is in the jungle part of the game you hear
crickets and waterfalls that actually sound realistic.

If you are a role-playing game fanatic this game may not be for
you. If you love Neopets then you will love this game. It is
also a good PSP title for the younger players. I really enjoyed
this game because I love the Neopets website. I think you will
enjoy it too. I would give this game 7 out of 10.

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