Developed by !Fidea Factory, Jikandia is a unique RPG experience that blends 2D side-scrolling action and timer-based mechanics into one cohesive package.
As the adventure begins, Hall and his friends take the subway to school. While everything seems normal at first, the subway tunnel outside suddenly disappears, creating a blue vortex that sends Hall and his friends into the world of Jikandia. Upon arriving, Hall is separated from his friends, leaving him in the care of Temtem – a blue, glowing intelligent life form. Temtem explains that Jikandia was a place without time, until very recently. Hall must find the source of the problem, search for his friends and return home.
Despite being a side-scroller, Jikandia still offers enough character customization to keep any gamer busy. While collecting items and upgrading equipment is the main focus, there is a way to upgrade character stats by using the Magic Quartz system. The Magic Quartz system uses special stones that contain stats. Some stones may increase attack power, bonus, life, and guard defense (among others). These stones can be interchanged while in town.
The dungeon system is broken down into stages and these are divided into floors. Each stage is controlled by a timer; you must complete the entire stage before the timer runs out. To leave a floor, you must use the door that is located at the opposite end of the level. Failure to reach the door before its timer tag reaches zero will result in a point penalty.
There is a boss encounter at the end of each stage. The boss battles – while difficult at first – become easier when new equipment is purchased. Additionally, if your group dies while the dungeon timer still has time left, your group will be revived. However, if your group dies after the dungeon timer reaches 0, you will be forced to start over. Luckily, the dungeons are short and require little exploration.
Actual gameplay resembles your standard side-scroller / platformer. By pressing the Circle button, your group will either ascend platforms or jump over obstacles. You can attack as a group (by pressing the X button) or individually (by pressing the Square button). The object of every stage is to attack creatures, jump on platforms, open chests and exit through the door before its timer tag expires. Each stage can be revisited, so there is plenty of replay value.
The town of Jikandia is where you will buy/sell items, save your game progress and upgrade your Magic Quartz system. This is also where the story will progress by speaking to a specific NPC. Additionally, there is a building that contains NPCs that will allow you to view stage completion in percentages, items collected during your travels, medals earned, and a gateway to battle online using the PSP’s Ad hoc network feature. Unfortunately, there were no available online matches during the time of this review. Hopefully this was a fluke and not a common occurrence.
Jikandia’s graphics are very retro in flavor and resemble role-playing games from the 16-bit era. The cute sprites and tiled backgrounds – while looking a bit dated by today’s standards – still have a unique appeal to them. Even the boss creatures look menacing in their own way, despite their cute nature. Plenty of effort was spent on recreating Jikandia’s retro graphics and Classic gamers will definitely appreciate it.
Jikandia is not only entertaining, but it has all the right elements to keep gamers busy for hours. If you’re looking for a unique RPG that doesn’t follow the standard formula, Jikandia will certainly deliver and never disappoint.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: PSP (Available on PSN)
Developer: !Fidea Factory
Publisher: Aksys Games
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $24.99
Meg size: 56Megs
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| The classic 2D graphics are cute and colorful. | |
| Sound | |
| The music is full of catchy tunes. | |
| Gameplay | |
| While simple, the gameplay will offer hours of enjoyment. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Even if you're not a fan of role-playing games, Jikandia is still worth checking out. | |
