Genre: Role-Playing
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Zero Div
Release Date: April 7, 2009

The folks at Atlus are tired of the rabble who call themselves heroes these days. I mean, just because you find a sword and fumble into saving the universe doesn't mean you're a properly trained hero, but rather an oaf who got lucky. In fact, it's very likely that an accredited hero could have done your job in half the time with a fraction of the civilian casualties and destroyed villages. That is why all true and proper adventurers need to enroll in the Class of Heroes.

The Japanese niche developer is back with its latest RPG, and this outing is shaping up to be a classic dungeon crawler in nearly all respects. Ridiculous amounts of party customization? Check. A brutal difficulty curve that will send all but the most hardcore players crying to their mommies? You betcha. Enough depth to keep you playing for months? Sure thing. If the preview build is anything to go by, then Class of Heroes is going to be perfect for those who like their games deep, complicated and super tough.

As alluded to above, Class of Heroes defies standard RPG conventions not by putting you in the shoes of some unlikely hero out to save the world, but a pool of students attempting to earn their degrees and become proper adventurers. Quests are structured as classes, and once you assemble a party, accept a class and visit the instructor, your group will be sent out to do daring deeds and perhaps learn something along the way. It's easily a much cleverer premise than the traditional JRPG story lines that have saturated the genre for decades.

Dungeon exploration is done in the first-person perspective, and all battles are turn-based. Fighting is pretty straightforward in that front row party members can attack with weapons while back row allies must rely on magic or summons to win the battle. Of course, that would all be too simple, so the game throws in a ton of wrinkles to keep things fresh. First off, there are 10 different races of creatures in the game, as well as both male and female genders, a ton of different "majors" (fighting styles) and three different alignments (good, evil and neutral). All of these variables play a role in determining the strengths of each character, and furthermore ego plays a role as well. That's right, Atlus has reminded us all of the dirty little secret that is discrimination, and certain races and alignments won't get along when placed in a party together. Thankfully, this hindrance can be overcome if the characters spend enough time fighting alongside one another, but when putting together a party, it is yet another point of consideration.

Those eyeing Class of Heroes' release date should be prepared because this game is extremely tough and will quickly chew up and spit out the unprepared. Even the very first dungeon (the meekly named "Novice Road") is teeming with some pretty tough baddies, and if you stay in too long, your game may be over before it ever truly started. Healing, reviving characters and upgrading equipment all cost money, which is in short supply, so only those with the most acute fighting senses and best of luck will likely survive long enough to really get the game rolling. Furthermore, at this point, the game doesn't supply any sort of map for the labyrinths, so getting lost is a fact of life, and normally those who get lost end up dead pretty quickly. Barring a major overhaul in the next month, casual players and those with only a passing interest in RPGs should just stay away because nothing but frustration awaits you here.

For the super-hardcore, though, Class of Heroes will likely earn a place in your PSP's UMD drive for quite some time. With over 80 hours of content and seemingly endless possibilities, this is the sort of title that makes dungeon crawler fans drool. It won't be a huge hit, but the cult following that will likely spring up around this game is going to be very impressed indeed.