It’s the summer of the RPG for Sony’s handheld. Previously, the PSP never had RPGs even glaze the system, and now its receiving more RPGs than any RPG nut knows what to do with. Of course, not all RPGs have the compelling story or dynamic gameplay that will pull players into the game and keep them locked in for the perilous journey in which the game will play out. But every so often a solid RPG hits and has gamer captivated by its story and gameplay. Welcome to Brave Story: New Traveler. Brave Story is being developed by Game Republic known for the Genji series. The title has been out in Japan for almost a year and we are now going to be seeing what all the hype was about when the title hit Japan later summer.

Brave Story tells a tale of a young boy whose life is altered at the young age of 11. One day the main character and his friend Miki are enjoying a nice afternoon, when suddenly Miki collapses from an unknown illness. With Miki having no signs of waking, the main character enters a state of anger for not being able to save his friend's life and not being a better a friend to her.

Suddenly, a distant voice offers the character a second chance by saying, "Beyond the door you can change your destiny!” This is when the real journey begins. Soon after leaving the real world, the main character journeys into the world of Vision. While in this new and unfamiliar world the main character is given the title, Traveler. Players will have to overcome numerous ordeals in order to reach the Goddess of Fortune and have a single wish granted. While in the world of Vision, players will need to gain friendships with the locals so he can become a successful Traveler and succeed in making his wish a reality.

The game plays out like a traditional RPG with turn-based battles, epic story, and unique characters. Brave Story does offer a unique twist on the battle system because it incorporates several of the story’s main themes such as friendship, courage, and growth. Friendship will allow players to form bonds with party members and with these bind create new, cooperative skills. Courage will allow you to use BP (Brave Power) to wreak havoc with powerful special abilities. Then Growth will let the main characters weapon evolve as he collects gemstones needed to meet the Goddess of Fortune.

The game will feature full fledged 3D graphics. The characters have nice details in them and the texture work is solid for a handheld game. The game does have an anime inspired look to it, but it doesn’t have a heavy overdose of the style so anime haters won’t have to fear the overall look of the game.

Brave Story will arrive on the PSP on July 17. Stay tuned for a full review of this new PSP RPG tile.