Class of Heroes

Class of Heroes
Developer(s)	Acquire, Zero Div
Publisher(s)	Atlus
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)	JP August 26, 2008 NA June 9, 2009
Genre(s)	Role-playing video game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	CERO: A ESRB: Teen
Media/distribution	UMD

Class of Heroes (剣と魔法と学園モノ。, Ken to Mahō to Gakuenmono.) is a role-playing video game dungeon crawler for the PlayStation Portable developed by Acquire and published by Atlus. The game was released on June 9, 2009 by Atlus. In the game, players progress by navigating dungeons as hordes of enemies appear and attack in turn-based combat. Class of Heroes received mixed reviews from critics, with some appreciating the creative take on dungeon-crawling and others disliking the game's graphics and grind-based leveling system.

Gameplay

A female elf in the back row uses a ranged slingshot to attack an enemy monster.

Players begin the game by selecting characters for their party, choosing each individual's race, gender, stats, alignment, and major. Both race and gender are permanent, but a character's alignment and major can be changed when visiting a school. There are ten playable races in the game: Human, Elf, Dwarf, Erdgeist, Halfling, Sprite, Felpier, Drake, Diablon, and Celestian. Each race has different attitudes towards the others requiring a balance of compatibility to be struck. Each race is imbued with different strengths; e.g. Halflings are clever thieves and Drakes are able warriors. The party starts at Particus Academy which serves as a home base where players can regenerate Magic points, purchase equipment, start quests in the labyrinths, and practice alchemy on items obtained in mazes. Once a dungeon quest is started, enemies may be encountered randomly as players navigate the maze of corridors. The turn-based combat system during battles uses a row-based character line-up, where characters in the back rows with short-range weapons are unable to attack distant enemies. As players progress through the dungeon, a tension gauge accumulates after each battle allowing the party to use gambits during future engagements.

Within each dungeon is a magic lock which when opened allows future trips to the dungeon to be bypassed. Players are able to save their game at anytime outside of combat and are also able to easily escape a dungeon when needed. Traps exist within the mazes, and an entire party can be taken out if accidentally sprung. When a party falls while journeying in a dungeon, players are revived back at their school. When a student falls the revival process can fail, and after two consecutive failures the student is deleted from the party.

Development

Atlus announced Class of Heroes in a press release on January 20, 2009, with a prospective release date of April 7. On March 30, Atlus wrote in a press release that a critical bug was discovered in the game a few days before manufacturing began, and that the game would be delayed until June 9 to allow time to resolve the bug.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	61 (based on 12 reviews)
Review scores
Publication	Score
GamePro
IGN	5.1/10
RPGamer	4.0/5

Class of Heroes received mixed reviews from critics, ranging from 30 to 83 on Metacritic with an overall rating of 61. IGN reviewer Ryan Clements panned the game for its choice of retro style mechanics, forcing players to grind for levels by dungeon crawling. Clements concedes that level-grinding can be satisfying, but only when coupled with good graphics, animations, battle mechanics, and storytelling, none of which, Clements writes, this game has. On the other hand, RPGamer's Glenn Wilson wrote that while typical first-person dungeon crawlers would only appeal to the most hardcore gamers, Class of Heroes "may well be the first playable, enjoyable, approachable, and universally fun game ever to grace this oft-maligned subgenre." Wilson praised the game's originality, balance, monster artwork, and creative dungeon design: "Class of Heroes succeeds at being a solid, well-balanced first person dungeon crawler."

Sequel/Remake

Class of Heroes 2 (剣と魔法と学園モノ。2, Ken to Mahō to Gakuenmono Tsū) is the sequel to Class of Heroes released on June 24, 2009 and includes more jobs and majors for the characters, though the game has not been released outside of Japan. A remake of the original game entitled Class of Heroes 2G (剣と魔法と学園モノ。2G, Ken to Mahō to Gakuenmono Tsū Jī) was released on July 15, 2010 in Japan for the Playstation 3. The remake includes more dungeons, skills, party members, and also full voice acting for the characters.

External links

• Official website (English)