Summon Night series is always a treat for any SRPG fans out there a decent game.

I was new to the series, and picked this up for under $20, as sort of an impulse buy. Apparently, this series has been going on for 15 years total, but only a couple of the games in the entire series have been localized for North America. This leads to more than a little confusion, as this title is generally regarded more as a fanservice title for long-time fans, and so a lot of references and occasional plot points fell flat for me. That being said, this is a generally solid SRPG (like Disgaea, as an easy example) with all of the expected quirks, like being able to grind levels and replay previous battles to overlevel your characters. The game doesn't always give you a good explanation of some of the side mechanics for the game, but most of what it's putting out there are simplistic enough that you either don't need them, or you can muddle through without real penalty until you grasp them completely. The voice work ranges from bad to "**** terrible", and honestly, there were several conversations that made me laugh out loud. There's some very clever dialogue, if you're willing to go through all of the side conversations. (And there's a ton.) As is typical of a lower-budget game from Japan, only the main plot scenes actually have voice work, while the rest is just text to read while you stare at static pictures of the cast. Also, many conversations just become a giant exposition dump, which can feel a bit tedious. On the other hand, you have fully animated anime cutscenes at major plot points, which add a real element of quality to the game, and are definitely enjoyable. The art is fairly generic, though some of the character art/designs do stand out. Nothing's really terrible, but again, it feels a lot like a budget game. The gameplay is solid, and the plot is generally captivating, but just like the artwork, it feels like a budget game. It's not quirky enough to be Disgaea, and it's not serious enough to be Fire Emblem. Overall though, it scratches the itch, and if the game resonates with you, there's a lot of content. 30-ish different endings, a significant amount of side content, and trophies to chase, along with a very generous New Game + mode that really doesn't reset much of your progress. This isn't a slapdash title, and even though it's a port from the Vita, it holds up well enough on the PS4 that it doesn't regularly remind you of the fact. If you've got a spare $20 laying around, you definitely could do far worse.