Primary authors : Nippon Ichi
Platform(s) : PSP
Day of released : 26th Oct 2010
Genres : Turn Based Strategy
The plot, as cliché as it might sounds, is about the never-ending battle between good and evil….well, particularly in this case, between the “ Absolute Victory Unlosing Ranger “ (Figure 1.2) and the villain "Darkdeath Evilman" (Figure 1.1) who is trying to kill the “ Chosen One “, aka Super Baby, born in 6th day of 6th month at…6AM (is it just me is this has something to do with 666 ? ).
Figure 1.1
Figure 1.2
And out of the blue, Unlosing Ranger gets hit by a car….and died .....yeah, just like that (Figure 1.3) ( I wonder how can a hero, an Unlosing one, nevertheless, to get hit by a car in the first place but let's cast it aside )
Figure 1.3
Figure 1.4
Then some guy just happened to pass by ( The wimpy-looking Main Character, who was going on an errand at the times) and the Ranger, before dying, gave him his Unlosing Ranger Belt (Figure 1.4), entrusting the guy with the ultimate act to fight the Darkdeath Evilman, I mean….the Final Boss ( in every form of meanings ! ).
Figure 1.5
Btw….this is not what the game look like
Unsurprisingly, the guy lost ( Even a monkey know a normal person can’t defeat a final boss ) (Figure 1.5)….But rest assured, the game does not ends there
Game Play :
While the story is no doubt...weird ,the gameplay is your traditional SRPG ( Strategy Role Playing Game ) type as it comes.
The game truly begins when the new Unlosing Ranger wakes up on Bizarro Earth, the training ground of heroes .A strange girl named Etoranger ( Officially, her name is Etranger but I swear I heard the girl pronounced it as Etoranger !! ), with blond hair and a bunny hat (quite unfitting for a Hero Trainer) , says she’s an instructor for heroes and her job will be training you to become a true Unlosing Hero that worthy of the title. Pirohiko Jumonji, the original Unlosing Hero, also showing up as well as a guardian spirit
Z.H.P. is a Dungeon Crawler type of SRPG, which means you control your character to move around dungeons, fighting enemies, obtaining items and gaining experiences necessary for leveling along the way. (Figure 1.6)
Figure 1.6
The first thing I should note is that this game is definitely not for those who are new to SRPG, or anyone that does not take SRPG seriously, for that matter. With the almost-ridiculous level of difficulty, your character will lose all his items, moneys and equipments if he died in battle or failed a mission. The worst thing is, you know what ? the auto-saving system…. Usually it was meant to be helpful for players, but in this case, it means whenever you lost, there won't be any second chance to load and play again, so yeah….when you die, all you can do is saying good bye to all of your items and cursing the producers too, while you're at it ( Online Game's system in an offline one? And not even an online game is this cruel ! )
Z.H.P. for its namesake, is all about training your main character: a wimpy-and-superb-weak-looking-guy to become a true hero before Darkdeath Evilman destroying the world : To advance in the game, you need to keep upgrading your base stats by leveling up, collect more items and turn it into chips to build up your strength. (Figure 1.7)
Another interesting aspect to note is that dying, in this game, does not count as a failure….in fact, it’s quite the opposition, the more you die, the stronger you get ( Yeah, I don't get it either )
Figure 1.7
Also, you can build your own base too, with many facilities, each in charge of a different tasks to help you in your quest. For example, the Delivery Building will help you deliver your items back home safely before dying (Figure 1.8),or the Dark Clinic will add chips or devices inside your body ,making you stronger as a result (Figure 1.9 ),The Caravan will function like a mini save point, in which you can re-supply yourself and preparing for what to comes ( Figure 1.10) )
Figure 1.8
Figure 1.9
Figure 1.10
The dungeons in Z.H.P is the same like any other game of Nippon-Ichi ( mainly Disgaea, Phantom Brave, Makai Wars…).They are randomly generated each time with new areas and enemies, meaning multiple runs through a same level will never be quite the same.
Some dungeons might contains traps and some requires a condition-to-pass ( Dengeki Dungeon ). Swinging log traps will send you to previously unreachable areas of some dungeons, while others will just bombard you with arrows or poison you. Even more so than the traps, the items will keep you playing like forever. Items can be thrown at enemies, consumed or equipped to strengthen your character, and each equipment's option holds its own special skill. Finding new armors or weapons is the prime part of this game, especially when you can customize how your character looks like ( Figure 1.11)
Figure 1.11
Certainly, there is nothing more entertaining than watching your character become a part-human-part-tank cyborg or wearing a girly shirt, or diving through your equipments storage for a suitable one to defeats a certain boss (Figure 1.12 ).
Figure 1.12
And yes, you'll lose equipment upon death, but it all weaves together to ensure no dungeon is the same as any other, and that next powerful tool is always just around the next corner. And being a handheld game, Z.H.P. can be finished in a short time( Main mission took only 6 hours if you playing it fast ), but the side missions can get you hooked for a long,long time in order to finish the game in the scale of 100%
Music :
The main theme in this game is also it's only theme: The Unlosing Hero (although it has 3 variations for the ending).However, it still can satisfy you with lot of remixes (for example, the Fantasy RPG version, the Final Boss version, or the Ending versions as well)
But the other thing I like about music is the BGMs, Z.H.P has done quite a good job. In this game, ,each track is very catchy and you’ll find yourself addicted in at least one of them even long after you put the game down. The music is very poppy with a slight touch of New and Old Age.
The dubbing is also surprisingly good ! This is a first RPG game that I see the dub is this good (except for perhaps the Persona series of Atlus)
Character :
Main Character :
Like mentioned above, the super-wimpy-and-superb-weak-looking guy, on the way back home from a grocery stores, by chance meet the Unlosing Hero dying and being entrusted with the Unlosing Belt. His life changes forever from that day of Destiny,he is now an Unlosing Hero, carrying the duty of protecting the innocence and ensuring the safety of the world
…or not….
Pirohiko Jumonji :
Former Unlosing Ranger, got hit by a car and died on the way to the battle with the final boss, he later became a guardian spirit to helps the Main Character on his way to become a true Unlosing Hero, got a bad lifestyle, a pervert that buy soft-core adult magazines, has a hero-like personality but tend to announce many true-but-not-very-helpful facts about hero’s life. Overall, a bad example for any kid who want to become a hero.
Etranger :
Instructor that in charge of training the Main Character to become a true Unlosing Hero, a mysterious and cocky girl that is very annoyed about the incompetence of the Main Character. Her true identity is a big surprise that will only be revealed later in the game.
Her name can be understand as…." Uhh,yeah…I am a Ranger….as well… "
Darkdeath Evilman :
A giant lion-looking monster
Final boss of the game, appeared out of nowhere and wants to destroy the world, his motives for this is still a big "?".
Conclusion :
Pros :
-Very entertaining with light-hearted comedy atmosphere with many parodies from many anime and manga.
-In-depth characters with interesting personalities.
-Excellent Soundtracks.
-Replay-value is very high
Cons :
-Over-the-top Difficulty ( Well....not quite exactly,but you will crush your PSP in no time ).
-Main game is too short ( 6h for finish ).
-The graphics are still simple.
Rate : 7.8/10
[Review] Unlosing Ranger Vs Darkdeath Evilman
actually love it ;D 
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