We recently got a chance to try out this third installment in the PSP's most prolific action RPG series, and while there's plenty here you've seen before, there are some four-legged reasons to check it out. Just be sure you wear your flea collar.

The game begins with the traditional series of events - more than necessary, actually - that sets main characters Forte, Una and Forte's grandfather, McBain (we'll pause here to let Simpsons fans make the traditional reference to goggles) off on a quest to become a traveling group of musicians searching for magical resonance stones. The stones, once collected, grant the characters magical powers and will eventually enable them to play the legendary Water Melody, which is a good thing. Why? Because it's the kind of thing you do in an RPG. 

Every great adventure begins by taking the first step. In LoH3 's case, after the first step, there is another step, and another step, and frankly, the beginning of the game has too much walking. So far, we’ve battled about a hundred boars, armadillos, squirrels and other disgruntled woodland creatures, played a dozen or so songs on our kithara, and gained the solitary offensive power to douse the enemy with some seriously splashy water (after getting well into the second chapter of the game).

Granted, it's not that there couldn't be a horizon full of non-domesticated monsters, imaginative items and spells, and an exciting plot twist or two - it's just that they're not at the beginning. When we get to play though the whole game, we'll let you know.