Nostalgia has me torn.
On the one hand, I'm hard-pressed to name you one unique thing this DS RPG does to advance the JRPG formula. The game feels like a carbon copy of the JRPGs that I played back in the PS1 years -- meaning it's filled with the sort of cliche conventions that have since stagnated the genre. I've endured turn-based combat, random encounters, airships, little kids saving the world, even an early dungeon that has you hacking at rats in a sewer, just to name a few. No wonder they called it "Nostalgia."
On the other hand, I don't care. I'm having a ton of fun playing it -- and sometimes that's all I want from a game.
Nostalgia puts you in the shoes of Eddie Brown, son of renowned adventurer Gilbert Brown. Gilbert has gotten himself tangled up with the evil Ancient Father's Cabal, and it's up to the teenage Eddie and his friends to save him and stop the cabal. (Apparently child labor laws haven't yet gone on the books in the game's 19th century world; adults have no qualms sending the kids on foolhardy missions into active volcanoes and other dangerous locations.)
Eddie's adventures span the entire globe; I've visited cities like London, Cairo, Tokyo, Delhi, Cape Town, and St. Petersburg. While that sounds interesting in theory, in reality these locations are about as authentic as the World Showcase exhibits at Epcot Center. If the cities weren't labeled, I'd have no idea what they were supposed to represent. Would it have killed the developers to throw in a few landmarks?
Within the game's dungeons, the combat is laughably easy. Complete just a few side-quests and you'll be well-matched to fight any of the bosses. I'm actually glad for this; I can play the game with half an eye, sneaking in battles between commercials during college football games.
And really, that's the best mindset with which to approach this game. If you come to Nostalgia looking for an enriching experience, you're going to be disappointed. Instead, consider it a diversion, something to tackle while waiting in line at the DMV or when you want a break from the meatier games you're currently playing on PS3 or 360.
If you do that, then you'll end up like me: happy, itching to grind a few more levels -- and a little ashamed for having been suckered in so easily by hoary clichés.
