Review by: Cole Jones

Mana Khemia: Student Alliance is a game that is conflicted. On one hand, it's a solid alchemy-based RPG with a style and progression that is as unique as it is enjoyable. On the other, it's a stuttering, lag-heavy mess that can be found without the occasional freezes on the PlayStation 2 for less than its portable asking price. Yet, conflicted as it might be, Mana Khemia PSP is still a worthwhile game for those willing to fight through its shortcomings and appreciate the game underneath – and absolutely have to take it with them on the go.

As Vayne Aurelius, a fledgling freshman at the Al-Revis alchemy academy, your task is the same as any other student: take on various assignments and mix and match alchemic components to your heart’s content. While the setting sounds drab on paper, its unique week-based, graded mission structure and harmonious blend of alchemy and turn-based battles makes Mana Khemia far more fun than it should be. As someone who has grown tired of the recipe-building of Ar Tonelico II and the fruitless labor of Star Ocean's synthesis system, Mana Khemia finally gets it right by binding alchemy and skills together that makes you actually want to discover new recipes and item combinations.

Instead of collecting experience points after battle to level your characters, new abilities and stat increases are garnered through alchemy. As you successfully synthesize items and equipment, the bonuses and abilities you'd normally receive are unlocked in the "Grow Book:" a branching pathway reminiscent of Final Fantasy X's Sphere Grid. In practice, the Grow Book is both a great idea and a challenging limiter: since you solely gain Ability Points to unlock attributes in the Grow Book after battle, there's no way to grind without doing your homework. This works out fine if you stay on top of your synthesis, but beware: if you end up underpowered, the tried-and-true method of level grinding gets you nowhere fast.

However, it's not all fun, games, and alchemy around the Al-Revis academy. The porting of Mana Khemia was apparently a sizable undertaking for NIS, as the game runs about as smoothly as a two-legged horse caught in the Boston Molasses Disaster. For practically every area, section, or selection outside of the menu screen, there's an accompanying colorful "Now Loading..." screen. I can handle a bit of loading in my PSP games, but trying to play this game without downloading it to your memory stick via the "Jump Start" option is practically impossible - you can expect 10-15 seconds worth of loading for almost every 20 seconds you play this game, including battles.