Hardcore Gamer: As consoles evolved over the years, so too did the games that were offered on them. Consoles became more powerful and 2D gave way to 3D, with every game attempting to push the visual envelope ever farther. 2D games did not disappear, however; they just found a new home on handhelds. The Gameboy Advance was perfect for SNES style visuals, and the DS carried on the 2D tradition quite well with many JRPG’s finding their home on Nintendo’s two screen juggernaut.
Michibiku's Jenni Lada writes, "North America and Europe’s Summon Night track record is an odd one. Our first exposure to the main series only happened last year, with Gaijinworks’ localization of Summon Night 5. Prior to that, the strategy-RPG never made an official appearance outside of Japan. Instead, Atlus picked up three of the spin-offs. Given that the ice has been broken with Summon Night 5 and Summon Night 6 is coming to Japanese PlayStation 4s and Vitas later this year, now seems like as good a time as any to go over all of the entries in the series that an English-speaker can actually play."
"One thing that I enjoy about some RPGs is how some of them try new ways to handle the game play. An RPG doesn’t always have to be turn based and instead can be more action filled and have more to the style of their gameplay. Summon Night follows a specific and age-old formula for RPG’s, though it’s the solidarity of knowing exactly what the game has to offer that actually helps create one epic adventure."
Overall, Summon Night: Twin Age is a portable game that is just a bit too blah to recommend. It tries in many ways to be interesting, through its relationship system and its juicy bubble-gum graphical style, but it falls short of its potential and comes off feeling like a very amateur production. The game is too generic, too repetitive, and too mediocre in just about every way. A light-hearted gamer who wants a rest from complicated plots, deep battle systems, and complex characters - and who is in search of a simple, quick RPG romp - might see things differently, but most RPG enthusiasts would be best advised to pass on this one.
