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Cedric
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 6:40 pm Post subject: Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia |
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Fans of the Atelier Iris and Atelier Series, you'll be happy to know that the creators are planning on releasing another RPG similar to those games. This, my friends, is Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia and it will be released on February 6.
IGN Article
Ar Tonelico: Trailer
Ar Tonelico: Game Introduction
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The story of Ar Tonelico revolves around a world shaken by two separate apocalyptic wars. An electromagnetic field has sealed off access to the sky, and "an ocean of death" lies below. Humanity lives above these deadly seas on continents powered by the magical tower Ar Tonelico, which is protected by a group called the Knights of Elemia, but soon evil forces threaten the peace and balance of the tower. Key features listed include virtual interaction with mood-shifting characters, a unique song-based battle system, and over 300 creatable items. |
The storyline seems to be a lot deeper than the Atelier Iris games. There's a chance that the plot in this game could actually fill an RPG enthusiasts' wishes. But this is Gust we're talking about, so I won't get my hopes up. At the very least I'm sure the story will be more filling than the Atelier series.
The battle system is supposed to be song based. According to the information available, they use songs as magic or incantations. I suppose this is similar to the Archonate of Norðeland if we had to make an analogy.
Battle Footage
As you can see, the battle system is linear at first glance. It's your typical turn based endeavor. But there seems to be other factors in the battle system. The songs seem like they act as power boosts of some sort. You can see that one of the fighters opted to keep chanting in order to power up the attack.
And then there's that unusual gauge in the bottom of the screen. As both enemy and ally kept doing their attacks, it shifted back and forth. When they met, the party was healed. I'm not sure what that means, but I'm guessing something good happens to the side that has the most of the meter filled up. Maybe this could work on monsters too.
Dialogue
This is the Japanese version of the game, but I just wanted to let everyone see what the dialogue and small movement is like in the game. The people who made Atelier Iris gave players the option of setting the dialogue to subbed or dubbed. This makes just about everyone happy in terms of the speaking lines.
If you're into the "Old-School" style of RPGs, then this game is for you. _________________
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The Chizen Star
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:39 am Post subject: |
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Yep, I'm defeinitely getting this game. I have an unhealthy addiction to old-school RPGs, so I can't exactly pass it up. Besides, it has great music, cool character designs, and a very promising story. _________________
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Equus
Sindarin Speed Bumps of Rage
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 6:02 am Post subject: |
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I'm in on the pre-order campaign from NIS America! Yay! ^_^ _________________ I can run faster scared than you can mad. |
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Dragonstar13
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Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:43 am Post subject: |
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I went out on a limb, and for the first time bought a game, knowing nothing about it, other then the music is good and art work is beautiful. I pre-ordered, but still have yet to hear if my game has come yet at EB. _________________
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Equus
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Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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If they don't have it yet, I'd assume they'll have it really soon. I ordered direct from NIS America and received my copy on Tuesday. Haven't really gone into it yet, since I'm still playing Rogue Galaxy, but I did boot it up to see the introduction.
Guess I can also confirm what Cedric said earlier: the game does have the option to choose either Japanese or English VA, which should come as no surprise to most.
From what I hear, if you like any of the other Gust developed games (ie Atelier Iris) you will probably also enjoy this one. _________________ I can run faster scared than you can mad. |
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Goldy
Kooluk Companions
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Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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I have this game on order so i am just waiting for that and Rogue Galaxy to arrive. Looking good. |
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Demon Eyes Kyo
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Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:57 pm Post subject: |
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I have to get this game! I loved the OVA (too bad it was only one episode long). I won't have to listen to that horrible dub either! Dual Audio ftw :D _________________
Return that soul to God. |
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Lord Rengo
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 2:02 am Post subject: |
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I plan on getting this game sooner or later. I will have to wait a little bit though, so I might wait until people start beating the game and post their opinions (hopefully spoil free) online to give me an idea on how good this game is. The trailers and such look awesome and it definately reminds me of RPGs I've played in the past (although the battle system extremely different).
I have heard somewhere that all the anime cutscenes other than the first will be in English even if you have the Japanese audio set. Personally, I'd always do it in English either way so it won't affect me, but I know some people like Japanese. Of course, I might be wrong, so don't hold me to this. _________________
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Dragonstar13
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:20 am Post subject: |
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Equus wrote: |
If they don't have it yet, I'd assume they'll have it really soon. I ordered direct from NIS America and received my copy on Tuesday. Haven't really gone into it yet, since I'm still playing Rogue Galaxy, but I did boot it up to see the introduction. |
I didn't know about ordering it from NIS America until after someone else told. It was too late though, already paid for it at EB.
Still hasn't come, or at least there were no calls yet. _________________
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Equus
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 1:18 pm Post subject: |
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Lord Rengo wrote: |
I plan on getting this game sooner or later. I will have to wait a little bit though, so I might wait until people start beating the game and post their opinions (hopefully spoil free) online to give me an idea on how good this game is. The trailers and such look awesome and it definately reminds me of RPGs I've played in the past (although the battle system extremely different).
I have heard somewhere that all the anime cutscenes other than the first will be in English even if you have the Japanese audio set. Personally, I'd always do it in English either way so it won't affect me, but I know some people like Japanese. Of course, I might be wrong, so don't hold me to this. |
When I get around to playing it, I'll probably post some impressions. Won't be for a little while though, unless I want to take a break from the other things I'm playing.
As for the cutscenes being in English, that wouldn't surprise me. I seem to recall that there was some weirdness in [i]Atelier Iris 2[/b] with the anime cutscenes. I think most of them actually were in Japanese (but with no subtitles), except for the one at the very ending, which was in English. Hearing the English VA all of a sudden was a wee bit jarring. I actually replayed the ending just to make sure I hadn't somehow messed up the settings.
Dragonstar13 wrote: |
I didn't know about ordering it from NIS America until after someone else told. It was too late though, already paid for it at EB.
Still hasn't come, or at least there were no calls yet. |
Wonder if there's a problem in the distribution channels or something. I remember reading that some customer had reported that Best Buy had pushed their release date a ways back, so maybe. _________________ I can run faster scared than you can mad. |
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Cedric
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 2:32 pm Post subject: |
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I got mine with no problems. It came out the day after it was shipped, which is a normal occurrence from me. I went directly to EB because my faith in online orders is a bit shaken at the moment.
I won't have any details of the gameplay for a while, so I'll let someone else do it. I don't want to start this game until after I beat Rogue Galaxy.
The box is pretty big because it came with this awesome art book. It's hardcover and it has storylines in addition to art. It's really neat. It sure made the game box bigger. I wonder though . . . was this given to me only because I pre-ordered the game? Did anyone else not preorder the game and get the art book? (It's tough to say because Gust barely ships multiple copies of their games, so most of the ones sent out were probably preordered anyway.) _________________
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Equus
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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Cedric wrote: |
I won't have any details of the gameplay for a while, so I'll let someone else do it. I don't want to start this game until after I beat Rogue Galaxy. |
Ditto...also playing Rogue Galaxy, but I may take a break or try to play two games at once again...though my last experiment doing that was FFXII and Disgaea 2, and it wasn't all that successful. I still haven't finished FFXII. ^_^
Quote: |
The box is pretty big because it came with this awesome art book. It's hardcover and it has storylines in addition to art. It's really neat. It sure made the game box bigger. I wonder though . . . was this given to me only because I pre-ordered the game? Did anyone else not preorder the game and get the art book? (It's tough to say because Gust barely ships multiple copies of their games, so most of the ones sent out were probably preordered anyway.) |
I'm honestly not sure if there's a "non-LE" version of this game out yet that doesn't include the art book. My guess is that there isn't...at least not yet...which is pretty cool, really. Ordering from NIS America also netted me a little soundtrack as part of the package. But yeah, the artbook, while not overly spectacular (besides the fact that it was free and a hardcover...props for that), is a nice touch. _________________ I can run faster scared than you can mad.
Last edited by Equus on Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:08 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Dragonstar13
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Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:15 am Post subject: |
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I didn't recieve any calls from EB, but being paranoid, I decided to pay them a visit anyway. Aside from that, the chasier who took my order got my last name mispelled. So I figured even if the game was not there yet, I could give them the correct information while I was there.
To my suprise, it was there, and I got my game.
I really don't know if I can trust EB with any pre-orders I make, because I feel they'll either forget to call me, and my game will be sold to someone else, or a gave them the wrong number, and never realized it. It's what lead me to go check up on the store, since I never really trusted EB enough to give me a call.
Once I'm done with AT and Tales of Abyss, I'll probably try to get Rogue Galaxy. _________________
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poorguy171
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Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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I'm only 10 hours in, but so far I'm really enjoying the game (despite the innuendos). It's got a fairly interesting (although extremely cliche) story, and the gameplay is pretty fun, but the difficulty level is a huge problem. I don't mind easy games (I often enjoy them more in fact), but because you can't use stronger abilities/spells unless you've got enough Harmo Crystals (which means a longer battle), most of the fights consist of a low-power spell and a few melee attacks.
What really shines for me is the characters! The Dive system is perfect IMO. It develops the Reyvateils beautifully, and even better it adds some to the other characters as well. Lyner has already gone from a whiny dumb@$$ to a very caring and noble young man, and I might actually enjoy his character. The characters all have interesting connections to each other it seems, and there's a number of historic details about each that I'm looking forward to learning about.
The story is paced really well too. The plot moves very quickly which helps to keep my attention (I'm only a fifth or so in, but it feels like I'm halfway through), while characters are developed slowly to give you some more long-term interests.
Besides the minor issues (loading, dozens of typos, rap in some battle music, easy difficulty, etc.), I'm really enjoying this game and it's quickly becoming one of my favorites. _________________
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Equus
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Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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Dragonstar13 wrote: |
I really don't know if I can trust EB with any pre-orders I make, because I feel they'll either forget to call me, and my game will be sold to someone else, or a gave them the wrong number, and never realized it. It's what lead me to go check up on the store, since I never really trusted EB enough to give me a call.
Once I'm done with AT and Tales of Abyss, I'll probably try to get Rogue Galaxy. |
That's odd. The EB and Gamestop near me up here make use of an automated recording, so I kinda doubt that they would "forget", unless there was an extreme case of operator error and they just screwed up in putting you in the system. Given the level of the average retail employee in most chains, it's not as if that would be surprising or anything, but still.
I'm pretty much playing the same games as you, but in a kinda different order. I think it's probably gonna end up being finishing up Rogue Galaxy (which promises to take a really long time), Ar Tonelico, then Tales of the Abyss. I have a tendency to really like the Tales series a lot, so I'm sorta saving that one for last. Interspersed in there somewhere will probably be Disgaea and La Pucelle if I feel like going NIS old school.
poorguy171 wrote: |
I'm only 10 hours in, but so far I'm really enjoying the game (despite the innuendos). It's got a fairly interesting (although extremely cliche) story, and the gameplay is pretty fun...
...What really shines for me is the characters! |
Thanks for the impressions poorguy. From my experience with the Atelier Iris series, I didn't really expect the game to knock my socks off or anything, but I figured I'd probably like the characters. I remember playing Atelier Iris 2 and pretty much feeling the NEED to play because I thought one of the characters was so darn adoreable that when she got in trouble I remember thinking "Oh no! I have to try to help her!" I don't think I've felt like that from a game for a long time.
Yeah...I've read some about the translation issues and the typos, which is pretty disappointing. I mean, seeing as they had over a year for localization since the Japanese release, it's not like you can say it's because they turned it around real quick or anything. Devil's advocate in me says that translation and localization is not an easy or quick thing, but you would think they'd at least have some quality assurance to look for stupid typos. _________________ I can run faster scared than you can mad. |
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