Atelier Iris 2: Azoth of Destiny

[Cedric]

I was wondering if anyone got a chance to play this game. It came out yesterday. So far it's received some mixed reviews but for those who have played the first and enjoyed it thoroughly, you should at least play this game.

I can't really review it since I'm only around 5 hours in, but I can say some small things about it.

The basics from Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana return in this game. For those who haven't played it, you basically thrown into a world where alchemy is necessary in everyday life.

We have two main characters: Viese Blanchimont (pronounced Vee-say) the female lead character who just became an alchemist; and Felt Blanchimont, the male protagonist who's an alchemist in training. Despite having the same last names, they aren't related at all. They're childhood friends who actually live together. They aren't officially together, but the way they act from the very beginning, they may as well be. That's a rare but welcome change of most RPG's.

One fateful day, their world of Eden is rocked by an unusual Earthquake that caused parts of the Holy land to disappear. As this is happening, the Azure Azoth, a magical sword created by alchemy and stuck in its resting place for ages, becomes sentient and calls on Felt for assistance. Eden is facing a future of peril and the only way to save it lies within the Azure Azoth and Beldhyde, the world connected to Eden but a world where no mana exists.

Unfortunately, it only knows so much, so much of the journey is spent gathering clues to find out the next destination. Felt and Viese work together to save Eden and in the process, get involved in the struggle against a corrupt empire in Beldhyde.


***

For people who played Atelier Iris 1, you can already see a difference between this game and the previous installment. (Although, there are hints that indicate the second game may be a prequel) The first game focused on Klein's journey as an Alchemist, discovering the mystery of Lita's past, and restoring the power of mana in their world.

This game has more of a traditional RPG storyline where you're undergoing efforts to help a world with their problems. In a sense, the alchemy portion (at least in the beginning of the game) takes a backseat to this theme.

And just to clarify that matter: early on in the game, Felt and Viese get separated. Because Felt was the one that removed the Azure Azroth, he is the only one that can go to the world of Beldehyde smack dab in the middle of a war. Viese remains in Eden creating items from Alchemy, helping out the townspeople, and solving the mystery of Eden in her own end. Fans of the Trinity Site system will enjoy this concept, since it is similar. And unlike the TSS, you can switch anytime you want at save points.

There is only one slight problem though. Felt is the only character that gets into battles. Viese's tasks are reduced to puzzle solving and making items for Felt. In that sense, one could think that Felt is doing all the work while Viese is your typical homemaker. Make fun all you want, though, there's no way Felt can finish his quests without Viese's help. Felt is not an alchemist, so he can't make items that Viese hasn't made yet. He can only turn various things into elements which Viese can do already. Felt may currently get all the fighting characters, but without her items, they party would be stuck. Sometimes, the party needs a certain item and the material needed is only present in Eden. That's where Viese helps out the party. It's really too bad that they took out the shop concept from the first game. That would have made Viese's chapters more interesting. But you can still create different items same as before.


***


Art

The art in this game is 2-dimensional, but it's very colorful like the first game. Important characters have their own in-game portraits and depending on their mood, they will change the way that they look. I'm pretty pleased with everyone's character design so far. Some of them are more memorable than others.

Fans of 2D "old school" RPG games will enjoy the art overall.



Interaction

The environments look solid, but I'm noticing that cities and dungeons are a lot smaller than they were in the first game. I'm not sure why they did this. At least interaction with the environment is back. There are many plants and minerals lying about both worlds and with Felt or Viese, you can extract them into elements for use in alchemy. But they also added mana items that can make plants grow or tools to mine some minerals. So if you don't need elements, you can change these certain environments into items that you can use to create tools, etc.

It seems that the amount of random items on the ground has decreased considerably; that's too bad. But there are still chests lying around waiting to be found.

And I consider this to be the worst sin of the game; there's no explorable world map. At least AT1 had a wannabe-world map. We're back to the cheap point and click travesty all over again. When will developers learn?


Battle System

They added a toned down version of Grandia's battle system, where there is now a gauge in the battle screen that determines actions. The faster your speed, the faster you will act. There are two attacks, Charge and Break.

Charge is used to fill up you group's magic point meter. Yes, there's no more MP. You start of with 1 stock for every battle, but if you keep on using charge, the meter will fill up letting you use more powerful spells that take up more magic. The basic skills use 1 stock, but if you want some chain magic moves, it's best to fill up that meter during battle. And note that you can't carry over the meter's contents at all. I was slightly annoyed by this.

Break, like Grandia's critical, gives you a chance to cancel out the enemy's attack and send his AP gauge back, stalling him temporarily. This can be used in conjunction with multiple breaks between characters. You are advised to do this since damage is increased during these break combos, and you actually get extra Exp and SP if you continually hit your opponent while he or she is dizzy.

Battles in this game are incredibly easy. One of your characters comes in with a healing spell that costs 1 stock. If you're dying, you can either use medicine made by Viese/Felt, or even better, use this skill for free every battle. I terms of boss battles, they are lengthy as they should be however none are that difficult so far. I doubt this game will challenge you with hard fights at all. That break meter makes battles too easy.

Finally, you don't gain new spells and attacks by level anymore. Like in Final Fantasy 9, you have to equip various items/weapons that have special moves on them. You need to gain enough SP so they stay in your character without the said item. I like this change because you can equip an item that would increase your stats and actually keep the stat increase provided that you master the weapon. It will take a while though. On good battles, you're lucky if you get 10 SP per battle. And most skills require 150-500 skill points. But battles are really quick, so this may not seem that long at all.



Music and Sound Effects

I don't consider myself a music buff, but I found that the soundtrack fit the game. I have to admit I like the catchier and upbeat tracks of Atelier Iris 1 more than this game. The music in this game feels subdued and calm. Depending on the player, this may be a good thing or not. At the very least, the most important samples fit with the game. (The boss battle theme is a nice upbeat track that I like.)

The English voice acting is bearable. I like everyone except for Felt. Sometimes I find myself saying stuff like "You need to sound more excited/mad/sad when you say that, buddy." So far, Felt and maybe Max are the only victims of this. But hey, you can choose the Japanese voices option if this is really a concern.

Most of the minor sound effects from the last game carried over to this game. Hitting a wall, extracting elements, hitting enemies, and similar tuff remain the same from AT1.



***



In all honesty, from where I am right now, this game feels like a toned down version of Atelier Iris 1. I remember this feeling when I played Suikoden 3 after playing 2. This is a great game in its own right, but it will probably garner some heat when it's compared to the first game.

Still, if you enjoyed playing the first one, you should at least pick this game up. It's better than having nothing to do. But the price tag is $48 so I suggest renting it from a store or borrowing it. If this is anything like the first one, you should be done in about 32 hours or so. It seems a lot quicker in the beginning than it should, but if you take your time, you'll get the most out of it.
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[Flamo Bringer]

try to go to http://www.nisamerica.com/games/ai2
there are reviews and all the main points there too :D

i havent got the game and still waiting for it... ><
so, looking forward to the game....
and i hope it related with the atelier iris 1 too.... =)

by the way, if you or any of you who will put in replies here and knows how to defeat Amalgam in AT1, please tell me, because when i lost for about 12-14 times, i gave up and never play it anymore for the last 2 years... ><

thx ^^

[Equus]

Thanks for the impressions Ced. You know, I really liked the first Atelier Iris. I was actually pleasantly surprised how much I actually liked it, to be honest, since I don't think I went in expecting a whole lot more than to have an entertaining RPG.

I'm definitely tempted to go out and pick this one up, even if most of the comments I've seen have so far been that a lot of people liked the first one better. It sounds like it'll at least be entertaining. I have a week off coming up here in the middle of May, and I'm going to be hanging out at my parents' house with a PS2, and internet connection, and not a whole lot more to do. I'm already planning on bringing Suikoden V (so I can beat the new game+), the last Shadow Hearts, and Dynasty Warriors.

It might be nice to have something actually NEW for me to play though. I'll probably head over to a site and check out the character designs again. If I like the characters, I'll probably enjoy the game. It's when I start losing interest in the characters that games usually slip away from me.

[RedCydranth]

Well, I can cross Atelier Iris 2 off ot the review list for the Newspaper, you just did it all for us, haha. Too bad too because that whole "article" would have been great.

Anyhow, on the real topic here, I played Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana and it was a very great game. I loved the art style which was quite Nippon Ichi-ish. I know Nippon Ichi had a big hand in the making of it, so that would stand to make a lot of sense. Also the characters are cooler than most in RPGs. Delus, Arlin and Klein were totally wicked. I never fully finished the first either so I probably should go back and do that.

I'm glad to hear they made a sequel I almost preordered it when I picked up Suikoden V, but I realized I have far too many games to beat. But one day I'll nab this game before it gets too obscure, like the first one.

Did they change the alchemy much? I mean do you still have to call on the Mana beasts or whatever they were called (its been a while) to make the items and keep them all happy and have positive relaitonships with each?

I was a fan of the TSS, and I like the dual hero idea. Its piqued my interest and I'll add it to my list of games to get and such. That way I won't forget to pick it up when I can get the chance.

Flamo, please don't use "IM speak" in the forums. Its kind of annoying. You're new here so its okay but please refrain in the future, thanks a lot man. I don't know if I beat Amalgam, but if you're desperately seeking help, you can always try looking at an FAQ at gamefaqs. They're usually fairly thorough with their boss guides.
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I'm sorry and I apologize are the same thing.
Except at a funeral.

Fantasy Football (NFL) Sign Ups in Sports Forum!

[Flamo Bringer]

um.... Red....
just wondering, what do you mean by "IM speak"??
and sorry if i made many mistakes here ><

[Cedric]

Ahh, my bad. I thought about doing an impression thread before I signed up for the newspaper. At least it seems to have helped someone here.

[Yohn]

I was curious about the second Iris game, and I'll probably get it because of how much I liked the first Iris game (though, I really would have loved to have played the earlier Atelier titles).

Viola from the first game really cracked me up. She amused me to no end. ^_^
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"And as the lion slaughters man, I am the wolf and you're the lamb." ~Blind Guardian

[malicesoul]

Is this a sequel to Atelier Iris 1? Do I need to play the first one to understand this one?

[Cedric]

Actually, there are hints that this is probably a prequel. But so far, the storylines aren't connected, save the fact that the mana are all the same as the previous installment.

And after playing for a while today, I have to say that the game's growing on me. It started out slow, but the more people who join your party, the more interesting it will be.

Let me just say that this game makes you create way more items than the previous game. This is probably because the maximum amount of items is no longer 9 but 99. Thankfully, elements are more abundant in this game.

The character art is really nice. Extra emphasis in creativity was spent on the female characters over the males. The enemy design is still the same solid stuff.

The music picked up too. The more places I visited, the more I started to like the music in this game.

Also, from what I heard, stuff gets unlocked after beating the game once and loading your file. It's not a new game +. You'll start off where you last saved. But new assignments open up and so does the character extras option. It looks like it was longer than I thought.

Again, be patient with this one. Although, you probably don't have to wait as long as Suikoden 5 before the plot picks up.
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[Equus]

Kinda like the "extra dungeon" from the first game. It's an interesting way of adding on content to a game, kinda like the way Tri-Ace usually does it.

Sounds kinda like the first game, Ced. It started off a game I was thinking "oh...this is ok" and it just slowly grew on me. I don't know when I actually sat and thought "hey, this game rocks", but it slowly happened somehow.

I'll definitely think about picking this up...especially now that I just got a bonus check. If the characters are anywhere near as interesting and appealing as the ones in the first game, I'll probably like this one as well.
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I can run faster scared than you can mad.

[Cedric]

Well, if it's characters you like, then maybe this will be helpful. I guess you could consider seeing the characters as spoilers, but I'm not going to go over details of the plot. So don't worry about too much information here. I think the instruction booklet is a bit worse than I am with spoilers.


Characters:


Felt Blanchimont
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: Klein (Atelier Iris 1)


Viese Blanchimont They aren't married, but they live together.
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: Lita Blanchimont (Atelier Iris 1)


Noin
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: Suikoden 5 spoiler * Miakis *


Grey
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: Suikoden 5 spoiler * Skald Egan *


Galahad
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: Kiba Windamier (Suikoden 2)


Max
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: *He's pretty normal actually*


Theodore
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: Kanaan/Kraze Miles (Suikoden 1)


Chaos
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: Whoever Arlin's arch rival was in Atelier Iris 1. I forgot his name.


Fee
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: Sarah, without the whole submissive thing (Suikoden 3)


Vurellia
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: Leknaat (Suikoden series)


Iris
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: I'm not sure. She smiles here and there, but usually, she doesn't have an expression on her face. So someone like that.


Poe
Anime/Video game personality equivalent: Norn and Delsis combined (Atelier Iris 1)



Misc:

High Priestess of Altena Church
Yacht, Eden's storekeeper. "I'd sell my parents if congress made it legal."
Mitsune, a traveling salesperson
Yeah, he's back
Iris and Viese


Edit: Completely screwed up the tags. It should be fine now.
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[Zeik Tuvai]

That's some really beautiful character art! Fee looks awesome. I really want to play this now, how do you pronounce the name, Ced? I'd like to know before I go and call around the video stores... Which might be entertaining anyway, seems how I'd probably have to spell it for them.
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Those who stray from the path of justice,
Are those who have no courage...
But under the wing of a strong leader,
Cowardice cannot survive.

[Equus]

You could probably just pronounce it the way it's spelled. It's roots are French, but I kinda doubt any of the employees you'd run into at the local gamestore are gonna really know if you're mispronouncing it anyway. ^_^

I really do like those characters designs, especially Viese and Noin. I've seen them on another site, and they're pretty consistently good. Are the interactions as entertaining as the first one?
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I can run faster scared than you can mad.

[Cedric]

I think you're supposed to pronounce it as "At-lee-ay I-ris". But yeah, I was in a hurry to go home and play the game, so I saved the guys over in EB a headache. I spelled the name on a piece of paper.

[Equus]

I think that probbaly is the way that it's supposed to be pronounced, from what I can tell of the pronunciation guide I found online. Most people are probably going to pronounce it like it's spelled. What I'll probably do is see if I can't find the strategy guide first and bring it up and say "this and the game". =P

That's too bad. I probably was mostly thinking in particular about the interactions with Veola and Lita...I seem to remember those were pretty interesting. As for the VA, are you still using the English one? I'd probably use the Japanese one myself, so my experience there might differ, though I've heard there are some stinkers in the Japanese VA too. Heh.

EDIT- Bought the game and guide this last Saturday. Haven't opened it at all yet (been kinda obsessed with Dynasty Warriors for some odd reason), but I'll probably get some time in when I go to visit the family. From everything I see as far as aesthetics, it looks pretty cool tho. ^_^
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I can run faster scared than you can mad.