Review
Release Date: 02.06.2007
Platform:
PlayStation 2Developer:
Nippon Ichi Software Inc.Publisher:
NIS America, Inc.Reviewed by
Ashton Liu on 2.22.2007
| Review Rating: 6/10 | User Rating: 8/10 |
NISA has always been a company for the fans. Each and every one of its games can be described as 'niche,' something only diehard gamers of a specific genre can fully enjoy.
Ar Tonelico is one of the best examples of this. Created by a rather small developer known as
Gust, it's aimed at diehard RPG fanatics. While it's admirable that NIS is attempting to bring over lesser known titles that other companies wouldn't even consider, the execution leaves something to be desired.
Ar Tonelico opens with an attack on the city of Platina, one of the highest points of the tower of Ar Tonelico where the protagonist Lyner lives and works as a knight. In the world of Ar Tonelico, magic is cast and controlled with songs and hymns by a race of beings called Reyvateils, who have lived with humans for a long time. Attacks from monsters known as viruses are rather commonplace. One day, Platina is attacked by an unknown form of virus, and Lyner is sent to the islands below, termed the Wings of Horus, to find a special crystal called Purger to help eradicate the new threat. The player discovers then that the entirety of the world of Ar Tonelico is an incredibly long tower, and that in ancient times, much of the land below and the sky above was destroyed by a war. The story in Ar Tonelico is rather cookie cutter, and relies more on the off the wall interactions of the characters to carry it. However, only three characters recieve any real development, since the majority of the interaction is with them while the other characters are punished with supporting, one-dimensional roles.
NISA seems to be spreading themselves rather thin these days, because
Ar Tonelico is the latest in a list of games that have rather subpar localizations. Grammatical errors are sprinkled throughout the dialogue, awkward translations appear on a regular basis, and the voicework is rather amateurish. There is also a rather unsettling amount of over the top sexual references that bring new meaning to the word, 'innuendo.' Even more annoying are some bizarre technical problems with the game, such as choppiness, music and sound effects skipping, and more. Given how technically unimpressive the game is, it's rather puzzling how such problems could've made it into the final product. Added to this is the interface system which has a large amount of glaring design flaws, such as the lack of an item organization option.
The graphics are rather underwhelming - the 2D sprites are large and rather well detailed, but the dungeons are hard to navigate due to their lack of variety within rooms. To clarify - each room looks nearly exactly like the one before it with a few minor tweaks, so it's easy to get lost in the large labyrinths the game throws at the player. Also, while the character art is well drawn, there is disappointingly very little variation in it. Fortunately, the game offers much more in its other aesthetic feature.
Because
Ar Tonelico revolves around the use of music to cast and maintain magic, the soundtrack is a very important part of the game. As a result, the soundtrack is phenomenal, with some of the best composed songs ever found in a video game. If there's one thing to praise
Ar Tonelico on, it's the soundtrack; it's absolutely amazing.
The look and feel of the game is meant to appeal to fans of the 'classic' 2D era RPGs, and as such
Ar Tonelico's gameplay system reflects that. Dungeon crawling is very straightforward, and battles are simplistic, playing out in the tried-and-true turn based fashion. The party is separated into two lines, the front-line characters who excel at physical strength and melee combat, and the back-line characters, Reyvateils who specialize in casting magic. Normally, only when the front-line characters are all defeated can the Reyvateil be attacked, unless enemies use special attacks that specifically target the back-line. In such an event, the front-line characters can then be ordered to guard the back-line characters from damage, and also counterattack in the process.
At the beginning of each battle (or anytime during battle if the player presses the triangle button), the player is allowed to have the Reyvateil cast one song, which begins charging. In the case of an attack spell, the longer the Reyvateil charges, the stronger the song will be. If it is a healing spell, the song's effects will continue until the Reyvateil stops singing or runs out of MP. Front-line characters and enemies have action bars that charge at different speeds depending on stats, with quicker characters getting more turns. The game also has a bizarre 'charge up' system, wherein more time is required to be spent in battle before certain skills can be used. But, ssince most battles will be shortlived, many of these moves are superfluous until the occasional heavy hitter comes running along.
The most unique aspect of
Ar Tonelico lies in its character interaction. Throughout the game, the player can interact with the three female Reyvateils in 'dating sim'-like environments in order to increase their effectiveness in battle and earn new spells for them to cast. However, instead of going on dates the player is thrust into their psyches and has to help them put their psychological imbalances in order. This leads to some rather deep character development as every aspect of the Reyvateils' personalities are revealed in this system - both the good and bad sides are explored extensively and make them more believable and sympathetic characters than the cardboard cutouts the other characters are.
Ar Tonelico is a moderate-sized game, clocking in at around 35 hours, and since there are branching paths and multiple endings as well as extra content unlocked after beating the game, purists and perfectionists can spend up to twice that amount or more playing and replaying for the different endings and rewards the game offers.
At its core,
Ar Tonelico is a game for hardcore RPG fans (especially those who can still enjoy oldschool 2D RPGs). Those who are concerned with fancy graphics, overly convoluted stories, and wildly innovative battle systems will find nothing to like about
Ar Tonelico - it's a simplistic game that has a few unique features, but not much else. People like me, who enjoy a lighthearted romp through a more traditional setting, though, will find it to be a nice change of pace from all the extravagant games of today; just don't expect too much of it.
