Role-playing games, perhaps more than any other
genre, are fairly easy to predict. If the first few hours are good, chances are
the rest of the experience will be entertaining. Likewise, if the opening
portion is a dud, it’s unlikely that the remaining hours will keep you awake.
Many would argue the exceptions, but that’s precisely why they’re called that –
because they are not the norm.
Ar Tonelico 2: Melody of Metafalica is very much
a part of that genre prediction. The introduction is good, as are the first few
dozen battles, boss encounters, and story sequences. The game develops at a
decent pace without forcing the player to endure too much of one thing. Ar
Tonelico 2’s story plays an essential role in building the characters, more so
than the average he’s-a-hero, she’s-a-heroine storyline. This is most apparent
as you cross into the fourth or fifth hour, when the time spent learning about
the character is almost equal to the time you’ll spend on the battlefield. For
old-school role-players who miss the days when the story actually mattered, this
revelation couldn’t be better.
That doesn’t mean the developers skimped on
gameplay – quite the contrary. Ar Tonelico 2’s battles are short, fast and rich;
they’re not incredibly deep or complex but are fully capable of engaging the
player. Once again, song magic is a significant part of your artillery, which
may simultaneously consist of two standard fighters and two songstresses. The
latter are vulnerable and must be protected by the others, who you’ll control
most of the time.
If that doesn’t sound too shocking, wait until
you experience the semi-real-time attack system. Apparently inspired by games
like Tales of Destiny, Ar Tonelico 2 lets you attack freely by tapping the X and
square buttons. The catch is that this occurs during the attack phase, which is
timed; when the clock runs out, it’s back to the defense phase, where you must
hone your skills in a music-style mini-game where the potency of enemy attacks
may be reduced. But that only works if you’re quick enough to press the X and
square buttons in-sync with the enemy assault, which is shown as a typical 2D
RPG animation, along with a defense meter that helps you determine when the
proper buttons should be pressed.
Like the first game, Ar Tonelico 2 is an RPG that
wants to connect the player to the characters. Most RPGs do this in the same
way: when the characters talk, the developers hope you listen. Ar Tonelico 2 is
a bit more daring in its approach, as it forces the player to actually
participate in the character development. As before, you’ll find additional
story collections (shown as a small glowing orb, almost like a star) throughout
each environment. By obtaining these, you’ll be able to experience additional
communications with certain characters, thus increasing the characters’ bonds
with each other, as well as the player’s bond to the characters.
That, however, is completely optional – the cure
system is not. In Ar Tonelico 2, the Reyvateil species is being threatened by a
strange sickness. In addition to the Cosmosphere system, which lets you tap into
a Reyvateil’s subconscious world (and explore its top-down map for battles,
story developments and physical growth), players must cure a Reyvateil when it
becomes ill.
The process is an unusual one, to say the least.
In terms of gameplay, it’s a matter of paying close attention to what the
Reyvateil says. Her comments are usually followed by a few response choices. The
story wants you to pick the right responses to get her to react favorably; the
game wants you to pick the right responses to keep her mood from changing, which
could end the cure scenario. By picking a response that heavily excites or
angers the Reyvateil, her mood meter will jump ahead. If her mood stays within a
certain range, you should be successful.
Ar Tonelico 2 features a few animation sequences,
but most of the story unfolds with a traditional old-school presentation. It’s
decent but won’t blow minds. Voice-overs are used, and though most of them are
good, not every story sequence features a voice track. Thus, one minute you’ll
hear the characters speak – the next minute you won’t. This is a problem I’ve
seen in a lot of Japanese RPGs, and I can only imagine it has something to do
with the translation process. They likely bring in the voice actors to perform
the script and that’s it. If re-rewrites occur or if additional dialogue is
needed, they must be done without the acting crew. One could assume that the
developer could bring the actors back in, but the cost would likely be as high
as it was the first time, and with the way Hollywood schedules are, there’s
always the possibility that some of the actors won’t be available at all.
The average gamer, of course, will not care or
even think about the costs and logistics – he’ll just notice that sometimes
there are voice-overs and sometimes there are not. That doesn’t take away too
much from the story, which is no doubt a credit to the tale’s original writers.
There are some weird moments, for sure (just look at the subtitle – Melody of
Metafalica), but this is most certainly a game that will appeal to the console
RPG market.
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Gameplay: 8.0
Fast, action-oriented gameplay from an old-school, turn-based perspective.
Graphics: 7.5
Good, but no more impressive than any other retro-styled RPG.
Sound: 8.5
The soundtrack is gripping and memorable; the voice-overs (when they’re
present) are solid and respectable.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Every once in a while, Ar Tonelico 2 throws in a battle that is fiercely
unexpected. You’ll die and quickly think about the last save you made and hope
it was very recent. The other challenges, however, are generally easy to
overcome.
Concept: 7.0
Not a groundbreaking game or a revolution; just an RPG that carves a
slightly different path and does it very well.
Overall: 8.0
A great continuation of a solid RPG franchise, Ar Tonelico 2 is worth the
time and effort you’ll put into its lengthy quest.
