!!! WARNING SPOILERS !!!
well ive finally finished ar tonelico 2 and so i can create a review of it.
so here it is.
ar tonelico 2 review.
type: rpg
game time needed to finish story: 30+ hours
well lets start by saying that at this time of writing the game is probably not that easy to get. its a pretty old ps2 game and i happened to find it in the bargain bin for 5 bucks. so if you want to try this game i suggest going on ebay or something to find it.
well seeing as how this game was only 5 bucks i didnt expect much of it. but let me tell you this, it gave me a whole new experience. in a good way that is. now lets start by discussing the different things of the game. this is my first game review so dont blame me if i do stuff wrong or anything.
GRAPHICS:
this game has a very unique graphics system. its kind of a 2d game trying to be 3d. you yourself are 2d sprite walking around on a 3d world. you can clearly see that all the trees the grass and whatnot has no depth to it but i must say its kind of refreshing to see this. it reminds me alot of the older rpg's out there. now apart from the normal walking view we have the battle screen which you enter trough random encounters. this is where i think the game shines. al the graphics here are very nicely done. the spels you cast, the attacks you use and the specials all look great and colorful. they really convey the power of an attack. i cant praise this enough.
now in between the story there will be cutscenes made in anime style. and these also look really really dang good. now unfortunatly there are some parts of these cutscenes that arent anime style and try to be 3d. and thats were the graphics really take a turn for the worst. although only a few scenes are like this when they happen they totally rip you out of the game. these graphics really blow. its not even sub par. it all feels lifeless and kind of rushed.
overall the graphics are pretty good with some minor letdowns. now ive read online a bit to other reviews and one was actually complaining that the walk animation wasnt good. now i have to be honest here and kind of agree. but then again its a walk animation, i dont care if it looks bad. youre walking, there is nothing spectacular about that.
STORY:
now for the story. phew the big one.
this is were the game got me hooked. its story is very good. almost every step of the way i felt involved with the characters and cared for them. you didnt want any of them dying. yes i will admit that most of the plotpoints can be seen coming from a mile away but that doesnt chance the fact that it poses some interesting questions. i wont go into detail here but dang is this story good.
they actually use a bit of logic in this game too. there is one part were one character is dying and youre magic users (reyvateils) actually try to use healing on that character. okay it fails, but still you have to give them credit.
how is it that every time you enter battle and one character dies you can always resurect them. and in a cutscene you cant just drop a phoenix down or something. weird.
the story also has multiple endings plus two diverging story lines each focusing on a different character.
this story does tend to drag along late in the game but that might be because of me. 30 hours is a long time for me to play a game. and if it were any longer i wouldnt have finished it.
BATTLE SYSTEM:
this battle system is great in its simplicity and complexity if that makes sense. you normally have two front line fighters protecting two reyvateils who cast magic spells. in youre attack turn you order your reyvateils to start singing theyre song magic and using the directional buttons, you isue commands to youre fighters. in the defensive phase you have to block attacks by pressing the right button at the right time. attacks that are aimed at youre top party are blocked with square and attacks for the lower party are blocked with x.
simple right?
well yes and no. during youre attack you have to watch three meters. one for you spell output, one for youre reyvateils needs and one for theyre synchronity. you boost the spell power automaticly by just waiting and having your caster use mana to make the counter go up. to make it go faster you can fullfill the needs by pressing the directional button a specific way and then the attack button. once you have done this a couple of times the sync gauge goes up and you get acces to more powers.
really this all makes it come together as a pretty good system and something different from all those other rpg's out there.
LEVELING UP:
well this game has also inovated on the level up system and i think it needs some explaining. youre normal fighters level up like normal by winning battles and gaining exp. the reyvateils however have a tottally different way. they need to dualstall. whats dualstall you ask? well it involves the reyvateils all taking a bath together (and yes all reyvateils are girls). by doing this and adding crystals, toys and bath powder they level up and gain different abillitys such as hp up. and thats not even the strangest thing. o no. if you want to have acces to better spells you will have to dive into each girl and unlock them. to dive means to go into a girls psyche and helping her overcome a specific problem. the deeper you dive the better the magic gets.
it is fun to see how the game wanted to try something different but in my opinion it doenst ad anything. sure its fun but a bit complex.
MUSIC:
well ive played a lot of games and heard a lot of music from games but this one takes the cake. in sheer awesomeness that is. i mean wow is this music good. i mean really good. the complete orchestra behind it is just amazing. now this is a bit of a debatable topic. you either love the music or hate it. i love it though and whatever the game lacks in some areas it makes up for it with the music.
not much to say about it, but if you get the chance you should try to find the music online somewhere. you wont be disapointed.
ANOYANCESBUGS:
this is not a perfect game far from it infact. its got its problems. to name a few.
music can drown out the voice acting.
poor framerate. higher level attacks from enemy's can be hard to block since the timing is of.
potential game breaking glitch right before the end boss. now i havent come across it myself but it seems that at one of the boss battles the game can freeze if you didnt do enough damage. cousing you to have to reload the last save.
risky content. may or may not offend you but there is a lot of it here in this game. not advisable for younger kids. its ballancing on the edge of being for kids or adults. lots of the jokes refer to this.
bad voice acting. now normally im not one to complain about this but still worth mentioning. at some points it sounds roomy and forced.
FINAL VERDICT:
well it may not be a perfect game but a good game it is. its refreshing its new and though it has some isues they seem small in the larger scheme of things. i got this game for 5 bucks and then to have 30+ hours of gameplay in it together with diverging story lines makes it a really good game. potentially keeping you busy for 60+ hours. and yes only for 5 bucks. (yes im going to keep repeating that).
throw this all together and ar tonelico 2 gets:
7.5/10
there are certainly better games out there but not for this price. you either like it or dislike it.
emperor darkness dragon Community Member 
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