Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny

"You are an alchemist; make gold of that."

If you've played the first game, then you probably know what to expect from this one.

For the sake of brevity, that sentence is probably the best summary of Atelier Iris 2: Random Subtitle Here. Nevertheless!

With a passable but typical JRPG save-the-world plot and a cast that is utilizes cheer and happiness over angst and drama, Atelier Iris 2 doesn't try too hard to make you agonize over plot details. Rather, the game's defining point is in the alchemy system.

Alchemy
You can't create as many different types of items as you could in the first game and a hint text-box shows up to alert you that a derivative item is about to be made. Although this might be disappointing to those who enjoyed discovering the fruits of their tinkering, it does make things easier and less tedious when shuffling through each possible item combination.

Combining your items produces a variety of "reviews", such as increasing a herb's area of effect or making a piece of armor more resistant to magic. Something that slows this process down is how the items' reviews are often hard to read if you use a certain option. It isn't difficult to backtrack through the menu to see the readable versions of the reviews but it is a localization issue to consider.

With the addition of fertilizing material, grappling hooks, and bombs, you've got something to do on every section of the map aside from extracting the necessary elements to create your items.

Visuals
If you aren't aware that this game uses 2-D sprites yet... well, now you know! It's colorful but certainly less impressive then the expansive 3-D worlds. If you don't like 2-D sprites, Atelier Iris 2 probably won't change your mind about them.

The 3-D map of forests/mountains/lakes and mist from the first game is gone to be replaced by a 2-D 'connect the dots' location map. A sizable portion of the first game was spent slowly walking to your destinations so this is a welcome change.

Oh, and there's more anime FMV then the first game. If that's your cup of tea.

Battle System
MP is gone, replaced by a shared charge gauge that allows your characters to use their unique beatdown techniques, healing powers, or buffing skills. To learn new skills, rather then leveling, you gain them and learn them by synthesizing your alchemy items onto your existing weapons for more power and properties inherited from the type of item you customized.

To charge the charge gauge, each character has a Charge Attack available to them. You can also charge the gauge by taking damage or using certain accessories or item combinations. You start with one charge in the beginning of every battle and charges don't carry on to the next battle so the use of your abilities is highly encouraged. If you're the type that conserves your special abilities frugally so you can have enough MP to unleash all your powerful skills once you encounter the bosses... well, there's no need for that here.

The second attack is the Break Attack. It does not charge the gauge but it does slow the enemy from getting their next turn. Despite the description, you cannot infinitely deny an enemy of their turn this way for every cumulative Break Attack delays your turn and lessens the delay effect on the enemy.

The Charge/Break attack system is easy to get the hang of and they do add a bit of variety into your random battles.

The Random Battle meter on each enemy infested map goes down each time you run into a fight. When it hits empty, you no longer have to fight battles. The meter recharges if you leave the map, use a save point, or use the appropriate alchemy item. It also gradually goes from blue to red when you're closer to fighting an enemy but this feature isn't too useful since the battles are still random and the colors change too fast for you to do anything about it.

If you're not too keen on fighting, Fear Bottles (reduces the Random Battle meter to zero for that visit) and Return Gems (returns you to the entrance of the dungeon) are as easy to make as the rest of the alchemy items.

Sound, Plot, Characters, Technical Aspects and Length
Honestly, all these aspects are passable at best.

The sound isn't done in orchestra, but it's upbeat and catchy enough when it needs to be. Really folks, I don't know why I bother to mention it, I've never heard of anyone buying a game because it had a kickass soundtrack. Anyways, the battle music changes at certain points of the game so none of the tracks should get repeated enough to make your ears bleed.

And for the plot...
Well, it's as plausible as any other plot that involves the saving of the world with a rag-tag group of heroes. The game uses the Dual Scenario system where you switch between the adventuring swordsman Felt and the item creating Viese. Felt's scenarios are necessary to continue the game but you could mostly ignore Viese's alchemy quests. Which would be unfortunate since you'd miss out on powerful items and equipment as well the selling point of the game.

Compared to the first game, whose villain is entirely evil, Atelier Iris 2's villain is given motives. The Atelier Iris 2 shopkeepers are less interesting and less developed then the first game's shopkeepers. The majority of the plot twists aren't too shocking but the game still has a few genuine surprises.

The main cast is friendly but the dialogue ranges from amusing to bland to cheesy.

Loading time is practically non-existent, though the game will very rarely freeze for a millisecond at a time, which everyone will probably experience once. Additionally, I've had the some lines cut off during battle. These rare occasions make the game feel somewhat unpolished though they don't ruin the entire gaming experience.

Length wise, if you explore the alchemy and equipment customization options available to you, the game and end game extras will last you a 30-50 hour game. It not epic but it doesn't shamelessly tack on playtime either.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/05/06