Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia

"Interesting, but certainly not perfect."

Ar tonelico had some rather unique aspects to it, but the rest was unfortunately recycled goods. I believe that the game is a perfect "building block" to a sequel (which is coming, although I don't know if it'll come to America). In other words, there's a LOT of room for improvement.

First off, battles. It's turn-based, but very, very easy. You shouldn't see the game over screen unless you forgot to make your equipment better though adding up to four "enhancements" to it. And the only time you should need them is when you fight a boss at the end of each of the three “Phases”, or parts of the game. As you get closer to the end, the enemies get more annoying than fun to beat, and you'd rather run than fight.

You get to create items through “grathmelding” in an inn or at camp. All you need is the items needed to create it, and the recipe for it. It's only required a couple of times, and it's almost never annoying to do. It can get you some rather nice stuff sometimes.

The plot isn't horrible by any means. However, there's nothing special about it. All Lyner (the main character) has to do is save the world from viruses (not a disease, but some enemies you can actually kill). There really isn't a whole lot more to it. The plot twists are actually TOO obvious in some cases. All you have to do is read about the characters and see what they look like and you can tell who's evil and who's not.

I'd say the graphics are a mixed bag. If you love those pretty realistic graphics, this game is definitely not for you. It's pretty…flat. Some of the environments are nice, others seem like repeats. However, I like how the characters are drawn. Also, the sprites are rather nice.

English voice overs are ok. They get the job done, but not much else. During the few cutscenes, they're rather bad, but they're acceptable at all other times.

Music is awesome. I swear some of the music has subliminal messages in the “lyrics.” But I still loved the music, and even listen to the soundtrack now and then.

My greatest compliment for Ar tonelico would be the “diving” system. Basically, Lyner can enter the minds of ladies who sing to fight, Reyvateils (named Aurica and Misha). In order to enter their minds, or “cosmospheres”, you must speak with them a few times at an inn or in camp – you'll see many subjects to talk about sometimes, but other times you just sleep. Speaking to the Reyvateils at night and entering their cosmospheres by diving is how the Reyvateils get developed (especially since Aurica and Misha they get shoved to the side during Phase 3). And besides character development, you also get to “craft” song magic. Some of it heals, some of it is actually kinda useless in many cases. Either way, it would be helpful to get some higher level songs.

At a certain point, you can go off in two paths in Phase 2: Aurica's path, and Misha's path. The path you choose determines which Reyvateil is focused on more during that Phase. This split also leads to multiple endings.

Unfortunately, other than Lyner and the Reyvateils, the other characters aren't well developed or given much attention for a lot of time. They're rather boring, except in a few parts. If they didn't fight, they'd have almost no point to be with you. They can be considered cheerleaders or decorations. Your choice.

Ah, and probably the reason you're even reading reviews about this game is because of the innuendos you've heard about. Sometimes they're funny, sometimes they're not. Either way, there are plenty of them.

Overall, it's a good game, with a LOT of room for improvement. Is this for everyone? No. Do I recommend it? Yes.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/27/07