Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana

"Who knew that alchemy would be fun?"

Who would have thought that this game would have so much to do. I wasn't expecting this game to have so much behind it. The base game is run of the mill stuff, at least when it comes to Japanese RPGs. You have your main character who is self-doubting, the love interest, the overly cute little girl, etc. The game isn't that different than many other Japanese RPGs, what sets the game apart though is the alchemy. Gathering items to make new items, baking breads, making weapons or making some alcohol. This is where the game really shines and makes it stand out from many other games in the genre.

Graphics: It is rare sight these days to see a 2D RPG on a home console, Final Fantasy VII and its ilk made sure that 2D RPGs find a home on handhelds. The game uses high-res character portraits to portray the main characters in the game. The characters are vibrant, the same cannot be said about a lot of the backgrounds, which are devoid of the color that the characters portray. Another thing that seems to be the case in a lot of RPGs these days is the world map. Question, if you are making a 2D game, why make the world map 3D? If a company is going to go that route then they should at least try. The world map in Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana is hideous. It looks as if it came out of a PS1 game, and that is not a generalization. Note to Gust, stick with what you are good at and that is 2D. Characters would also benefit from a few more frames of animation.

Game Play: This is where it gets fun. If you play this game through and ignore the side quests and alchemy, you would be missing out on half of the game. The story of some of the NPCs really gets fleshed out if you take time to gather the ingredients that they require to make their items, whether it be baking powder or liquor. A few of the NPCs are a lot more interesting than some of the characters that you play as. It does take a awhile to gather some of items since they are extremely rare and you will be revisiting a lot of the dungeons and towns you have visited before just hoping that that one elusive item will re-spawn.

Battles are standard fare for a RPG. You have a three man party and you use your skills to defeat the enemies, like I said before, standard. Some attacks take a turn to charge up leaving your character or the enemy in some cases, open for an attack. You can be knocked out of the attack which is sure to frustrate people.

In this game you can equip mana, basically Espers if you remember Final Fantasy 6. Instead of learning new spells you gain bonuses by having them equipped. It will make leveling up your skills a bit less tedious since some skills take a couple of points to max out and getting three points per level up does not cut it in most cases. You can also use the mana out in the field to complete your task or look for treasure. You extract elements from practically anything in this game and that is how you make Mana Items. These items are a bit stronger than your normal items and really do help out in boss battles or when you are up against an army and you just want to thin out the herd.

Sound: Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana has one of the best soundtracks that I have heard in recent memory. The tracks range from up-beat battle themes to somber themes when a sad event happens. I would highly recommend buying the soundtrack if you ever get the chance.

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana is a game for completest. If you are the type of gamer that loves collecting items or just love discovering new synthesis formulas you will really enjoy this game. I know that a lot of people will want to use a guide for this game, but I would suggest against it. It is a lot of fun finding out new formulas on your own, don't get discouraged if you make the same item again, it usually just takes one single ingredient to change the whole thing and get a new item. Don't rush either, take your time to explore the world and talk to the people. You will be laughing your head off at some of the lines in this game. Outside of a couple of sound glitches, you really cannot go wrong buying this game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/27/05