Your knock-off Chocobo is no match for my huge sword!
I dress this way because I am starved for attention
Thank God for GPS
Sho-ryu-ken!!!
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With a name that cumbersome, you know it's good! If you're anything like me, you are a sad, lonely man who spends his nights weeping over a can of cold SpaghettiOs and cursing his fate. When not doing that, though, you likely pine for the days of the SNES, when games were brightly colored and simple, yet as absorbing as the black hole our universe orbits in a nearly timeless death-spin. If this describes you (and God help you if it does), then perhaps Atelier Iris 2 is the game for you. [And if this doesn't describe you, we advise you start breaking the Prosacs in half - ed.]
The first thing that hit me when I popped this game in (apart from the furious fists of my enraged neighbors, who coincidentally had broken into my house to beat me senseless for blasting ABBA's "Dancing Queen" for three days straight) was how similar it is to those olde timey RPGs of yore. The graphics, though more advanced than anything the Super Nintendo was capable of, still have that bright, cheery, 16-bit feel to them. The music also has a simple, familiar charm to it, despite being unique to this game. And the story is about as far away from the moody, religious-reference-filled gloom-fests that have flooded the market post-Final Fantasy VII as you can get.
Let's all be friends! In the opening scenes, a young girl named Viese graduates from being a mere student of Alchemy to a full-fledged Alchemist, a prestigious rank in the land of Eden, and immediately runs off to tell her childhood friend, Felt (not to be confused with the fabric whose gentle texture haunts my dreams). Felt, it seems, is another student of Alchemy, though not nearly the go-getter (a.k.a dork) that Viese is. He much prefers practicing with his sword, and dreams of one day being able to pass through the mysterious Belkhyde Gate into the equally mysterious land of Belkhyde beyond. He gets his wish that very day, when significant portions of Eden suddenly up and disappear like a mooch when the check comes, and the magical sword, the Azure Azoth, comes loose from its resting place in Felt's hand (think The Sword in the Stone). When the apparition of a young woman materializes before Felt and tells him he can only resolve the current crisis by traveling to Belkhyde, he needs no further urging. Giving everyone in Eden the finger, he leaps through the gate into Belkhyde and adventure.
Those familiar with Nippon Ichi's strategy RPGs such as Disgaia and La Pucelle Tactics may be somewhat shocked (although not as shocked as the guy who entered that Denny's men's room after I left) to find little of those games' slapstick, irreverent humor in this one. Though it doesn't have an overwhelmingly serious tone, Azoth does treat its characters as people, not merely neurotic, dysfunctional nutcases like in Disgaia. [Hmm, I must check me out this Disgaia thing! - ed.] The game never mocks or parodies its rather simple quest of, "save the world from evil megalomaniac," and losses suffered by characters are never played for laughs. Tone-wise, it most closely resembles Phantom Brave, although its sappier parts are thankfully nowhere near as nauseating as Phantom's (I swear to God, if I see two more little girls profess undying friendship, I'm going to stab myself in the eye. With one of their ribs!). Lacking Phantom's children's book-style plot of the outsider proving her worth and winning acceptance, Azoth's rather simplistic story really contributes to it feeling like a game from a bygone era.
The characters, too, are drawn with rather broad strokes. Felt is the stereotypical do-gooder, compelled to do right by a moral compass that never goes astray. Viese is the standard woman-left-behind, waging a constant battle to remain optimistic about her man's struggles in a faraway land, occasionally subject to fits of weepy despair when she ponders how many other chicks he's probably nailing. Fleshing out the party is a bruiser with a heart of gold, a tough girl whose tragic attempts at cooking reveal her soft side, and a pale, delicate looking girl who stabs first and asks questions later. The only one who isn't a stock character is Poe, the Gun Mana (Manas being types of elemental faeries), who despite his cutesy appearance is a shameless flirt and lecher. [Kind of like if Tinkerbell was male and a dirty whore. Or wait, Tinkerbell _was_ a dirty whore. Well, just male, then. - ed.] Though we've all seen these types before (except mayhaps for naughty Poe), they still manage to come together as a team in that endearing way that's hard to resist.
Fight for you right to, uh, fight?
Atelier Iris's battle system is also relatively free of the gimmicks developed in many newer games. When Felt and crew run into a random encounter the screen switches to battle mode with monsters on the left and heroes on the right. A colored bar at the top of the screen shows the timing of the various combatants' actions. The actions themselves are fairly standard RPG fare such as fight, use item, force (the game's equivalent of magic), defend, look stupid, etc. However, there are one or two little things that give the fighting a slightly unique flavor.
First off, there are two different types of standard attacks (three if you count openly mocking your foes' mothers' sexual promiscuity). While both damage foes, one will charge up the force gauge, thus allowing for more spell casting, and the other will knock a foe back on the action bar, thus prolonging its wait until its next turn. Knock a foe back far enough, and it'll become dizzy, a condition which not only causes it to move along the action bar extremely slowly but that also initiates a combo, where every successive strike against an enemy (not necessarily the dizzy one) will increase the combo count and lead to greater rewards after the battles conclusion. Trust me, you want that extra experience. Successful battling requires the player cleverly alternate between dizzying foes and accumulating force for powerful finishing blows.
The other unique angle is that the player can utilize alchemy during combat to create items if the stores of that particular item have run dry. Of course, there really aren't any excuses for not having made an adequate amount ahead of time... [Rubbish! Lazyness is a perfectly fine excuse, says I! - ed.]
Bartender, mix me up another Fairy Tea. Of course, it wouldn't make sense for Atelier Iris to be so like games of the past that you'd have no interest in playing it because you essentially, well, already played it in the past. Where Atelier Iris is really different is in its use of Alchemy. Rather than just meaningless fantasy terminology, which has always been the rage in RPGs, Alchemy plays a significant purpose in the game, as it is basically the means by which the player acquires all of his swell items. Sure, there are shops here and there, but most of them just sell crap. The really good stuff you have to make yourself. [Let's not totally belittle the value of crap, however. It's the cornerstone of any vibrant economy - ed.]
First off, I should mention that the game is divided into two separate storylines. Felt, as I have explained, spends the game running around Belkhyde with his team, battling monsters and an evil empire. Viese, on the other hand, functions as Felt's backup. Through the use of the cheesily-named Share Rings (ugh, I feel stupid just saying it) Felt and Viese are able to pass items and money back and forth, despite being in different worlds. As such, whenever Felt is in need of more or better gear, Viese, using her superior alchemy skills and her even more superior ability to ignore the fact that she spends all her time and money crafting things for a guy who sleeps in the same tiny tent as two hot babes, creates it from base components. These components are usually things you can easily find just lying around, such as grasses, powders, and mushrooms (hmmmm... that certainly explains why everyone is so cheerful). Also, once Viese has made an item, Felt is capable of replicating it using energy even more easily obtained by absorbing everyday objects. Though one of the characters must first find a recipe in order to make a particular item, once the recipe is obtained, the ingredients can often be mixed and matched to change the item's properties or create different items entirely. Since many items can be equipped to teach characters new skills and abilities, crafting items becomes a fun, rewarding diversion from the main story.
If you like this kind of thing, you probably already own the game. Seriously, this is the type of game that's not going to win tons of admirers in the mainstream, let's-go-play-drunken-Halo-and-Madden crowd. Nor is it quite quirky enough to earn a cult following among the same group that obsesses over stuff like Disgaia and Kartia (if you have even heard of this game you need to go outside, right now, and start exercising). That's a shame, too, because it is a pretty fun game, worth at least a look (ok, fine, a rent!) by fans of the genre, if perhaps not a purchase. It is what it is, an unabashedly simple RPG that hearkens back to days of yore. Regrettably, it's most likely destined to quietly slip off most gamers' radars, only to be seen again a few years down the line being sold for $150 on eBay to the few poor suckers who have realized, too late, that they really need to play it. Don't be one of those unfortunates! If you've got a thing for games that really get your nostalgia glands pumping, don't let this one pass you by. Of course, if that's not your cup of tea, well, keep on walking buddy. Just keep on walking.
...
Mike Zeller
Summary: A fun, simple little game that reminds one of the delightful RPGs of one's childhood. Or two's childhood.
Already played it? Trade it for another game at
Systems: Playstation 2
Genre: RPG
Setting: The fantasy worlds of Eden and Belkhyde.
Mood: Perky
Story: Alchemist in training, Felt, must take up the magical sword, the Azure Azoth, and venture forth into the land of Belkhyde in search of a way to save both it and his home world of Eden.
Graphics: Bright and cartoony in a 16-bit kind of way.
Music/Sound: Similar to dozens of other Japanese console RPGs.
Voice Acting: Overall solid, with an occasional patch of awkward inflection.
Script/Dialog: Decent enough.
Similar Games: The first Atelier Iris, I would assume. Also, it has a very similar feel to pretty much every old SNES RPG.
Gameplay: Almost any other RPG.
Strengths: A fun, relatively light-hearted plot and a fairly deep item creation system.
Weaknesses: Doesn't really break any new ground. The developers must be environmentalists.
Depth: While combat and the main story are fairly simple, a lot can be done with the item crafting system.
Length: Between 30 and 40 hours depending upon how many side quests are attempted.
Pace: Steady
Difficulty: Relatively easy.
Control: It's a turn based RPG, so there isn't a heck of a lot there could be a problem with. That being said, some of the jumping was a little awkward.
Learning Curve: Probably a few hours to get the gist of combat and item synthesis.
Replayability: Once you've played through a single time, you've probably seen pretty much everything. Now go back and see if you can synthesize a Twisted Sensation Trojan Condom.
Will keep you up until (a.k.a Fun
Factor): It gets a little late, but not too late.
Notable Features: Item creation system and built-in nostalgia simulator.
Fav. Character: Poe, the lecherous Gun Mana.
Instant Classic: Probably not.
Publisher: Nippon Ichi
Developer: Gust
Release Date: 2005-04-25
Players: 1
Multiplayer: Nope.
ESRB: Everyone
Target Audience: The ol' skool RPG gamer.
Recommended For: Probably that same crowd.
Not Recommended for: Folks who need their games in the sharpest 3-D and/or who need things all dark, mood, and rife with religious references. And oh yeah, if you hate Japanese RPGs like kidney stones, don't touch this.
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