Atelier Iris: Grand Phantasm

[Spoony Mage]

So according to http://www.rpgfan.com/news/2007/1077.html, we will be getting the third entry in the Atelier Iris series, Grand Phantasm.  I keep forgetting, is this the eigth title in the Atelier series as a whole?

Anyways, I don't know too much about the game so I can't say much.  As an Atelier series fan, I am excited, though.

Discuss.

[Crown Clown]

Well, seeming as they did give out the two previous Atelier Iris, I would have been kinda surprised if they didn't continue the trend so to speak. I actually just started playing the first one yesterday. I have been meaning to play it for a long time but I just couldn't get around to it before. God, I hate having a backlog. I miss the good old days when I power gamed every game I could get my hands on.

I have to say that so far, I've been enjoying AI. The combat is a bit on the slow side though, and the story screams "been-there-done-that" but the creation/synthesizes systems are really entertaining. I don't really want to continue the story. I would much rather just run around collecting items, mana and creating things.

I this keeps up, then I'll have to get the second one too. And at that time, hopefully I can get my hands on the third as well.

For those who've played both, how does Eternal Mana stack up against The Azoth of Destiny?

[Magic Pink]

Azoth of Destiny is simpler and has less to do it seems. I only got about 15 or so hours into it before I quit.

It's better then Ar tonelico tho, I only made it about 5 hours or so into that before I quit. That was mostly out of disgust tho.

[Spoony Mage]

For those who've played both, how does Eternal Mana stack up against The Azoth of Destiny?

Eternal Mana does have a lot more to do, not just in terms of synthesizing but getting more character development out of the various shop owners.  About 75% of my play time revolved around that.  The main story in either game is nothing special, though I did enjoy Fee's arc in Azoth of Destiny a great deal.  The first two games would really have benefitted from multiple endings as characters like Veola in Eternal Mana and Fee and Noin in Azoth were quite interesting.  Overall, though, I've no real complaints about either game.  I AM hoping Grand Phantasm turns out to be something special, though.

[Ramza]

I'm with Spoony - the shop owner conversations in AI1 were what made the game a truly unique experience. I LOVED it.

AI2 was good, but I strongly prefer AI1.

I haven't read much on Grand Phantasm (it was "Fantasm" in JP, but I guess NIS is changing that). I do know it has good music! We'll see about the rest...

And uhh...I have to ask...why does Ar tonelico "disgust" you, my Magical Pink friend?

Ramza

[Silverwolf X]

No idea about Ar tonelico, completed both Jap and US versions. Ar Tonelico's translation was abit rushed though, with chunks of errors here and there.

As for Fantasm, expect a great game. Completed Jap version, nice to know the Us version's coming soon as well.

[Dice]

I really really didn't like the 2nd AI game.  Like all of Gust's games, this one looks good, but all I've heard is pretty standard.

[Logick]

I never have high expectations for Gust's games, they're a niche developer and they know their niche.  Old school style RPGs with a whimsical flare to them.

[Bernhardt]

You all know that I thoroughly enjoyed Atelier Iris ~ Eternal Mana 2 / Azoth of Destiny; for some reason, I found the game's setting to be very similar to Lunar 2 ~ Eternal Blue; that, and I noticed sytlistic similarities in both games' music. Don't ask me how.

Ar-Tonelico also seems to be shaping rather nice so far, first few hours in.

Because of this, I was hoping Grand Fantasm would be released in the 'States, and I'm definitely looking forward to it, now that an imminent release has been announced.

...

On a sidenote, I thought the original Atelier Iris was one of the most annoying sidequest / fetch quest RPGs out there. Going between the same two towns, or between one dungeon and one town as many as 4-5 times really got on my nerves. It was kind of like, make me go to that one dungeon one, maybe twice for a more in depth look, to unlock some big secret door, and then after that, be done with it!

The alchemy for anything other than spells was also very annoying, seeing as how I never had the ingredients, or could find them. It was like I always had to kill some obscure enemy for some obscure ingredient for some accessory or weapon that really didn't help me out. I never once bothered to craft weapons or accessories, and somehow, I managed to defeat Prism and Amalgam, the two toughest boss enemies in the game, just fine. Sure, it took multiple tries for Prism, and 30 minutes for Amalgam, but it beat the annoyance that was the alchemy system.

...

I like how the alchemy systems are so much simpler in AI2 and Ar-Tonelico. I've always said more customizability, the better, but make it too complicated, and after awhile, I'd just rather not even bother with it.

That, and AI2 and A-T advance in a nice straight line, without much backtracking.

[MonCapitan2002]

I have enjoyed the first two games in the series so I am pleased to see that this game is being localised for the US market.  Even though the first two games tend to feel more old school in terms of their overall look and battle mechanics, I thoroughly enjoyed them.  I eagerly anticipate getting the next game in the series.

[Ashtrot]

Oh joy, another game that'll have NISA's trademark shitty localization.

[Bernhardt]

Oh joy, another game that'll have NISA's trademark shitty localization.

I dunno about that man; if the dialogue makes perfect sense to me, and they're actually able to make me laugh when they make a joke, regardless of whether it was in the original script or not, I think that's more than a decent job, and certainly not a shitty one. Not like they're trying to write a grand novel...but I guess, after reading translations by Japanese first-year English students (or vice-versa) one is able to appreciate most other translations...

[Ashtrot]

It doesn't matter if they take artistic libterties or not. Their voice acting has become amateurish, they make awkward and irritating sentence translations, and generally do an ass job on anything not developed by NIS itself.

Fail.

[Bernhardt]

It doesn't matter if they take artistic libterties or not. Their voice acting has become amateurish, they make awkward and irritating sentence translations, and generally do an ass job on anything not developed by NIS itself.

Fail.

You think you could do a better job?

[D-Rider]

It doesn't matter if they take artistic libterties or not. Their voice acting has become amateurish, they make awkward and irritating sentence translations, and generally do an ass job on anything not developed by NIS itself.

Fail.

You think you could do a better job?

He probably could.  He's a scholar of the language.