AR Tonelico: Melody of Elemia
- February 13, 2007 10:11 AM PST
- Email this!
I have the bladder of a 12 year old boy. Countless trans-continental flights have proven this. The fact that I enjoy playing Ar Tonelico proves that I still have a 12 year old boy in me infatuated with the idea of flirting with girls and giving them gifts just to hear a giggle.
- GamePro Score
- User Score
- Write your review!
Ar Tonelico is one of those RPGs that require you to spend excessive amounts of time out in the field fighting random battles just to level and learn that new spell that obliterates everything in the wake of a spectacular animation. But the hours of monotonous leveling didn't matter to me because that time was spent so I could make the girls in my party feel happy and loved.
All Work and No Play Makes For Happy Girls
PROTIP: See no evil, hear no evil: Turn the language selection to Japanese in the system menu to avoid bad dialogue.
You control Lyner, a young knight charged with saving the world, as per usual. However, he and all the other men in this world can only use brute force to get things done. Unfortunately, his strength alone can't fight off the viruses that are taking down the planet. Lyner needs magic; powerful magic wielded by woman-robot hybrids that cast magic through singing.
Lyner meets and becomes close friends with several young girls known as Reyvateils. He has to gain their trust, respect, and love though conversation, listening, and acting on behalf of his lovely ladies. Once he does this he can dive into the subconscious of their minds and get to know them intimately, causing the Reyvateils to learn new songs and spells.
Sounds like a dating sim, right? Well, in part it is, though it ends up being more like dating a series of girls that work in a brothel because it's impossible to get shot down. Nothing wrong with that though. Though this creates a fun and addictive game play experience, the game leads you down a fairly narrow path. There are no wrong answers that result in a negative reaction from the girls you talk to, and the majority of your time is spent reading text and listening to poor voice acting.
Is It Just Me, Or Is Your Sprite Showing?
PROTIP: If you talk to her, she will come: Make sure to explore all the environments, conversation clues are hidden everywhere, even in the bushes.
The role-playing side of things is shallow and lacks any challenge. The majority of the game will have your thumb strapped to the x button as the male characters hold off enemies while your Reyvateil charges up her song and unleashes an attack that obliterates the playing field.
Despite the fancy artbook that comes packaged with the game, Ar Tonelico is not a visually stunning game. The graphics are comprised of 2D sprites running across painted backgrounds that at times looks lush and colorful, but leaves me wondering when RPGs will step up to the demands of an evolving next-gen world.
Also, for a game focused on the power of song, the music was disappointing. None of the stylistically diverse songs are sung by the Reyvateils during battle, and all of the music is relegated to the background.
To spice things up a bit, an in-depth item creation system was included as a way to create hundreds of items that increase stats, improve health, and beef up weapons. The problem is that the battles are easy and leave little reason to go through the effort of creating upgrades, other than the sheer joy of hearing your Reyvateil rename it and giggle when you tell her what a wonderful job she did.
In the end Ar Tonelico is a light hearted adventure. What the game lacks in the battle and exploration departments, it more than makes up for in the experience of getting to know a girl intimately.
PROTIP: Pay attention to your environments: Reyvateil are able to learn songs that cast green magic spells can knock down walls, create fires, and even save small puppies.
