Ar tonelico 2 is a PS2 game that was brought over to the US with several issues. Entire chunks of Japanese voiced lines were cut out, the translation changed the personality of some characters, there was an extremely irritating amount of lag during battles (on a PS2 game! With timed hits as part of battles!), and they somehow managed to add a bug near the end that requires you to defeat a non-optional boss in three turns or less because otherwise you can't beat them. And since this is a PS2 game, they never got around to fixing it. Ever. But despite all that, the game still managed to somehow win me over and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. So I wanted to share it with you all! The main things that kept me interested in the series were the music and the fictional language the game uses, so I am going to be sure to link to songs and translate any Hymmnos that pops up. (I'm also going to try to explain how Hymmnos works/what it is, but it's kind of confusing so I probably won't get too in depth with it.) AT2 is a visual novel/RPG hybrid of sorts and there are multiple endings; they're mostly just based on the girl you want to end up with, so I'll toss up a few voting posts once all the characters are introduced. I have 350+ screencaps waiting for me to go through them so far, but since it's nearly midnight and I have work in the morning, I'll just leave you with the opening video for now: (The man in the skirt with the hair accessory is our protagonist, Croix. The singing ladies are Luca (purple hair) and Cloche (blonde hair); they're two of Croix's potential love interests. As you can see from this and the top picture, everyone in this game wears a stupid outfit. (Also, the weird characters that are floating around in the video are Hymmnos letters!))
This is like both a dream and nightmare come true! I'd be lying if I didn't say I still play the first one The actual gameplay was FUN and it introduced me to Gust's item sythesis games like Atelier Iris. Boy are the characters a trainwreck though. xD I've never been able to afford this game when I could actually find it, so this is cool to get an LP. Looking forward to it, Bec!
I played the first game sometime early this year, and fell in love with the series for the exact reasons you've given (music, the Hymmnos language). Having heard (via TVTropes) about the mess the localization team made with this game and the fan relocalization project currently underway, I decided to skip this one and head straight into the third game. ... I'm still undecided on whether or not that was a mistake. Even though EXEC_COSMOFLIPS and chmod b111000000/n are one of my favourite hymns in the series, the amount of fanservice they crammed into the third game (particularly in the battle system) leaves me incredibly uncomfortable when I play it. Even moreso when others are watching me play. Plus, I can't help but feel like a lolicon when I have to pick between the two main love interests I admit, though, that the fact that this lovely lady: ... is voiced by Pikachu in the Japanese dub makes up for a lot of my misgivings with AT3. tl;DR - Love the Ar Tonelico series for music and made-up language and dating-sim aspects. Didn't play the second game, have mixed feelings towards the third. Looking forward to this LP! :D
So, let's get started and meet our main characters! ...you're not a pretty girl or Croix, you're an old man with weird pointy facial hair. :| What are you even talking about, anyway? Did you just kidnap a three-year-old? Oh hey, there's Luca! I don't think they'll listen to her, but-- Reisha: Luca! WOW, RUDE. She's a little kid and she didn't even go near you, I'm pretty sure you didn't need to attack her! Batz: ...Grr... Batz: ...Take Luca and run away. Reisha: A-alright! Luca's reluctant to go, but eventually she does, after saying this: :(
Once Luca and Reisha are safely away, Batz returns his focus to the strange old man. ???: It's a very high quality one. I've never seen such a pure infection. ???: We must closely examine this... for the future of the world. Batz: What are you going to do with my daughter!? ???: We just need to see her "reaction". Batz: I won't let you do anything to Leyka! Yeah, go Dad! I hope you don't die. The game then switches over to Luca and Reisha, who have finally stopped running. Luca: Leyka... Daddy... Reisha: ...Luca. Luca: I'm sorry, Leyka... I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Reisha: ...You did a really good job today. Reisha: You're a wonderful big sister... Luca: Really? Reisha: Yes, of course. Reisha: Luca, Daddy is really strong. Luca: ...Yeah. Reisha: ...So, don't worry. Luca: ...... Reisha: Are you sleepy? Luca: ...Just a little... but... Reisha: Alright... Then let's sing a song with Mommy while we wait, okay? Luca: ...Okay.
The Hymmnos here roughly says "I will gladly and reasonably share with you", if I don't have the translation completely screwed up....and now I've got to go eat, so I'll stop here for now! Let me know if you think there's something I can/should improve on or change; I'll probably post more later. (:edit: Also, the above (with Luca) was all a flashback and if it didn't make much sense right now, that's okay. It's somewhat important later on, though, so try to keep it in the back of your mind!
You mean it actually gets worse than the main character having to force objects into sensitive parts of the girls' while they (thankfully not voice acted) cry out in pleasure and pain from it? And the weird sex dungeons in their minds you're forced to participate in to get their good spells, and which story-wise can kill both your character and the girl? Suddenly I'm very glad I did not invest in the next two games after how squicky the first made me feel. My favorite part of the first one was actually how they handled the main villain as well as Ayatane. I really, really liked the best ending to the game. It's kind of a wish-fulfillment scenario, but damn was it satisfying after how sympathethic they are.
This game.....so many....feelings about this game. I LOVED the first one and thought the second one was pretty good. But yeah...there can be awkward parts if there are people watching you play. And the characters can REAAAAAAALLLY get on your nerves...or maybe that's just me. The music is the best aspect of this game though, hands down. I'll be following this though. : )
I have so much love for the AT series. The music, the story, the characters, the art, just everything about it. I mean, when a game has something like this as it's final boss music You know you have something special on your hands. Anyway, I feel like not enough people gave this game a chance because of all of the suggestive innuendo, but a lot of the "sexual" metaphors really have a lot more to do with trusting someone completely than anything vulgar. Especially the one infamous scene from AT1 that has Lyner and Aurica. Explanation on this: Her mere existence is the best thing ever. She's totally my favorite character in the games, hands down. Well...she's tied with the third love interest from AT2, who is the most badass badass ever to be a badass. Edit: While reading this thread I found myself singing Reisha's lullaby.
Oh, the third game still has those mind-sex dungeon things that may or may not kill your character and the girl, with literal split personae thrown into the mix (literal as in, there are several completely different characters in each love interest). They also happened to include a battle system where to power up your vanguards and spells (which include throwing cats, stars and sentences at your enemies) you have to get the girls to strip. No, really. ... Did I also mention the fact that one of the main love interests can inexplicably turn her enemies into cake? ... Honey, you're around FIVE. You were up against what appeared to be a small group of soldiers and an old man with a jewel on his head. Why are you beating yourself up over this EDIT: ... Honestly, I can't really disagree with you on that. My embarassment over the suggestive elements aside, the AT series hold a warm place in my heart. I'd get the first two games in a heartbeat if they were re-released for the PS3 or Vita. I still can't help but feel that they made the tone in the third game a bit too goofy, though.
Oh no doubt about it. Gust knew that AT was infamous for the innuendo, and they amped it up to the max in 3. They kinda went overboard, especially with the Purge stuff.
Luca's a very dedicated big sister! It's one of the reasons I like her. (: But yeah, a 5-year-old shouldn't be beating herself up about something like this, especially with the way the knight treated her for just talking. (Seriously, who attacks a little kid because she's worried about her sister? It's not like she's a trained assassin or anything, geez.) The "sensitive parts" aren't what you're thinking! It'll all be explained; the games are pretty heavy on the innuendo, but I'm going to make sure to warn for anything bad/objectionable in advance. (And the "sex dungeon" thing was only in the first game, if it's what I'm thinking about.) And to just generally respond to thoughts about the third game: I was embarrassed to even buy the thing when I first found out about the Purge scenes. But one of my favourite characters in the series was back in the 3rd game, so I bought it anyway... I just try to avoid the Purge cutscenes when I can and I don't play the game around anyone else. e_e Anyway, I definitely have more than enough screencaps left right now for at least one more update before I retire for the night, so that should be coming up soon! (As a sidenote: I haven't noticed anything yet, but be sure to put spoilers for the games under a spoiler tag! It's cool that there are other fans here (I never expected to find many others!), but I don't want people that have never played the games to be accidentally spoiled. AT1 things should be okay (especially if they get referenced in-game), but certain AT2 things tie into AT3... and also if I can figure out how I'd like to try LPing AT3 after this game, if enough people are interested.)
After Reisha's song fades out, we end up at a place with a huge crowd of people gathered for a speech (in the present). Cloche: The age of serving the Goddess is over. Our time of fealty has ended! Cloche: 400 years ago, She denied us paradise, Metafalica, and suppressed us all. Cloche: And ever since, the Goddess has held complete dominance over us. There you are, Cloche! Now we just need Croix to show up and we'll have met everyone from the opening video. Cloche: We, the Neo Grand Bell, declare our secession from the Goddess' world! Cloche: We demand an independent Metafalss, able to stand on its own. Cloche: Dear beloved citizens, here is our determination and our commitment to you. Cloche: Secede from Her rule! Cloche: Unlike those clergy dogs, we promise you action and responsibility! Cloche: Join us. Let us attain Metafalss, the green land! Cloche: Metafalss, the green land! Not so sure you had to repeat yourself there, but go ahead. As you can see, Cloche is very expressive. But we can't hang around and watch her anymore! Let's finally see the main character of the game. Well, that doesn't look good. (...these clones kind of look like Alistair from Dragon Age.) Croix! Finally. What kind of main character shows up this late? The game immediately launches you into a battle tutorial at this point, which I am obviously not going to get too into because you won't be seeing many battles unless they're important or I want to show you a certain monster or something. But here's the basics, just in case you're curious: There are two phases to battles: the attack phase, and the defense phase. Right now only the attack phase really matters, because Croix doesn't have a partner yet. Basically all you do this early in the game is press a bunch of buttons until you kill your enemy; it's not very fun to look at. But here's a decent cap of Croix's ridiculous weapon in action; it is a giant lance that shoots bullets! ...I try to avoid questioning anything in Ar tonelico (or JRPGS in general, to be honest). That orange bit is the timer for the attack phase running out, by the way. During the defense phase, you'd normally be protecting your partner from timed hits (which are horrible when the game lags)... but since Croix is on his own, the enemy is just attacking him and there's no way to block it or anything. Apparently Croix can only defend himself with other people around. Anyway, she was really easy to defeat! A job well done with no issues, right, Croix? Grand Bell Knight A: We don't have a choice, ma'am. Grand Bell Knight B: You should know how dangerous an I.P.D. infected Reyvateil is. Auntie: I understand! But... But this child is my precious daughter! ...or not. GBK A: We know how you feel, but she alone destroyed three towers, killing five people. GBK A: It just can't be helped... Auntie: ..... GBK B: Take her away. Auntie: Dogs of the Grand Bell! Rude. Though to be fair, I'd be pretty upset if someone randomly stole away someone I was related to, too.
A random lady calls out to Croix as he walks away. Reyvateil: ...Ah... I-I'm sorry! Your arm is injured, sir. Croix: It's nothing. Reyvateil: Nothing gets better by pushing yourself too hard. And plus... Reyvateil: This is our job. And here's your first view of song magic! I can't remember if/when the game explains song magic and Reyvateils, so I'm going to take a small amount of time to talk about them both now. Reyvateils are a female-only species that are pretty similar to humans; one of the main differences is that Reyvateils can use song magic. Song magic is just what it sounds like--magic that's called forth/used with song. All song magic uses Hymmnos, and there are different kinds of Hymmnos that are used depending on what kind of Reyvateil is using it. Non-Reyvateil can learn and understand Hymmnos, but they can't use song magic. I'll go more in depth later if I feel like it's needed/someone asks me to! The Reyvateil apologizes for not being able to heal Croix all the way. Reyvateil: ...Huh? Reyvateil: Don't you know? I've been immunized against I.P.D. Reyvateil: But more importantly... Reyvateil: I hope you find your own princess soon! Hehehe. ...how is that more important? o_o Grand Bell Knight A: Croix, there you are! Grand Bell Knight B: Don't just go back alone! You're so heartless. Croix: We finished the mission. Reyvateil: N-n-n-no no no! Me and Sir Croix aren't like... Croix: It's nothing. GBK A & B: ..... Look at how sassy Croix looks right now. You couldn't at least be nicer about it, man? The knights complain about how Croix isn't any fun before saying the recent upsurge in "action orders" is killing them. They then say that at least they're on Croix's squad--he's so good that they can slack off and everything gets done well anyway. The Reyvateil girl gets offended on Croix's behalf, causing the knights to tease her before telling her that Croix's already "got one of his own". The Reyvateil asks if it's the girl that's always with him. Croix: Sorry, I gotta go. I'll leave the report to you. Croix runs off, leaving the other two knights and the Reyvateil girl to talk amongst themselves. GBK B: Nah, we're not talking about Cocona. GBK A: There's another one. A real one. ...and I'm going to stop there because it's later than I thought it was. Tomorrow we'll find out who Cocona is and who Croix's girlfriend is, among other things! How exciting.
To be fair, giant lance-guns don't sound as far-fetched as some of the other weapons seen in the series... (I'm looking at you, Aoto's drill/crab-claw/scissors/sword/wrench.... thing.) And I'm liking Croix's sassy pose and his general pretty boy-like attitude. Otome games have taught me that characters like him are usually snarky (or will do/say something to earn much snark) and incredibly dense when it comes to the opposite gender. :D
I have so many things to say about the design for the clothes of all females so far but just. OTL I think everyone already knows anyways. Question! Are there physical differences between a human and a Reyvateil?
Hey now. Aoto's weapon is a drill that will pierce the heavens. And then save the world. - Reyvateils are always female. The Y chromosome cancels out the ability to song magic - Reyvateils have a "tattoo" on their body that manifests sometime around puberty. This is their installer port. - Being an artificially created race, when Reyvateils breed with humans, the properties are not always passed down right. This means that any half breed reyvateil (called "3rd generation" reyvateils) will at most live to be 18-20, and will be in severe pain every few months because of their traits. The only way to prolong their lives is by use of Diliquity crystals. Though even with these crystals, they can only live to be at most 40ish years of age. - Original Reyvateils (Origin reyvateils) are basically immortal. There are only 3 of them, and they are the "tower admins" - The second gen reyvateils, aka Beta Reyvateils, are cloned from origins and can live a couple hundred years. Betas are the ones that bred with humans to create the reyvateils that we see in the main population.
YEEEP! :D This game is only rated Teen, too! HOLES. They have extra holes. UNDERSTATEMENT. It's not just you. I hated almost everyone by the end of the game. They were good ideas in the hands of poor writers, I think. xD That's the thing, if they stuck with trust, I'd be ok. But it's the fact that they DID make it undeniably sexual in some kind of possible statement about pstchology and sex relating to vulnerability plus fanservice. And it just came off feeling like forced fanservice of bad fanfiction. I'm glad I knew nothing of it's rep when I bought it, or I wouldn't have. Despite how much I like joking about it, it's one of my favorite games I own and I still play it. The gameplay is fun for me, and I was honestly interested in both sides of the story fork and all endings. Which is rare for me. But it ends SO WELL. Oh god, everyone has a split personality. I swear these games are wirtten by 12 year olds into fanfiction. Battle naked power no. NO. I'm out game. ..And throwing sentences is nothing new, didn't you get Boe with Aurica? Misha's is better. ..Did you say she makes them into cake? Touche' game, I'm back in...
I've spent waaaay too much time on the ARM (A Reyvateil's Melody) forums just reading things. As for the chicks, really the only ones wearing anything normal are ironically in AT3, like Saki with her big fluffy coat, and another female character who wears full armor (It makes sense in the context of her wearing it!). To be fair, Aurica was designed to be a completely normal girl in every sense of the word, from her personality to her clothes to even her coloring. They are Tats. That's why they used to call Reyvateilism "Tattoolist Disease" before they realized that those girls had song magic potential. As it is, they just cover them up with more fabric or whatnot because it's still considered to be a special place for them.
I used to spend a lot of time lurking there, too! I stopped around the time AT3 came out in Japan, though, because some people were getting really creepy about the characters... o_o Saki's outfit is good! I remember when I saw the character designs for AT3 the first time (when only Aoto, Finnel, and Saki were revealed) I thought her outfit was the only one that really made sense. There are still some really weird outfits in AT3 though, haha. I can't remember much about the first game's outfits, oddly enough. I don't know if that means that they were more normal overall or if I've just forgotten about them. I thought so! (: I know there's some mention of seeing emotions if you look at it (however the hell that works), so that's mostly why they cover it up, because it'd be embarrassing for them otherwise.
They weren't normal, but they weren't as outlandish as say...Cloche's Holy Maiden outfit...or reyvateil #3's outfit (I totally cast a vote for romancing her!), or, well, I'll just say "Cloche past cosmosphere 5" and leave it at that. A lot of people like to equate it with....certain other female body parts, but anyone that actually HAS said body parts knows that it's way more than just an "indecent" sex organ. There's a lot of symbolism and junk, which really is AT's forte.
So, who is Cocona? That's Cocona! And she... doesn't look happy that she's been kept waiting. (I was baking! I have an excuse!) Croix apologizes for being late, but Cocona doesn't seem to accept his apology. Croix: It was a really serious one this time... Cocona: Oh, fine. Well, good job, as always. Cocona: I'm so sad I couldn't join the fight today. Croix: ...... (Bonus fun fact: When Cocona is upset, she says "boo" a lot. The translators got rid of this quirk in English for whatever reason, which is unfortunate because it's actually kind of important later in the series. Also, say hello to Croix's casual outfit and glasses! He doesn't always wear a battleskirt.) Croix: Huh? Yeah... I'm fine. Cocona: It leaves... Croix: Huh? Cocona: It leaves a bad taste afterwards, huh? Purifying an I.P.D. infection... Croix: ...Yeah. You're right. Cocona: ...... Croix: ...No, I... Croix: I joined the Grand Bell Knights because I liked the ideals of Metafalica. Croix: In reality, it's only I.P.D. purifying missions, but... Cocona: Sucks, huh? Croix: Well, at least we're doing something for the people. Besides... Cocona: Hehehe... Yeah, I guess. Cocona: Come on, let's keep shopping. Hurry before the shops close! Keep shopping? But Croix just got here; you were just standing around talking, not shopping... unless Cocona was shopping on her own before this, I guess. One shopping trip (that we don't get to see) later... Cocona: What!? Cocona: You're the one who said we needed good food since Luca's coming tomorrow! Croix: Well, yeah I did, but... Isn't this too much? Cocona: ...You don't know anything about hosting! But wait! Apparently there's one more shop they need to go to! Cocona: Oh, come on. I told you we need to go to the weapon shop at Tsuruya. Cocona: They finished making my new armor, so I have to go pick it up. Croix: Oh, that's right. Sorry. Cocona: Oh? But I thought you always have so much fun. Croix: You know that's not true. Cocona: Whatever. Let's hurry up and go to Tsuruya! The translation seems awkward on Cocona's first line... but there's nothing I can do about it; let's go to Tsuruya! Maybe we can figure out why Croix dislikes it so much.
And with a magical scene change, we are now at Tsuruya! Hooray. Croix: You seem happy today. Don't tell me you made something else strange. Cynthia: Wow, Coo. You're amazing! Cynthia: I guess with our close bond and all, you know everything about me, huh? (In Japanese, Cynthia calls Croix "Coocoo" and Cocona "Cocona-chan". Also, I think I understand why Croix isn't too fond of this place...) Cynthia: You can't leave yet... I don't allow window shopping! Cynthia: Anyway, how can I help you today? Cocona explains that she's here to pick up her armor, and Cynthia goes to get it. I'm sure whatever Cocona gets will be neat and better armor than what she's wearing-- ...nevermind. Cocona is happy to receive the armor as it is, but Cynthia offers to "make it better". Cocona quickly declines, telling Cynthia to make something for Croix instead. Cynthia: Aww! You're such a good little sister, Coco! Cynthia: It's so nice that you're taking an interest in your brother's love life. Croix: All I see is a horrible little sister that's sacrificing her big brother's life... I'd listen to her, she has a giant wrench... thing. And she's the only one wearing protective gear right now. Cynthia: That sounded like I only make bad stuff that'll get you killed. Croix: ...Am I wrong? Cynthia: ...That hurts. Pride wounded, Cynthia vows to make a really strong weapon by the next time Croix comes back. Well, looks like it's time to go! Once Cocona and Croix are outside, Cocona asks a valid question: Croix: ...I doubt it. Cocona: Oh? Really? Croix: Luca's not the type to get mad about things like that. Cocona: Oh? Croix: ...What's wrong? Croix: Not this again. Cocona: Well, the more I ask, the more questions I have. Croix: She's a nice...good girl. Wow, Croix, you are simply the best there is at describing your girlfriend's personality. Way to go. Croix: You'll find out soon enough, when we start living together. Cocona: ...But then it'll be too late. That's why I'm asking now. Croix then changes the subject, asking if this is all the shopping they needed to do today. Cocona says it is and they decide to go home. I meant to talk to some NPCs here, but my controller flipped out and made Croix walk to the map, so I just... had him go home. (I'll talk to them next time we go out here.) I technically have more screenshots, but I'd like to play a bit more before continuing; for now here are a couple of character profiles! Under a spoiler just in case you want to find out more about them through the game instead of reading profiles.
So earlier I was watching the latest episode of Hunter x Hunter when I remembered that Kurapika's seiyuu is also Cloche's Seiyuu. Miyuki Sawashiro is really good at voicing condescending blondes. On that note, Luca's english VA is one of the BEST english voice actors out there (Laura Bailey). When you hear her english voice, keep in mind that she's Lust from FMA, Tohru from Fruits Basket, and Crayon Shin Chan. Yup.
