| AR Tonelico: Melody of Elemia | 
 enlarge | From: Atlus Video Games
Category: Video Games
List Price: $49.99
Buy New: $30.94
You Save: $19.05 (38%)
Buy New/Used from $30.94
Avg. Customer Rating:   (12 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3903
Platform: Playstation2
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 1.1
MPN: 00107
Model: AR001079
UPC: 857823001079
EAN: 0857823001079
ASIN: B000FUG5TK
Release Date: February 6, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | The story centers on Laina Barselt, an eighteen-year-old whose father governs Platina, a town located in the top floors of the tower | | • | Join the army and use the hymns to unlock secrets and wield powerful magics | | • | Dive into the minds of the girls and learn about what she is thinking, for a new element of gameplay | | • | You can also change your heroine's costume and customize her skills |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia mixes several different gameplay styles - from role-playing exploration to turn-based battles. The game takes you to the world of Sol Shell, a small world where a single floating tower sits between two seas -- clouds above, plasma below. The key to this world is the magic of song; unlock it to discover incredible new adventures in a strange and beautiful landscape.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Excellent character development September 19, 2008
This is definitely a great game. Sure the enemies/bosses are easy to defeat (just case a defensive spell and it will heal you as well as increase defense), but the story is great. A lot of sexual innuendo. You get to dive (enter the mind of your reyvatails), and get to know them more. The girls have very similar problems people (both boys and girls) deal with.
Too easy, but fun! September 18, 2008
Lessee, having played 40+ hours of this game and already seen two of the endings, I'll join in the reviews...
A lot of the basic info for this game has already been explained in previous reviews, so I won't repeat it here. But I'll add that grathnodes, which are used in "grathmelding" to make new and (usually) more powerful items, can also be used to customize weapons, armor, equippable accessories, and even the "song magics" of the Reyvateils.
Anyway, like others have mentioned, this game is easy. Too easy. In all the time I've played, the only time I was really challenged was when I had to push and shove my way into completing one of the alternate endings.
Yet just because it's easy doesn't mean it's no fun to play, in my opinion. For me, the challenge of a battle is not in defeating the bad guys, but in building up the "harmonics" between your front line fighters and your Reyvateil to their highest level before the battle is over. Building up the harmonics can take a little bit of strategizing -- coordinating your character's attacks with your Reyvateil's song magic while keeping an eye on the "harmogauge" (harmonics meter). And the reward for doing so is you get more cool stuff after the battle. I read one comment that the special skills your fighters can use in battle don't really have much use -- not true. They do have a use: they increase your harmogauge by a lot more than a standard attack.
But the "relationship" aspect of this game -- and the cute girls -- was the biggest pull for me to give this game a try. And I was only slightly disappointed. For the most part, cultivating relationships with the Reyvateils Aurica and Misha through finding conversation topics, and "diving" into their Cosmospheres (their minds, thoughts, feelings, etc) has been a lot of fun. Ostensibly you dive into your Reyvateil to enhance her song magic abilities, but it really feels more like you're growing closer to her as you get to know her more intimately, and help her overcome her personal issues and/or emotional scars. The slight disappointment was when I realized that the whole diving thing is not really like a dating-sim at all. You don't get to make many choices. Mostly you just watch as events unfold in her Cosmosphere. Occasionally there are choices to make, but I don't think they affect the overall outcome of what happens. Oh, and there's also the costumes you gain access to as you complete Cosmosphere levels. You can make your Reyvateil wear different costumes during battle, and they each enhance her abilities in different ways. Plus it's also fun to put her in cute outfits.....or in some cases, more revealing outfits.
I can't think of anything else to add....I'll still be playing it for a while though, as there's much I haven't completed yet. I like the game plenty, but I only gave it 4 stars for being just too easy.
A fun JRPG July 8, 2008
If you are into Japanese RPG that has anime visuals, traditional 2D sprites, and character development, check this game out.
Deteriorates into Standard Sci-Fi February 16, 2008
Another RPG by Nippon Ichi Software (most famous for Disgaea), Ar Tonelico has a more futuristic bent and a fairly unique setting.
The setting is a world twice destroyed, first by humans and then by a massive virus. The virus was captured and sealed in a great tower by the "heroes of Elemia". Now the Knights of Elemia watch over the sealed virus. However, in mysterious circumstances, the virus is set free. Lyner, a knight of Elemia, must flee the overrun tower and recover the ancient item necessary to purge the infestation.
The game features two major races, one of which is responsible for the game's main gameplay point. The first is humanity; these make up the majority of characters in the game. These live both in the tower and the "lower world", the actual planet beneath the tower. The other race are the Reyvateils; created to maintain the higher world, Reyvatiels are capable of singing hymns to give powerful effects to their fellow combatants. As such, they are treated as tools by many humans in the lower world. The playable humans in your party will make up your combatants (who play in a standard RPG style), and the Reyvatiels will take up a unique party position where they sing to support the combatants by upgrading their synchronization. Synchronization increases damage, defense, and also the type of items you get at the battle's end. Thus, it is important to protect your Reyvatiel.
The other major game element involving the Reyvatiels is the Cosmosphere, an interactive fiction sub-game set in the consciousness of the Reyvatiel characters. By helping the characters with their psychological issues, you improve their synchronization and hymn powers. Going deeper into their psyche is unlocked by using the Reyvatiel in battle.
The graphics are cutesy, as with other NIS games (Atelier Iris, especially, looks similar). Compared to other games in general, this is sort of unique, but specifically compared to other NIS games, it's nothing special. The sound has a large part in the game due to the use of Reyvatiel Hymns, but truthfully neither the music nor the voice acting is that good.
Apart from a few new gameplay twists, most of this game is nothing new. For some people, I suppose, that's not a bad thing, but as a whole this game feels almost unnecessary. The setting starts off intriguing, but quickly deteriorates into a standard sci-fi "moral dilemma" where the hamhanded message is really just "be nice to people". I suppose it's not actively terrible, but mostly it's just not that impressive.
7/10.
RPG Game That plays like old school September 29, 2007
Not bad.If your into rpg games that love to play the hero
of saving the world.Mostly played enjoying random long battles,and
like the story and old school feel of the game.Graphics and sound could be
done better, but overall it's a fun game.
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