[PS2] Mana Khemia. ITT: Lace bending time/space to play more than 24 hours of game per day.

Proving that the PS2 will never die NIS just announced Mana Khemia will be coming to the US in March. I'm just going to quote RPGFan here (hoping this isn't another hoax):

Quote:

NIS America has announced that they will be releasing Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Revis for the PlayStation 2 in March of 2008. Developed by Gust, the title is a bit of a spiritual successor to the Atelier Iris titles, with a similar 2D graphical style. Players will take control of novice alchemist Vayne Aurelius, who has been invited to attend Al-Revis Academy to unravel the secrets of alchemy.The game will feature an in-depth item crafting system, similar to the system found in the Atelier Iris games. Players will also "craft" skills, instead of simply leveling up through combat, allowing unique skill sets. Additionally, random encounters have been removed from Mana Khemia, and players will need to actively engage enemies.
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Revis will be available on March 18, 2008, and has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Now all they need to do is announce Ar Tonelico 2 and I think I can happily put my PS2 to rest.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

It would be super if Gust could make a game that doesn't look exactly like every other game they've ever made ever.

That said, it seems that companies like NIS America and Atlus aren't really sure as to how they should make the jump into the current generation. They're sort of dragging their feet, it seems like. Probably because they haven't had to deal with real hardware competition in a long time, and can't be guaranteed that they're reaching the largest or best-suited audience for their chosen project.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Generic Badass

It would be super if Gust could make a game that doesn't look exactly like every other game they've ever made ever.

That said, it seems that companies like NIS America and Atlus aren't really sure as to how they should make the jump into the current generation. They're sort of dragging their feet, it seems like. Probably because they haven't had to deal with real hardware competition in a long time, and can't be guaranteed that they're reaching the largest or best-suited audience for their chosen project.

Well NIS American and Atlus need something made first before they can publish it. The Japanese developers they normally deal with are just now jumping into a next gen project since most of them have just wrapped up their late PS2 projects.

But it looks like the small groups of Japanese developers have already chosen the PS3 as the next jRPG platform with NIS already on Disgaea 3, Atlus with Persona 4 and Steamboat Chronicles II with Irem, GUST with an announced PS3 project in the works, From Software with a few titles (mostly SRPGs we'll never see here), and Banpresto with some PS3 RPGs in the works as well. Plus I'm forgetting a whole lot from the even smaller developers that have PS3 RPG projects in the works.

It's really no different from the PS2 though. We didn't see any major projects from these companies on the PS2 until Final Fantasy X came out on it and established it as the go-to system for RPGs.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Atlus and NIS America tend to publish stuff willy-nilly, and don't just rely solely on a core group. It seems more like they're not sure how they should approach this generation-- full-blown third party or stick with their format of "most on one console".

The RPG genre has hardly gotten any sort of position in the current generation, as it stands. I mean, if we looked at it straight away, the 360 would be the choice of the RPG player. There's stuff on either side of the fence that's coming out in the future, so we'll see what becomes the more popular console for the genre.

How ya doing, buddy?

I liked the First Atelier Iris game a lot but after 2 the series started to grow boring to me. I'll probably pass on this spinoff. However, I really really want Ar Tonelico 2 to come out here. Announce the bloody thing already!

How ya doing, buddy?

+1 vote for Ar Tonelico 2, please.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Wonder how long PS2 will drag out. Seems to be doing a decent job at it; at least the pacing of decent releases seems to be helping.

FELIPE NO

Even thought the Atelier Iris games aren't anything super special, I enjoyed them a lot. I also had a lot of fun with Ar tonelico, so I hope we get the second game. I only wish they were even slightly difficult. Anyway, I'll probably pick up Mana Khemia if it's anything like the other games. I'm just glad rpgs are still being released in the PS2.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Quote:

Developed by Gust

Prepare for no difficulties, and an easy game. That's their tradition.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Elixir

Prepare for no difficulties, and an easy game. That's their tradition.

Sure, but at least there's plenty to do and a decent storyline. I'm going to be buying Mana-Khemia, either on American import or if we're lucky enough to get a PAL version.

Like so many others in this thread, I'm also waiting for Ar Tonelico 2 before I put an end to my PS2 collection, but I'd also quite like to see Persona 3 FES if at all possible.

My post basically echoes Elegy's sentiments. The Gust titles aren't bad, even though they lack challenge. I've got plenty of other games to challenge me.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Elixir

Prepare for no difficulties, and an easy game. That's their tradition.

Ar Tonelico 2 breaks that tradition. While not an incredibly hard game, it's probably the toughest title they've turned out.

And this doesn't come as much of a surprise as NIS America seems to be not only a US branch of NIS Japan, but also Gust. Another hoping for an Ar Tonelico 2 stateside release.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Game came out today. For once RosenQueen shipped my order on time. In fact, they shipped it on Friday and I received it today. I guess they are getting better at sending these games out on time. I got the premium box figurine with it and its 100% imported from Japan. Nice extra for an additional 10 dollars. I haven't had a chance to play the game yet (busy schedule) but I did at least get to listen to some of the soundtrack in my car on my way from work to school. I like the sound team they have at Gust. :3

Can't really recommend the game to other people at this point. RPGfan gave the game a fairly positive review. I'm personally looking forward to the school elements. Especially since I enjoyed Persona 3 though these are two very different titles.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Sulpher is the best cat ever.

"What a bitch..."




Not sure where I'll put Jessica, but I guess I'll find a spot.

Only complaint so far is that the sprites are the same type of sprites we've seen time and time again, but the artwork is amazing. Nice soundtrack too.

I have the sinking feeling that I will fail the school aspect of the game and become dumb forever. If it ends up like Persona 3 though then it won't be too bad I suppose.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I just... lost a battle.

A random enouncter.

In a game by Gust.

I'm... not sure what to think here. This is, without a doubt, the hardest game by them I've ever played. That being said, it's about on par with other RPGs in terms of difficulty, by that's a very welcome change from the Gust norm.

The character artwork is amazing, but they really need to get someone new to do their sprites. The out of battle sprites look awful. The in battle ones look good, though. Also digging the battle system. It's fast, fun, and flashy.

Typical Gust soundtrack, too, no epic tracks so far but the tough encounter battle theme is pretty awesome.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

OMG widescreen boxart.

Anyway yeah I was expecting just another GUST game which would have been find by me but this game has really surprised me with the amount of refinement and evolution they put into this one. They have also listened to the difficulty criticism for sure.

My only (non)complaint might be that the 'E' rating will probably prevent some of the crude humor I find oh-so-entertaining in NIS games. Well that and I wish NIS would starting giving us full OSTs rather than select song CDs since the CD just gets shelved in favor of the full OSTs I end up downloading.

FELIPE NO

Haha! I don't know about that. One of the first lines in the game is the cat calling someone a bitch. Unexpected in a E rated game. XD

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Ah this is true, but they probably used up their entire quota on that line as I haven't seen much else, though I'm not far into the game at all.

Also, while the sprites are the same old style at least it doesn't look like they re-used many. And the field sprites are of the same quality of past GUST games but they did a really nice job layering backgrounds this time for a faux-3D effect in a lot of areas.

How ya doing, buddy?

So, I am at the end of the first week (Where I must create a Nicro Cloth) and good lord is this game hard.

Since there are zero levels, you can't "grind" yourself to victory, the only real grinding you can do is to gather materials, AP, and such so you can have enough supplies to BE PREPARED (Lorr would probably say so you can just barely win), but nothing more.

I've synthesized everyone's starting weapon, maxed out all the current possible growth options for the trio (which included synthesizing Flour for Vayne and Heal Jar for Jessica), and during my exploration found an accessory that provided +30 HP. It went to Jessica obviously.

It's actually not the normal battles that are hard, it's the rough encounters, and battles during nightfall. Nothing like bumping into a giant blob only to discover it is a Sword Geist that has the power to make all forms of healing not work.

I'm slightly prepared for this Event to get the Nicro Cloth now though, Vayne's Ether setup is Lightning element, ATK+ DEF+, Jessica is MGK+ CRIT+, Nikki is Ice element, ATK+ DEF+; really don't have much options for the stat raising Ethers since the materials you can use or substitute in place of one all end up producing ATK or DEF anyway.

The crude humor is still there, you just have to look for it.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

That's a damn good looking boxset, Lacerta. Goin to go pick this game up some time soon, though it'll be the regular box set now. I would have liked the super box, but by the time I found out it was too late.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Just hit Chapter 2, 4th Week (when Free Time officially starts if you meet the requirements).

Some things to note about Free Time:

Character quests only appear here (and can be missed)
Part-Time Jobs only appear here (and can be missed, they go by terms (chapters))
You can choose just to head to your dorm and pass out, ending the current week.

Finishing a Character Quest will end your current week of Free Time
Finishing a Part-Time Job will not.

I've been spending a lot of time running back and forth (except for the classes this week, they were timed) picking up Materials.

At the moment everyone is still using their starting weapons, but I have upgraded their armors to Altered Uniform M//F. They are also using my crappily Ethered Puppy Paw Gloves (HP+30, Stun+ (S), Daze+ (S)) and Gloves of Artorius (DEF+20, Def+ (M), Def+ (S), Lightning)) in their accessory slots.

I synthesized pretty much everything I could possibly find or substitute and experimented and came up with tons of new recipes and what not. As such, my Grow Book has gone to around 11% each, with Vayne having 140HP/60SP, Jess having 150HP/85SP, and Nikki hvaing 153HP/55SP.

I still need to experiment with the base materials (now that I fully grasp how this synthesis system actually works) to try to get the "best" possible Ethers on them, so when I throw them into the other equipment I have better selections.

It's kind of a bummer that Jessica and Nicole's Altered Uniform F, I was able to put HP+ (S), MGK+ (S), and Healing (gives them Healing spell), but Vayne is just stuck with DEF+ (M) and ATK+ (S)

EDIT: I've also had the game lock up on me about twice. Once was because I was in a field for like 2 hours trying not to die so bad. The other was during some random switching in the menu. In the amount of hours I've spent in it though, it's only happened those two times, and I guess it's just from playing so long in a period of time.

Not really surprised though, since Gust games tend to have the rare chance of freezing, or if they didn't then somewhere along the line when NIS was bringing it over, it happens. Hope it doesn't end up being one of those cases though where putting it in moonspeak makes it run (relatively) flawlessly, and leaving it on default has the chance to screw you over, as was the case with some previous Gust works.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Is this game as refreshing as Ar Tonelico was? That game was simply win. I'll be satisfied as long as it's not a Aterlier Iris 3. It wasn't completely bad, but it wasn't great either.

Not that that really makes a big difference...I'll probably buy the game simply because of the composers, which I really loved ever since I played my first Gust game.

I was speaking idiomatically.

This game is closer to Aterlier Iris 3 in that it borrows and refines a lot of the ideas setup for that game. I seem to pretty much be under the same opinion as you about AI3 but I'm enjoying this game far more because it takes a lot of the AI3 concepts in the right direction.

And I have not experienced any lock-ups yet and I'm using the surprisingly excellent English dialog. But I am getting some massive framerate issues in some areas on fields. I'm playing this on a PS3 though. Are people experiencing framerate issues on the PS2s?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

The framerate issues are still there on PS2. I was kind of hoping NIS could probably try to reduce them or something, but they aren't too bad.

A lot more of the game has been made available to me, and my characters are capable of doing 4 hits per regular attack, all around 200~300 HP & SP, and using decent stuff.

The game is still challenging, even after spreading the rumor that makes fighting at night less of a pain.

FELIPE NO

Wait, this game employs a "rumor -> truth" system like Persona 2?

If true, then sold.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

^
Not exactly, the rumor system is more of a mean to boost your party's stats, change drop rates, etc...(haven't gotten a lot of them yet). You basically "do something" to open up an option to spread a type of rumor. For example, jumping 200 times would open up the "Jumpy People" rumor which boosts your HP a bit. However, you could only have one rumor going at a time. These rumors don't have any effect on the story line or environment whatsoever. So it is not much like the rumor system in Persona 2

Overall, I am thoroughly enjoying this game. The battle system is definitely more exciting than AI 3 (due to actually having more than 3 members in the game). Having the support system really opens up a lot of opportunities for strategy in battle (since it is somewhat more challenging than the other gust titles).

My only gripe so far is the stat boosting system which requires you to create a lot of different items through alchemy...eh I had a hard time finding certain formulas. Likewise, there are obvious framerate issues but they aren't too horrible (at least it doesn't happen in battle...only in the fields/dungeons). Aside from that, the game is fantastic so far!

(Sidenote: Pretty worried about Ar Tonelico II however....)

Jam it back in, in the dark.