Ar Tonelico ~Melody of Elemia~

[Cio]

Originally Posted by Shadow Kira01

As for AT2:

Spoiler:

Then, there is Raki.. Raki is actually Mir, the main antagonist and also final boss of AT1. What a surprise!? Aside from these three, there is Coconoa who is a little girl.. Was there a 5th character? I don't remember...

Spoiler for AT2:

Not Raki, she is Jakuri...

Spoiler for Shurelia in AT2:

Shurelia appear twice in AT2, first when Jakuri try to hack Raki from Binary field, Shurelia help Jakuri to open the locked door to Frelia's room.

Second, Shurelia appear as a Cameo in Frelia's cosmosphere... just for fun only..

ooo, also she appear in Phanstasmorgia combo song...

[HayashiTakara]

Originally Posted by Dorfl

Apart from the tower administrators none of the inhabitants of each world know about the existence of the other worlds. It's possible that AT1 was meant to be a standalone game but with the decision to make a sequel they had to retcon "no other lands" into "other lands but nobody knows." But I seem to recall a mention of two other towers in AT1.

And Shurelia shows up in AT2 not as a cosmosphere cameo but as herself (through the tower interface, but still herself), but obviously you haven't gotten that far yet.

The second tower was on the other wing of Horus which was destroyed during the great war which sunk the wing. Leaving only the current wing of horus being the only one left.

I say AT2 is just one massive screw up just to bank on the cult popularity of the first game.

[Shadow Kira01]

Originally Posted by Cio

Spoiler for AT2:

Not Raki, she is Jakuri...

Yeah, I realized I made a typo.

Spoiler:

[ZeroForever]

http://artonelico.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

seriously, it gives a in depth time line for both games 1 and 2, assuming everything is constant there should be a 3rd game for the 3rd/final tower where apparently Revatails enslaved the humans.

[HayashiTakara]

Originally Posted by ZeroForever

http://artonelico.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

seriously, it gives a in depth time line for both games 1 and 2, assuming everything is constant there should be a 3rd game for the 3rd/final tower where apparently Revatails enslaved the humans.

I don't see anything about the location of Metafalica. We all know that the only existing world is the wings of horus. One of the ones dropped during a great war. Leaving only one wing left. As we see in the first game, right beneath is the sea of death, and we spent the first game going up.

So I can only assume the first game lied to us and a second floating land was built. Since according to the time line El Elemia was apart of the construction of Meta. So it shouldn't be a mystery to anyone that it exist. Especially the way the history was constantly being told in the first one, as well as the way people spoke about the world.

*sigh... the 2nd game just screwed up all the logic of the first game. The creators just conveniently created an additional time line in an attempt to make sense of it.

[roriconfan]

I don't mind the twist in the story. I just excuse it by saying "they didn't know of other worlds". After all, even in AT2 no one besides the administrators knows of the other two worlds.

[ZeroForever]

There are drama CD's and other books which is how the time line was put together from, from what i know there isn't a official timeline just what people put together from there translations.

it's specifically states that the general populace in AT1 forgot over time the truth behind the towers existence. You play AT1 from the stand point of a ignorant bumpkin descendant (yes lyner is a ignorant bumpkin).

While it could just be a ret-con, there's enough information that points to my forgotten past point, which is the majority of the populace over the hundreds of years lost the truth of the situation. The only 3 characters that are currently alive old enough to know any true details of the past are Shurelia, Mir, and, Freylia. Even then AT1 never really explained why the the only land mass was the floating island, and what happened to the rest of the world so it's likely the expansions were planned on some level, the dependence on the popularity of the series determining if it would get a sequel.

[roriconfan]

Racial isolation and lack of communication with other worlds does mke people forget in a few generations. Plus, it ain't hard to mold public opinion if the above two stand true.

[Shadow Kira01]

I played AT2 before starting AT1 and considering that I had spent 38 hours on the second game prior to spending 15 hours on the first game, I can't seem to understand the relation between the two towers, not mentioning that the ancient land of Metafalica which is used to create the second tower, possibly also the first tower wasn't present in the first game. In fact, Metafalica isn't really the land used to create the second tower but it is rather complicated and confusing.

However, I do not think these two towers are parallel worlds either but then, some of the things just don't add up. Apparently, there were tons of cameos in the second tower and also what Spica said.. Spica know of a guy long long ago who was kind of like the protagonist of AT2. She was obviously referring to Lyner of AT1. Jakuri on AT2 had also spoke of having a friend who likes bunnies and cute things long ago and that is obviously Shurelia-sama. This makes the non-related two towers connected yet at the same time, the story makes little sense either. Perhaps, its as you said that the majority of the people living in the first and second towers do not have diplomatic ties with each other just like the Teru tribe in AT1 who block humans from climbing the tower for their own reasons preventing people from reaching the Frozen Eye. Generally, the two towers are connected yet very loosely. Perhaps, that gap will be filled in the third Ar Tonelico game which is most likely still in development as that I have heard nothing of it.

[Xellos-_^]

got the recently and close to finishing.

Anyways did anyone else notice that Shurelia VN was very similar to Beat Angel Esclayer, minus the H stuff.

[delorean2200]

Hi i have a question about Ar tonelico I and II is the romance element proeminent in them ? Are they focused on characters interactions, lots of story and dialogue ? Having gameplay ain't bad but i kind of hope for it to also focus just as much on character interactions and story.

[Von Himmel]

It does focus on the interaction and story since the gameplay... isn't that much (but at least AT2 is still pretty good). The romance are so-so, but there are a couple of sweet moment that you might like.

I'd suggest not to play the first one if you're only focusing on the romance part and try AT2/3. But if you're interested in world-building and the story as a whole, start with that one.

[Iron Maw]

Alright! Time for a bit of thread necromancy.

Just finish the first game the other night and here my thoughts on it.

PROs

• Fantastic OST, in general.
• Solid story and well realized world lore.
• Likable characters and pretty good character development spread around.
• A simple, but mechanic solid battle system that provides an excellent foundation to build upon.
• One of few games with a fairly painless crafting system.
• Talk Topics and Diving are pretty neat ideas that game sort of mix between VN and traditional RPG in a really natural way.
• Decent replayability.

CONs

• Lack of difficulty, there are like only 3 bosses in the entire game (which includes the final boss) that are any real challenge.
• The fact that non-Reyvateil characters stop learning skills around Lv 50 (which is basically mid-game here) or so. Afterwards it's just pure stat increases which is a bit boring imo, hopefully AT2 balances this better.
• No New Game+: If you're gonna have alternate routes that the player needs to play-through to get the full story as well as Clear Data file for compendium purposes then this should be mandatory.
• Character related endings are bit too short and fairly unsatisfactory if taken alone. But if view everything right when the final boss as part of the character ending then things are better.

All and all it'd definitely a well put together game that is easy to recommend anyone who is a fan of the genre, if they can look past the fairly dated graphics.

Final Score: 8/10

Onward to AT2!

Originally Posted by HayashiTakara

Nope... the world isn't even called the Wings of Horus anymore. And the tower from the first one doesn't even exist. Everything is different the only thing that stayed the same was Ryvetails.

There were definitely hints about other lands besides Horus in the first game. In fact there is an optional scene in Phase 3 where cast discuss this possibility at the Rinkernator. Even things like there being 3 Reyvateil Origins mentioned in Terminology further established there was more to expand here beyond what the first game showed. The only reason that people who are now currently living in Sol Ciel don't know about them is because the region has been isolated for centuries thanks to the Sea of Death and a lot of knowledge of the past has been lost. Even Shurelia herself doesn't seem know much about the condition of rest of planet after Grathnode Inferia. It's only when Airship technology started improving thanks to better relations and sharing of ideas between Tenba, the Teru Tribe and the El Elemia Church at the end of AT1 that exploring the rest of planet was possible. This exactly why Krusche and Jack leave at the end of the game, to see what out there.

Originally Posted by Von Himmel

It does focus on the interaction and story since the gameplay... isn't that much (but at least AT2 is still pretty good). The romance are so-so, but there are a couple of sweet moment that you might like.

I'd suggest not to play the first one if you're only focusing on the romance part and try AT2/3. But if you're interested in world-building and the story as a whole, start with that one.

Romance in AT1 is okay, perhaps it's not as explicit as one would like but definitely better than most JRPGs which barely touch it. Besides he should play AT1 because it is good game that shows series has more to offer beyond just romance. He also probably enjoy AT2 due to references and the callbacks to the first game. This usually one best parts of having a connected series like this.


EDIT:

Originally Posted by HayashiTakara

The second tower was on the other wing of Horus which was destroyed during the great war which sunk the wing. Leaving only the current wing of horus being the only one left.

This isn't true as far I know after reading about the History and Chronology sections of Sol Ciel on the AT wikia. Nothing in-game in AT1 states or implies this either.

[HayashiTakara]

Originally Posted by Iron Maw

This isn't true as far I know after reading about the History and Chronology sections of Sol Ciel on the AT wikia. Nothing in-game in AT1 states or implies this either.

Instead of using the Wikia, it was mentioned in the opening intro when it was going over the history. Or did you just skip the cutscene?

[Iron Maw]

Originally Posted by HayashiTakara

Instead of using the Wikia, it was mentioned in the opening intro when it was going over the history. Or did you just skip the cutscene?

I just rewatched AT1's OP (and Game opening) and I still don't see anything about the second tower being on Horus, only a romanticized version of Shurelia saving everyone from Mir. In fact I'm pretty sure AT1 in-game mentions nothing about the other two towers. The AT1 primary revolves around the aftermath of Second Era, everything else is merely touched upon. The other towers (which were in the planning stages) are only mentioned in the AT1's Official Material Collection which what wiki is based on meaning the info there is just as official as anything in the game.

Maybe you meant AT2's OP and/or game opening? I stayed from any info on that game to avoid spoilers and stuck to the general lore so if was I wouldn't know.

[shmaster]

You guys should really the play games to discuss.
None of what you two are discussing are even close to the truth.

Spoiler:

The Second Tower was built on the land of Metafalica, but was never actually completely built. So in a technical sense, Second Tower never really existed. The Second Tower that showed up in Ar Tonelico 2 is a hologram that has mass created by Frelia using the First Tower's proxy satellite: Sol Marta.

[AnimeFangirl]

Since when was Ar Tonelico an "anime-related" game or visual novel?

[SidVicious]

Originally Posted by AnimeFangirl

Since when was Ar Tonelico an "anime-related" game or visual novel?

http://myanimelist.net/anime/1202/Ar...uzukeru_Shoujo

[Iron Maw]

@shmaster

Well that is what I am doing right now! (1 down, 3 to go!)

I'm just correcting Hayashi here since it's misinformation. The first game's lore and AT1's Material Collection never directly talked about the 2nd and 3rd Towers, only hinted at them. I'm gonna refrain from reading your spoiler as much as I want to.

I'm going into AT2 as blind as possible and asking questions/discussing it later.

Originally Posted by SidVicious

http://myanimelist.net/anime/1202/Ar...uzukeru_Shoujo

I'm not sure if that's the only part of criteria or not since P5 also in this forum. IIRC I don't recall that having anime adaptation (OVA, TV series or otherwise). My assumption is that they may counted more because Persona and AT games have Visual Novels elements. If so I guess AT2, ATQ and Nosurge would fall here too. I'll read the rules thread a little later on for a little clarification.

[HayashiTakara]

Originally Posted by shmaster

You guys should really the play games to discuss.
None of what you two are discussing are even close to the truth.

Spoiler:

The Second Tower was built on the land of Metafalica, but was never actually completely built. So in a technical sense, Second Tower never really existed. The Second Tower that showed up in Ar Tonelico 2 is a hologram that has mass created by Frelia using the First Tower's proxy satellite: Sol Marta.

None of that was even mentioned in Ar Tonelico, remember I dropped Ar Tonelico 2 because there was too much BS in it.

Even though it's been a few years since I played Ar Tonelico, I still remember a lot of it, and I DO remember the story saying that the second wing of horus got sunk during a great war a long time ago. I'll even replay the game again to find the exact spot it was mentioned (not that I mind, Misha is the fucking best! )