2006 RPG from Gust, published by Nippon Ichi. A full description of the game can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ar_tonelico. Plus a sequel came out in Japan in 2007 and will probably be heading stateside soon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ar_tone..._no_Metafalica.
So let's get on to the actual discussion. I'm about 10 hours in and it feels like it should be called
Atelier Iris 4 instead, but with more talking and a different (and easier) battle system. Same-looking dungeon design, same-looking monsters, same-sounding music, plus alchemy under the name Grathmelding. Of course this is a
good thing for those of us suffering from Atelier withdrawal symptoms, but I wish they'd tried a bit harder to create a new experience.
The Song Magic battle system is...different, in both good and bad ways. First off, they call it "singing" but I don't actually hear the Reyvateils sing anything. Unless of course whining about how tired you are counts as music. Secondly it's really, really powerful, which makes all game battles really, really easy. Plus the attack animation is super-repetitive. Having to watch that fireball come crashing down every single time has gotten old already, and since they refill your MP after ever battle it's super-broken. Still, maybe it will grow on me.
The jury is still out on Diving. Idiotic sexual innuendo aside ("Please be gentle, it's my first time!
) diving is basically spending points to get new magic. I can think of several other RPGs with the same mechanic. Ar Tonelico has added a feature where you need talk to your Reyvateils and help them through whatever cheesy, corny crisis they're currently going through before they craft new magic, but it's pretty much just a formality. The diving sequences, like the game itself, are completely on rails - go here, do this, go here, do this - so it's hard to get excited about them, but we'll see. Bonus points for a good idea, though.
Given the ease of the game and my previous record with Gust stuff, I'll probably blaze through the game in a couple of days and then I'll be able to give a final opinion.