Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia

"Currently scheduled for release in North America early next month, Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia is a role-playing game set in the fantasy world of Sol Ciel. Ravaged by two apocalyptic wars that rendered the planet's surface uninhabitable long before the events of the game, Sol Ciel comprises a series of floating continents that are suspended in the air using the mysterious power of Ar tonelico. The world is peaceful for the most part, but increasingly it's coming under attack from strange beings known as viruses, which is exactly what's happening when you start a new game and step into the shoes of a young knight named Lyner Barsett."

"Ar tonelico is built on a solid role-playing foundation, but the lengthy character exchanges and lack of any challenge take a lot of the fun out of the game."

"Whether you'll like Ar tonelico or not is dependent on how much of a sucker you are for a cute damsel in distress. These aren't helpless girls, mind you, and your relationship to them will provide the bulk of enjoyment that Ar tonelico has to offer. If you're immune to them, then you may as well pass this game on by completely."

"Like all RPGs, you'll win experience and gold from your fallen enemies. However, Ar Tonelico places a different spin on items thanks to its Grathmeld system. Essentially an item synthesis mode, players collect the ingredients for various items, weapons or other equipment from stores or monsters."

"Ar Tonelico is probably going to be one of those guilty pleasure titles for some players. It's got an interesting story, some creative characters, and very unique ways of bending standard RPG clichés on their heads. Unfortunately, it doesn't go nearly far enough with them. The battle system is too easy and the exploration system is too limited. Plus, the dive system comes with a host of issues that complicate the entire reason behind the feature in the first place. It's not even so much that the game can come off as a surprising date sim-lite turn-based adventure. It's that a couple of less defined game features weaken a title that would've otherwise been impressive."