Atelier Iris Eternal Mana (Sony PlayStation 2, 2005)

Graphics: 7/10
Music: 8/10
Battle System: 7/10
Character Design: 9/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Game Value: 7/10

Score: 7.5

Publisher: NIS America
Developer: Gust
Release Date: Jun 28, 2005
Players: 1 Player

Genre: Alchemic Adventure RPG
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Curve: About 1 Hour

ESRB Content Rating: Teen

Graphics: Modern 2d Graphics meets 3d in this unique mix between nostalgia and pure work of art, this game has what it takes to get people to sit and play this game day in and day out.

Music: The music is nicely composed and gives the game the atmosphere it needs it’s a *joy* listening to it and for those who have surround this games features “Dolby Digital Pro Logic II” ;>

Battle System: Part from the mix between 2d and 3d graphics used its pretty standard; you attack each other and like always those with high SPD or first attack skill usually starts the first attack. The neat thing in this game is that if you are empty of a Mana item you can always make one in battle, of course only the main hero can do it because he is an alchemist and you need to have Mana!.

Character Design: Nicely designed characters, kind of looks like its made by an Anime artist, it’s a work of art for sure.

Gameplay: You can extract elemental material from field objects wile roaming a town or nearest forest, each object gives you a mana represented by what their made of, like extracting from a rock would give you stone mana and a wood sign would give you wood mana and so forth.

The world map is free roaming to a extend, you got to progress in the main plot to be able to go to new places and off course there are side quests that can be done wile following the main plot.

You learn mana synthesis skills as you progress in the game and by using those skills it requires an amount of mana to make different item, there’s about 300 times that can be made in this game using the power of mana.

Use your alchemy power to defeat enemies in battle or create items, bash those buggers with your mace or give a Bomb life and make it attack on its own, heal your party using a combo of Potion and Skill so it effects your entire party, its lots of fun and it is certainly an enjoying game!”

And off course there is lots of other stuff that I’m not going to write about here because it might ruin the game fore you.

Game Value: You get 2d graphics mixed with 3d, it’s a unique mix between nostalgia and pure work of art, the music is nicely composed and gives the game the atmosphere it needs, and the character design is skilfully done, not to forget a nicely written story line.

Final Words: An average good game, nice addition to your RPG game collection

This game is an amazing title for those who are looking for a more traditional Role Playing game experience. This game will be adored by people born before the nineties, when the greatest role playing games on the market were Final Fantasy VI and ChronoTrigger.

Graphics:
The animation style is amazingly nostalgic of roleplaying games on the playstation one. High quality sprites and hand drawn animations are extremely well done. Don't expect anything flashy, character and locale sprites look like they were made in 1996, as it was intended to be. Particle effects and spells are rendered on a modern engine, showing off some flashy effects.

Sound:
Voice acting in english is not very good. Thankfully, NIS included the japanese audio track, which I solely use. Great sound effects and good music.

Gameplay:
Typical RPG length, typical RPG random encounters and turn based battle system, not so typical alchemy system. What really sets Atelier Iris apart from other turn based RPGs is the creation and synthesis system. Think in the style of the popular anime Fullmetal Alchemist; the player breaks down various objects and items in the world into 12 elements, which are used in reconstructing various magical items. Unique to this game, shop keepers have an indepth storyline and fleshed out character, with side quests to synthesize more items for them to sell. Character development is lacking in several characters, but the ones that have development are the one's I ended up using the most.

This game isnt for everyone, but if you remember the quality gameplay, lengthy adventure, and turn based battles of the 90s, then this game is definitely worth playing.

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana is unlike those of other games in one, very vital way: it allows us to synthesize, to combine items that we have gathered in the journey into usable, more useful items. Players can spend hours on end just on synthesizing alone. And not only can you synthesize with the mana gathered, but also in at least 3 different stores, as well as synthesizing for weapons.

The characters are well-likeable, the story-line keeps the player hooked. This game should have a cute warning, also. The graphics are cute and oh-so-adorable.

The music is not bad, as well. And it seems to blend so well into the environment that once you hear it again, you immediately link it to the specific location in the game.

The addition of the "Collector's Caravan" is also a good idea. It gives, not only a checklist for the various and numerous different items that the game has, but also gives special bonuses in terms of videos and music and graphics.

A great game to have around and will get you easily hooked.

The first thing I immediately noticed when playing this game is that it reminded me of RPGs commonly found on the SNES and PSX, such as Breath of Fire, Lufia, Alundra, et cetera. The camera angle is from 3/4th angle from above, and the graphics seem like they were comprised of sprites instead of 3dimensional models. The graphics in this game are not the greatest for a PS2 game, but Gust wasn't aiming for that. Instead, it is one of the best RPGs I've ever played.

The difficulty of the game is not that hard. The puzzles can give you some trouble, but they aren't anything a 12 year old shouldn't be able to figure out. The story of this game is pretty wacky, and it is filled with subtle jokes and witty remarks that kept me entertained. I guess if you're looking for a serious RPG, this game isn't for you, but this is still a game any serious RPG fanatic should give a try. I definitely recommend it.

I have always loved this game. I know some people say that they played their rpg's and fell in love with them. I never felt that connection to an rpg and felt that emotion with FF7, Star Ocean, Breath of Fire, etc. I never really felt that bond until I played Atelier Iris. This game is amazing, I love enhanced 2D graphic gameplay. I will always treasure this game.