Ar Tonelico EXEC_THREAD

[Grand Octopus]

For the unaware, the Ar Tonelico games are RPGs with a blindingly obvious ani-VN influence. In addition to the usual questing, battling and world-saving shenanigans, you're encouraged to choose a route by picking between two shitty heroines and one superior heroine three heroines, with sections of the game varying depending on which route you're on.

The games are GOOD because: they have a unique, interesting and well developed universe, the system of powering up characters via VN-esque 'dive' segments > any powerup system in any other RPG ever, the music (especially the hymns) = sex, the battle systems are generally good fun, they all have a dual audio option if you swing that way, and in AT3 characters become more powerful in battle by removing their clothes.

The games are BAD because: with a couple of glaring exceptions characters are often either clich?d, badly written or both, things can feel low budget in places, with repetitive, aesthetically poor quality dungeons and more reskinned enemies than you can jab a pointy stick at, the difficulty is easy mode, and in AT3 characters become more powerful in battle by removing their clothes.

So. Discuss!

[Edible]

AT2 is the best, crippled by a miserable localization.

Played and beat Finnel's route in AT3.  I'll go back and do Saki's eventually, but the game just wasn't as good as the first two.

Dat music, though... <3

[Alfred F. Jones]

Dat music, though... <3

Whenever I listen to AT fans talk, they always bring up the music. And Jakuri. But mostly the music.

[Suikama]

This is the extent of my knowledge of this series (sorta nsfw)

[Ghaleon]

I got lucky and actually won 3 for free... It's my first experience with the series. I'm enjoying it for the new style/story, but I scratch my head at some of the things I hear about it.

First off, everyone says the music is excellent. Honestly, the exploration music is pretty standard fare IMO, I don't hear anything amazing about it, and the battle music.. Seriously...uhh, I'm gonna get shot for this, but it just seems awful. Maybe it sounds better if you listen to it by itself without playing or whatever. But it sounds like some 4X speed 5 year old cartoon barney flick or something to me (complete with chipmunk-voice effects). I think people just overvalue the music cuz zomg it has voices. Like, insert some fake keyboard-made opera "wah" sounds to a final boss theme, and people think "EPIC". I don't fall in that catagory, sorry. Or do people just think the music outside the game?

Anyway, I'm playing Saki's route even though I like her least, mostly because I was interested in Sakia. I think I'm nearly done the game, I just finished doing my mission in "ku", but haven't headed back yet.

[Edible]

First off, everyone says the music is excellent. Honestly, the exploration music is pretty standard fare IMO, I don't hear anything amazing about it, and the battle music.. Seriously...uhh, I'm gonna get shot for this, but it just seems awful. Maybe it sounds better if you listen to it by itself without playing or whatever. But it sounds like some 4X speed 5 year old cartoon barney flick or something to me (complete with chipmunk-voice effects). I think people just overvalue the music cuz zomg it has voices. Like, insert some fake keyboard-made opera "wah" sounds to a final boss theme, and people think "EPIC". I don't fall in that catagory, sorry. Or do people just think the music outside the game?

Generally the praise for the music is referring to the hymns, not the random other music or in-battle music.

[Solais]

I really really liked the first game, and the concept of diving and such are excellent, and should be invented. Haven't played the second game yet, and I only hear bad things about the third one.

[Ghaleon]

I really really liked the first game, and the concept of diving and such are excellent, and should be invented. Haven't played the second game yet, and I only hear bad things about the third one.

I don't think it's bad, but the battle system is pretty bad though. I hear the battle system of the series is pretty lame though.

[Edible]

I hear the battle system of the series is pretty lame though.

The first game's is simplistic but fun (read: better than 3's).  The second game's is downright awesome.

[Ghaleon]

really? I heard all 3 amount to just doing whatever so your Ravaeil charges up her song, then 1shotting everything when it's ready. That's pretty much how 3 is. Hell, even bosses if you use each vanguard's supermove before your ravateils flipsphere.

[Grand Octopus]

AT2 is the best, crippled by a miserable localization.

Played and beat Finnel's route in AT3.  I'll go back and do Saki's eventually, but the game just wasn't as good as the first two.

Dat music, though... <3

I played the games in 2 --> 1 --> 3 order and wouldn't actually say I enjoyed any one of them noticably more than the others. AT2 is almost universally held to be the pinnacle of the series though.

Also AT3 localisation is best localisation.

[EXEC_over._METHOD_SUBLIMATION/.~omness chs ciel sos infel]

Whenever I listen to AT fans talk, they always bring up the music. And Jakuri. But mostly the music.

Goddamnit you were so close with that video. The correct answer is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKpp1S9JpCk&hd=1

First off, everyone says the music is excellent... / ... I got lucky and actually won 3 for free... It's my first experience with the series.

AT3 is generally recognised to have the worst music in the series, but as Edible says, it's basically the hymns that get the praise rather than anything else.

I hear the battle system of the series is pretty lame though

Motion denied.

[Edible]

really? I heard all 3 amount to just doing whatever so your Ravaeil charges up her song, then 1shotting everything when it's ready. That's pretty much how 3 is. Hell, even bosses if you use each vanguard's supermove before your ravateils flipsphere.

You heard from a misinformed individual, or someone who massively oversimplified things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAZxpbDJjlo

Here's a fight from relatively early on in the game.  I believe it does a better job of displaying the battle system than I could, though not as well as actually playing the game.

[Ghaleon]

Honestly, watching gameplay videos never tells me squat about rpgs. All I see is attack animations, and don't have a clue how much player input is affecting it and how. I mean, I don't know if the player is blindly button mashing, or if they are auto-combating, or if they are putting in stupid fighting game combinations, etc.

If you guys all agree that 2's combat was great though I'll take your word for it, I respect MotK's gaming tastes more than other sources >=).

[Edible]

Short version: During the attack phase, the guardians (characters in front of the reyvateils) have several attacks they can use that exhibit different properties and combo potential.  During the defense phase, they must block incoming enemy attacks; a perfect block means no damage is taken.  Spells can be switched mid-song to change effects (eg to heal), abilities can be activated to increase song potential, certain conditions can be cleared to unlock powerups, etc.  It's a very rewarding battlesystem and easily the best of the three games.

[Stuffman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAZxpbDJjlo

Am I missing something, or do the guardians' attacks do fuck all compared to the reyvateils' spells?

[Ionasal kkll Solciel]

AT2's system is meant to take better advantage of Reyvateil abilities than AT1 (where you'd basically only use buff-all spells and the occasional attack spell when Vanguard can't hit), and once Replakia gets up there in IPD count, they outstrip damage even more. Unfortunately, this means that the Vanguard are only really meant to buff the Reyvateils and use the IPDs for their own small buffs.

It doesn't quite help that the Reyvateils level up based off of crystals you find around the world, and you'd find L99 Reyvateils and only L40 Vanguard in some cases.