Sunday, March 27, 2011

Ar Tonelico Qoga Review


It may not look like it, but Ar Tonelico Qoga for the Playstation 3 is a deep game than it appears to be. It was released in North America on March 15, 2011 and I just finished the main story. Qoga has those old RPG elements that I can give one example of. There are times when the game doesn't provide much hint on how to progress in the story where you have to roam around. That kind of experience was very nostalgic since present RPGs are pretty straightforward.

The battle system is real-time, but instead of button mashing attacks, the important goal is to time your attacks to power up your magic user Reyvateil to unleash their devastating move that will knock them down in one try. If you don't, battles will take forever.

Cosmosphere is a neat feature to "dive" into the Reyvateils to learn more about them, and also power them up in battle. Scenes can go from bizarre to very emotional parts. There's also a panic button (select button) to switch screens to something else in case someone comes in that you don't want them to see.

Reyvateil plays an important role both in battles and the story. They are a special female race that uses hymn songs to call upon magical powers. In order to gather such a power, they draw energy from the planet, but it only works best in contact with bare... skin. That's right, clothing gets in the way so they have to purge (strip) to make it effective. The problem is that they won't want to do it in front of a stranger, so it's your job to pamper them so they wouldn't mind revealing their skin towards you.


Time your attacks according to the rhythm of the song.


Fal... Finnel Kick!


In order to access stronger Hyuma magic, you'll need to do some stripping. Only if they trust you enough. (Feed them food will always do it)


If the level is high enough, they will gladly show more of their... skin.


Reyvateils are the keys to your success. Protect them at all cost.


This is what your going to see most of the time. Get used to it.


Transforming scenes are... *gulp*


Nymao transformation didn't go according to plan...


Possibility the highlighted quote of this entire game.

+ Multiple battle themes where listening to it doesn't feel repetitive
+ Interesting combat system
+ Moe stuff if that's to your liking
+ Multiple endings that adds a ton of gameplay time
+ Likable Characters
+ Acceptable humor to appreciate the game's atmosphere at times

- Story has a slow start, but it builds up greatly as you progress
- Spotted tons of typos I've ever seen in any video games I've played
- Could have been more voiced dialogue
- Revisiting dungeons can be a drag, especially over 10 something times
- Cutscenes seem to drag without getting to the main point

Tips
1) When timing the beats in battle, you can cancel the charge attack animation by moving around to perform fast and multiple beats in succession.
2) You know how sometimes when your Reyvateil purge, it shows a scene of them transforming right? Apparently, it doesn't show up randomly. It triggers when you purge as soon as the line is highlighted on the beat bar.
3) When shopping, try to at least get one of each items in stock so you'll have things to synthesis easily along the way. Even buy weapons that you won't use. Leaf (currency) will build up fast along the way so don't hesitate to spend.
4) Make multiple save files, just in case.
5) Non-spoiler walk through came in handy for me. Here
6) Clustania District directions will help. Trust me on that. Here
7) Tyria's Binary World choices is a time savor. Here


Sadly, this game's reception won't be as high just like Hyperdimension Neptunia, but I know there are gamers like me that still enjoys JRPG and we wish that they continue to bring more of them here to us. I certainly enjoyed my time in this game that I've spent over 60 hours on.

I can tell when I started out casting this game on JTV that the number of viewers dropped each passing time. Not that high numbers matters to me anyways, what counts the most to me is the experience I've gained from Ar Tonelico Qoga. I haven't played much of the previous two games for the PS2, so thanks to Qoga, I'll able to appreciate the series more than before.

If you are thinking about picking up this copy, make sure you have lots of patience with this game. If not, then I would probably not recommend it. If you are in need of a JRPG with a ton of replay value, then this game will definitely make it worth your time.

Oh, and the answer on which girl I was going for is Finnel along with getting her true ending.

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