Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny
Sickly sweet and oh so nice. We go hands-on with an early translation.
Published: March 13, 2006
If we didn't know any better, we'd think Nippon Ichi didn't get the memo that said 2D was dead -- and certainly missed the one that said sprites weren't supposed to be used in the 128-bit generation. Then again, we're pretty sure they wrote the one that said localized niche Japanese titles were still worth bringing over in an industry that's increasingly falling to sequels and established IP to stay afloat as it transitions to the next generation of hardware. There may have been some kind of addendum that said sprite-based games should have characters that scream around the screen at mach 3, but that might just be our observation.
Clearly, the sprite-based 2D RPG isn't entirely gone yet. Though publishers here in the US abandoned the medium long ago (it doesn't help that Sony seems awfully keen on squashing 2D titles), Japanese developers like Gust and Nippon Ichi are all too keen to keep cranking them out. As it happens, the pair have hooked up to make sure Atelier Iris 2 makes the jump across the pacific, with the American wing of the latter handling the publishing duties of the former.
We'll admit it, though, we completely missed the boat on the first game, and given the extremely small runs that NIS games get here, we're willing to bet most that chance across this preview won't have either, so pardon the back-to-basics peek at the game mechanics as we go hands-on. Hopefully this won't bore anyone to tears.
Life seems awfully cushy on the floating three island paradise of Eden. Sure, they've got a name that obviously hints things being peachy, but all told, the residents seem awfully happy. Take Viese (they say it "vee-say"), for example. She just graduated from alchemy school after making a bond with her mana, her spiritual guardian that looks vaguely like some kind of cutesy little leprechaun/faerie hybrid or someth--aw crap.
See, while Viese and her brother Fell are gallivanting about the forest meeting mana and trying to ignore mysterious swords in stones that seem to be able to talk to Fell, a third of Eden just suddenly decided to, um, disappear. Whoops. What's worse, Viese's mana lost his home, a big ass tree that can only mean foul play is behind all this involuntary disintegration. The kids race back to tell the older, wiser peeps in the village of what happened, but not before Fell starts hearing more voices and rips the Azoth, the funky talking sword from its home in the stone.
Ooooh, foreshadowing of untapped potential getting tapped, we're thinking.
Eventually, the pair start exploring the landscape to see what else has changed, and finally make the decision to split up, with Fell jumping into the magic gate to the far-off land of Belkhyde, which works out well for him because he's always wanted to go there. Viese will stick around and see if she can suss out the situation on Eden while whipping up items with her alchemy skills.
Clearly, the sprite-based 2D RPG isn't entirely gone yet. Though publishers here in the US abandoned the medium long ago (it doesn't help that Sony seems awfully keen on squashing 2D titles), Japanese developers like Gust and Nippon Ichi are all too keen to keep cranking them out. As it happens, the pair have hooked up to make sure Atelier Iris 2 makes the jump across the pacific, with the American wing of the latter handling the publishing duties of the former.
We'll admit it, though, we completely missed the boat on the first game, and given the extremely small runs that NIS games get here, we're willing to bet most that chance across this preview won't have either, so pardon the back-to-basics peek at the game mechanics as we go hands-on. Hopefully this won't bore anyone to tears.
Life seems awfully cushy on the floating three island paradise of Eden. Sure, they've got a name that obviously hints things being peachy, but all told, the residents seem awfully happy. Take Viese (they say it "vee-say"), for example. She just graduated from alchemy school after making a bond with her mana, her spiritual guardian that looks vaguely like some kind of cutesy little leprechaun/faerie hybrid or someth--aw crap.
See, while Viese and her brother Fell are gallivanting about the forest meeting mana and trying to ignore mysterious swords in stones that seem to be able to talk to Fell, a third of Eden just suddenly decided to, um, disappear. Whoops. What's worse, Viese's mana lost his home, a big ass tree that can only mean foul play is behind all this involuntary disintegration. The kids race back to tell the older, wiser peeps in the village of what happened, but not before Fell starts hearing more voices and rips the Azoth, the funky talking sword from its home in the stone.
Ooooh, foreshadowing of untapped potential getting tapped, we're thinking.
Eventually, the pair start exploring the landscape to see what else has changed, and finally make the decision to split up, with Fell jumping into the magic gate to the far-off land of Belkhyde, which works out well for him because he's always wanted to go there. Viese will stick around and see if she can suss out the situation on Eden while whipping up items with her alchemy skills.
