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 enlarge | From: NIS America
Category: Video Games
List Price: $49.99
Buy Used: $15.99
You Save: $34.00 (68%)
New (15) Used (20) from $15.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 11273
Platform: Playstation2
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: Playstation 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 00102
Model: XBBUYC 28944
UPC: 857823001024
EAN: 0857823001024
ASIN: B000E5N4RW
Release Date: April 25, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Game works. Comes in original case with manual. Daily shipping.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-7 of 7 | | « PREV | | |
 Disappointing!!! May 16, 2006
0 out of 14 found this review helpful
Good storyline and sound
Too much repetition going back and forth to the same areas
Probably not buy another product from this software company!
 Almost Got It Right... April 27, 2006
7 out of 13 found this review helpful
Atelier Iris 2 is a unique kind of RPG. It has an interesting system and basis for doing things, but what keeps it from being great is it seems to be behind as far as current console RPGs are concerned. This is good and bad. It's good because it still works. It's bad because the things that people expect from RPGs in this day and age just aren't here in full force.
Atelier Iris 2 takes place in the world of Eden. A place where a giant earthquake had happened and has made most of the world just... disappear! It's up to two orphans, Felt and Viese to see what's going on, and try to save the world.
Most of the game is spent playing as Felt. Viese isn't really all that adventurous, but she can help Felt out in many ways. She makes items Felt can use on his quest, and while she isn't physically with him, they have a share ring which allows them to possess the same items. As Viese you'll mostly just go to the store to get the required items for a recipe to make an item.
The battle system of the game is pretty interesting, though. In each area there is a guage that lets you know when you're going to get into a battle. What's nice about this is eventually the random encounters in a certain area will stop. Completely, giving you time to explore without having to worry about battles. If you want to reset the gauge, just leave and come back.
When in battle, however, it's fast paced and overall fun. The name of the system is Active Cost Time. Each character goes based on where they are on the Active Cost Time guage. It's basically a turn based battle system. When a character reaches the end of the guage, they can perform an action. What makes battling interesting, but a drag at the same time is being able to use a break attack. This will offset your enemy, and sometimes even stun them enough to lose turns. The bad thing about this is simple: the game is almost no challenge at all this way. You can keep using break attacks to offset enemies and then go through an entire battle and never get hit. If you're looking for a challenge, this is not going to be the RPG for you. It is a fun battle system, but the game is just too easy using it.
There is also a skill guage in battle. Each character has a set of skills. However, they all share the same skill guage, which isn't all that astonishing. The skills themselves probably won't be needed anyway, but it's kind of daunting that when you use a skill, it detracts from a guage which everyone shares. Indiviual MP would've done nicely.
What really bogs the game down however is more than just the ease of the game. It's the repetative gameplay. Felt and his crew will travel along and suddenly they come to a point where they can't go further. Perhaps someone needs something done for them, or there's an obstacle in your way you need destroyed. This is where you'll have to go and find items, then give them to Viese so she can make an important item for you so that you can advance forward in your quest. At first it's okay, but then you start to feel like some kind of errand boy. Some of these items are not easy to get either. That doesn't mean they're hard, it means they're frustrating, and annoying. It's rinse and repeat through the whole game, and gets in the way of the story numerous times. It's just not fun running errands for the entire game. And the rewards for doing this are rather bland and not worthwhile.
This isn't the worst of the gameplay outside the battle system. The game, compared to the standards of today, is rather short. It isn't exactly jam-packed with secrets either, and that's a shame. There is the idea of mixing lots of items together to see what you get, but you won't need these items, nor is it particularly exciting in the long run. It's simple and easy to do, but just not worthwhile.
Graphic wise the game is gorgeous looking. The anime style graphics are neat, but outside of the animation and artwork, it looks pretty similar to a Playstation One game. Upon looking at your character move around on the field, I was instantly reminded of Legend of Mana. It's not that it's a bad looking game. It's very beautiful in terms of artwork and whatnot, but it feels like a setback in graphical output by RPGs today. Cel-shaded graphics would've more than likely looked spectacular for this game rather than animated backgrounds and character sprites. At least, however, the look works for this game. It just could've looked better. Several games with a similar feel make better use of the graphics.
The sound isn't so bad. It's okay, but not great. The voice acting is very well done, and it really helps the characters come alive. The character development isn't so bad either. There are moments when the dialogue is laughable, but for the most part, the voice acting is top notch.
Put simple, the game isn't really bad. It just feels unfinished at times. The graphics could've used a push, but that's alright, RPGs aren't about graphics, they're about storylines. Unfortunately, the game isn't really story driven. The stories pace takes a backseat to running errands and trying to find items so Viese can help you along.
It could've been a fantastic game. It had more than enough potential to be something good. It isn't bad, mind you, just not what an RPGer should expect.
The Good
+It's a lot of fun to play
+Great character development
+Good Voice Acting
+A little room to breathe in dungeons with the way the random battle system works
+Unique item creating system
The Bad
-It feels more like you're an errand boy through most of the game
-The graphics look like those found on the Playstation One
-There aren't enough side quests
-The game is short
-The game is ridiculously easy, one can go through battles without so much as a scratch. Even bosses
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