Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia

Ar Tonelico certainly wins points for originality but in the end it does very little to get past its boring combat and limited exploration options that drag this game down considerably.

If you're looking for a light RPG, then Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia definitely fits the bill because it's cheerful, well animated and utterly predictable. Combat is a breeze, even if you're farming for items, and the plot is lackluster at best.

If you've enjoyed the past two "Altelier Iris" games, tonelico is more of the same. [Mar 2007, p.86]

"Final Fantasy" followers might be looking for more. Even so, at times tonelico conveys more energy and thoughtfulness than most big-budget RPGs even attempt. It's primarily for the hardcore audience, though any gamer looking for another fantasy outlet should take a look.

Whether you'll like Ar tonelico or not is dependent on how much of a sucker you are for a cute damsel in distress. These aren't helpless girls, mind you, and your relationship to them will provide the bulk of enjoyment that Ar tonelico has to offer.

Just as soon as I was ready to sing the praises of the game from my rooftop did the debilitating graphical and gameplay flaws begin to rain down on my happy-go-lucky concert, soaking down my scores.

Those who have fond memories of the PSone cult classic "Thousand Arms" will definitely enjoy Ar Tonelico's strange blend of action, dialog, and courtship. [Feb. 2007, p.101]

Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia is not a bad game, but just falls short in the execution of some pretty unique and inventive ideas. It's still an okay game, and offers some good laughs and interesting gameplay mechanics, but it looks, sounds and plays a generation behind its platform.

A pretty solid role-playing experience that will be familiar and well received by fans of GUST's other RPG titles. The Dive system is an interesting idea but it would have been nice if it was a little more interactive.

The battle system is a refreshing twist on something that has been done for the same way for many past RPGs, and diving into your Reyvateil makes for reasonable character development.

After combining the "meh" story with the 2D sprites, the passably amateurish voice acting, and the melodramatic localization, Ar tonelico feels like a pretty forgettable RPG. But it does do one thing that needs elaboration, one thing that pushes up a bit higher than "meh" on the RPG scale: It has a freakin' dating sim as a major gameplay component.

Ar tonelico is built on a solid role-playing foundation, but the lengthy character exchanges and lack of any challenge take a lot of the fun out of the game.

What I like most, though, is the game's brisk pace. Even within the first five hours, I felt like I had lived a virtual lifetime. [Mar 2007, p.92]

Further hampering the dungeons is sheer repetitiveness. Most contain only a few combinations of enemies to fight and the battles are such that you can use exactly the same strategy, for exactly the same result, every time.