''Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica'', known in Japan as is a

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

, developed by Gust for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

which was released in Japan on October 25, 2007, in North America on January 20, 2009, and was set to be released in the EU on 29 May 2009, but a problem with the barcode delayed it by a week. It is the sequel to '' Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia'', taking place roughly one and a half years after that game's

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...

ending.

Gameplay

Though superficially similar to its predecessor in both aesthetics and style, ''Ar Tonelico II'' battle system is new. The new version removed the ability to jump and its platforming sections. The field exploration marks indicating points of interest, the Camp Circles (which restore

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

, save the game, and offer gameplay tips), and the encounter bar (which indicates how many battles can be fought in that particular area) remain the same as in the previous game. In ''Ar Tonelico II'', the player can control up to four characters in battle, in two pairs. Battles are divided into two phases. In the Attack Phase, characters can attack until the Time Gauge expires and the Defense Phase begins. The player defends the Reyvateils against attacks by pressing buttons indicated on the screen. The better the timing, the better the guard. Player receive special power upon filling the Emotion Indicator.

Plot

Setting

The setting for the game is the same as the previous game: the planet of Ar Ciel, albeit centered on a different region this time. The Tower of Ar tonelico from Metafalss is different from the tower in the first game since it does not look like a tower initially, but still has some of the same essential facilities (Plasma Bell (represented as the Lift Generators) and Musical Corridor (called here the Wings of Hynemos)). The Song Magics are still used like programs, but in this tower there are two Song Magic servers: the Sol Marta server and the Infel Phira Server. The Sol Marta server is located in the upper zone of the tower, acting like a stationary satellite. However, Sol Marta is not a proper Song Magic server, and instead, it serves as a relay for the First Tower of Ar tonelico, which was the setting for the first game. On the other hand, the Infel Phira server is located in a satellite that orbits the sky around the tower and shares its name with said server. Given Sol Marta's purpose as a relay for the First Tower, it works with the same kind of hymmnos as it and executes the EXEC variety of hymns. On the other hand, the Infel Phira server works with another kind of hymmnos called the New Testament of Pastalie hymmnos, and executes the METHOD variety of hymns.

Story

The region of surrounds the second Tower of Ar tonelico, which is said to represent the Goddess Frelia of the Trio of Elemia. Reyvateil in this region have been succumbing to a raging Reyvateil-exclusive epidemic called the Infel Phira Dependency (I.P.D.). Croix, a Knight under the Grand Bell Church of Pastalia, is sent to find the source of the problem and contain the epidemic. There is more transpiring in this region than just the epidemic, however, and one mission will throw him into an adventure to unravel the mysteries of the planet Ar Ciel and seek out a legend handed down by the people of Metafalss: the lost Hymn of Metafalica.

Characters

As with the original ''

Ar tonelico is a multimedia project series made in collaboration by Gust Corporation and Banpresto (currently subsidiaries of Tecmo Koei and Namco Bandai Games respectively) consisting of video games, manga, and an OVA. The name of the series is also the name ...

'', ''II'' features eight playable characters and many more who are important to the story. Croix Bartel is the main protagonist, whose life is changed when a routine mission goes awry. He becomes involved with two Reyvateils named Cloche Leythal Pastalia and Luca Trulyworth.

Music

The Gust sound team of Akira Tsuchiya, Ken Nakagawa and Daisuke Achiwa returned from the first game to compose the music for this game, as did

Haruka Shimotsuki is a Japanese singer and dōjin music composer known for her vocal themes in the ''Atelier Iris'' and ''Ar tonelico'' series. She also wrote the lyrics and sang the ending themes to the first two seasons of '' Rozen Maiden'' as well as the OVA ...

, Takashige Inagaki and

Akiko Shikata is a Japanese singer-songwriter and composer, who is known for writing music for games and anime. She is best known for her contributions to the ''Ar tonelico'', ''Shadow Hearts'' and ''Umineko no Naku Koro ni'' games, as well as anime adaptatio ...

for the composition of several of the songs and Hymns. Like the soundtrack for ''Ar tonelico'', the music of the game was released across three albums: a two-disc Original Soundtrack and two Hymnnos Concert CDs which contain all but one of the songs and Hymns that were absent from the OST. That missing song (titled "Emptiness") was later on released in one of Akiko Shikata's albums. All four singers from the first game returned to sing the songs and Hymns of this game's Reyvateils: ''Luca'' -

, ''Cloche'' -

, ''Jacqli'' -

Noriko Mitose is a Japanese singer. She is the vocalist of the band Kirche, and as a solo singer, has performed many songs for games. Biography Noriko Mitose sang for church choir when she was young but did not get involved in the music scene until she and T ...

, ''Reisha and Frelia'' - Yuuko Ishibashi.

Reception

The game was praised in Japan. The U.S. release was also well-received, but many fans have criticized its localization for bugs and glitches. The accuracy of some aspects of the translation is also debated, as approximately half of the Japanese voice overs were removed to make room for the English dubbing.

Notes

References

External links

* * at

NIS America is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in 1991 and has developed several role-playing video games, most notably the ''Disgaea'' and ''Marl Kingdom'' series. Its mascot is the penguin-like ''Disgaea'' character ...

Official JP Hymmno Server site
(Hymmnos information)
Fan-translated version of the Hymmno Server

on RPGFan.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ar Tonelico Ii: Melody Of Metafalica 2007 video games Ar Tonelico Banpresto games Gust Corporation games Japanese role-playing video games Nippon Ichi Software games Video game sequels Video games featuring female protagonists PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games Video games developed in Japan