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Huge fan of the AI games (well NIS games in general), I even enjoyed AI3 up until the last two chapters. I really like the new battle system, since leveling up is one of those things I tend to find a bit tedious. I don't think I have ever finished an AI game maxed out though. The graphics are some of the best yet, but those have never been important to me with this series of games. I just really love that the cute little scenes that they show after you synthesize something are back, I really missed those in AI3. I had a bit of a problem getting the premium pack since sellers tend to use the stock item description and forget to say whether or not it the game disk alone or the total package, so if you are looking for the premium pack, make sure to check the description closely or ask the seller.Read full review
Mana Khemia is the 9th edition to the Atelier series, coming in after Atelier Iris 3 (or A8). It's another sprite based game by Gust and released by NISA. If you are a fan of Gusts other titles you should enjoy this game. The story is a bit simple, the main character has amnesia and is invited to the alchemist school of Al-Revis. The game is divided into 12 chapters, each chapter is broken up into weeks. There are about 2-4 free time weeks per chapter and an event week at the beginning and end. The rest of the weeks are for your class assignments. The story really picks up around chapter 7 and the true charm in the game is learning about the other characters. The game play wasn't hard to figure out, and there isn't a leveling system. Instead you have a grow book, somewhat similar to the FFX sphere grid. With each item you synth a part of your growth book is opened for access, you then buy the skills with ability points you earn in battle. You can also increase your HP, MP, and give different skills like heal, ice blast, and seele a way to ress, through items and armor. You can actually get through the first 6 chapters without using your growth book, but after that the bosses and normal monsters become more difficult and skills and strategy is needed more. The synthesis is rather nice and fun. You have to gather your own items, some you can buy from the various stores around campus. You need a recipe to make the item, or you can alter an existing recipe to make something new. Since the game really focuses on synth and not battle this is where most of the game play is. The graphics were nice and clean, the backgrounds were 3D but filtered to look hand drawn. In some of the dungeons it would lag a bit due to how many sprites were on the screen, but this didn't happen too often. The character portraits were expressive, the main character Vayne has about 15 expressions, most the rest of the main cast have between 5 and 10. The sprites are simple, but they move smoothly and reflect the easy going school life the game has going. There are no cut scenes which is rather sad, only an animated opening movie and a partially animated end credits. Personally I'm not a fan of the English voice acting, some of the characters are okay, but some others I felt didn't fit at all or were irritating. Perhaps if one gets used to them they wouldn't be so bad. Meanwhile I felt the Japanese voices were very good and fit the characters quite well. Over all I would highly recommend this game to any RPG fan, and would probably give it as a suggestion for people trying an RPG for the first time, or trying out a Gust game.Read full review
I am a massive fan of the Atelier Iris series as a whole until AI3, in which I was rather dissappointed. So when I saw this in the shop, I bought it mainly on impulse to give the series another chance, and I honestly do not regret it one bit. The characters are all loveable, the gameplay fun and interesting, the music fantastic, and the voiceacting not TOO bad, although the Japanese voices fit better. overall, an excellent game. The game is sprite-based, like all the other titles, however they are generally very high-quality, with lots of movement. The battle system has also been vastly improved, with each character having their own SP bar again! yeahhh. The other welcome addition to this game is the use of the "grow book", which has replaced leveling up. Item synthesis is interesting, and you are occasionally rewarded with a little cutscene after you synthesise something new, like Flay telling you to make him "red, heroic armour", or Muppy discussing anime. It beats level-grinding by a mile. You also use the grow-book to get useful skills for your characters, and the ingenius item-synthesis system allows you to attribute skills to an item, depending on how high, or low, quality the item you make is, which depends on the items you used to make it and how rare they are, the "elemental wheel", and the assistance of other characters. The lessons/assignments system also helps you learn more about synthesising items, and how to use them properly. The music, as in all GUST games is simply fabulous, there are lots of refreshing little jingles, each character has their own theme tune, ("Defender of Justice has Come" for Flay, "Whistling Girl" for Jess, My Glasses are Addicted for Roxis, and "Ah, Disicplinarian of Youth" for the "Mook Squad", Tony and Renee, the latter being my personal favourite with its up-beat tune and strong rhythm) and there are no "filling in" tracks, the entire album in excellent, and definetly worth listening to. The Atelier series in-jokes are also all here to reward followers of the series. Hagel is present as the weaponsmith, Pamela is here, the Moderately Attractive Puni Brothers are back, as well as an AI3 cameo in the bonus dungeon. There are also plenty of typical NIA Popular Culture referances, as well as a couple of jokes you will only get if you are a gamer, e.g "Hey look, Its the Mook Squad!" etc, and there are several laugh-out-loud moments, and it does not take itself seriously at all, which is a refreshing break from all-too-common RPG angst. Overall, Mana-Khemia, like all other GUST games is aimed at a relativley small group of usually dedicated followers, and if you are a fan of Nippon Ichi/Gust games, this is a must-buy. However, even if you have never played their games before, it is definetly worth a try. I am awaiting the sequel eagerly, *****.Read full review
If you're a fan of NIS America's work or enjoy RPGs then this is a good title to pick up. The game itself is one of alchemy so other titles such as the Atelier and Ar Tonelico games are also of similar nature and are part of the alchemy series that NIS America has been working on. There's much to enjoy such as the characters and the game mechanics with making items from monsters or items you find and a good story to dive right into. The only thing to dislike would be the style of the characters in the game, but a fan of NIS America would be used that and it shouldn't really bother them. There's also good voice acting in the game as well, if that's an important aspect to a gamer. A good comparison would be its sequel Mana Khemia 2 which in my opinion took too long to get into the story at the beginning and compared to most RPGs. This a good title worth getting to know and play and one of those interesting ones that you won't know until you try it for yourself.Read full review
Put this one down as another winner from Gust/NIS. If you have played Ar Tonelico or Atelier Iris you will feel right at home here. Charming characters that are lovable and easy to care about, bright colorful graphics and trademark Gust humor make this an easy choice for RPG faithful, particularly those who like a little old school flavor in their rpgs. Many features return that fans will be familiar with, alchemy, shops, synthesis, and of course PUNIs! ~Puni puni~
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