There's always more to learn of the characters in all sorts of ways, and underneath the goofiness, there was still a thick layer of strong narrative and character development that kept me invested through sixty hours. I don't know if JRPGs will ever return to their previous prominence, but if Ar Tonelico Qoga is any indication, they still have a lot to offer.
A polished, pretty game that offers an interesting (if labyrinthine and melodramatic) storyline, a fun crafting system, and the kind of bombastic visual effects lovers of JRPGs have come to expect.
I'll admit it, I'm a sappy, sentimental, romantic kinda guy, growing up on games like Lunar and Grandia I really came to enjoy a good love story in my RPGs. Sadly for many RPGs a love interest is just shoehorned in, a tacked on extra or a checkbox in the big list of stuff they think they have to include, so much so that many people think they're pointless or add nothing to the game or even detract from it. So when the Ar Tonelico series came along I was really excited to see a series that really went for it with the love story. Of course I'm several hundred RPGs on since I started and there's a lot of things I like in an RPG, good music, a well thought out world that feels alive and has a sense of culture, large swathes of character interaction, likeable characters, a battle system that is both fun and different etc. Thankfully Qoga succeeds in a number of these categories and excels in a few.
As with the other games in the series, Ar Tonelico Qoga takes place in a tower above their inhospitable planet of Ar Ciel which has been covered by the sea of death. Unlike the other games where reyvateils were partners and lived among humans or below them, in this area reyvateils dominate over humans and carry out cleansings and purifications, either killing humans or enslaving them in the name of Clustania. The scale of the story is both massive in scope and minute in detail and is constantly balancing between intimate personal issues, large scale political movements and events with world changing consequences in a really satisfying way.
Of course the story hinges on the two female leads, Saki and Finnel. They're reyvateils, a race of artificially created(though still biological) humanoids with the ability to use song magic. Saki is optimistic and innocent, Finnel is pessimistic and cynical, two fairly standard personality types, however when you begin to unfold the events that molded their personality they really become great, memorable characters. A further and unique level of complexity is added to them in the form of their personae. Both of them have a number of alternate personalities that govern aspects of their personalities. Sarapatra for example is a more mature, adult side of Saki. I can't talk too much more about them without spoiling some of the fantastic twists and turns of the story but you're left questioning if these personae are truly other sides of them or something else as they often work against their other sides desires.
The other vanguard characters, Tatsumi and Hikari, took me by surprise with how great they were too. With such an emphasis on the romance between the hero and heroines you'd expect them to take a backstage and play a bit part, but no, they have their own story and goals which you help them to achieve while they help Aoto with his quest too. In fact in the early stages of the game Tatsumi is so preoccupied with pursuing his own agenda that he seems pretty cold and seems to be constantly looking for an opportunity to leave the group. He just cant ignore Aoto's troubles though and through the course of the game develops to be a really great friend.
Even beyond the main cast, many of the NPCs have amazingly well thought out stories, some of them even tying back into plot threads through the previous two games in the series. I particularly enjoyed Mute, Akane and Richaryosha. Mute is a massive muscular melee fighter, completely railing against the regular idea of a reyvateil as a songstress summoner. Despite her role as an enemy early on and her fearsome appearance she's quite a sweetie at heart and can be oddly cute at times. Though still terrifying when running around shouting HONEY! DARLING! Akane too is an enemy to Aoto, but she's also Finnel's childhood friend. she's a cold hearted ruthless commander at first, but if you're a good enough friend to Finnel you might just end up being friends with Akane too.
The crowning glory of the Ar Tonelico series is definitely it's hymmnos, songs that are sung in a language specially created for the games. There are a couple of oddball tracks in there, particularly CUTYPUMP and EP=NOVA are strange tracks that I didn't like at first, but suit the characters really well. They hugely expanded the number of vocal artists working on this game and some of them are really great, KOKIA's tracks are beautiful. The rest of the soundtrack isn't quite as great and might be slightly disappointing to fans of the previous games but dont misunderstand, it's still a wonderful OST, better than almost everything else out there. It just had an unbelievable pedigree to live up to. Some of the slower tracks used in the more emotional and intimate scenes are really memorable soulful pieces.
Overall out of the hundreds of RPGs I've played this will be one of those I really cherish, it's the only RPG so far this gen other than Valkyria Chronicles I feel is really a classic in the making.
A decent game that should find a home with people wanting a solid JRPG. A couple of nagging flaws keep this game from fully reaching its potential, but even with those, there is still plenty to enjoy here. A serviceable story provides good balance between humor and drama but is killed at times by awkward dirty jokes.
This isn't a bad game, but we expected more. Possibly JRPG hardcore fans will consider it a decent entry in a genre passing through difficult times, but actually it doesn't bring anything new or noteworthy.
Even after playing the last game, Ar Tonelico Qoga is simply disappointing. If only Gust had decided to fix what was wrong with earlier incarnations - the non-intense battles, the remarkably "blah" characters, the below-average everything - they might have had something here.
After the first's game flawed emergence into the world followed up by superb squeal (with a not so superb localization) one would think the 3rd game would a golden rainbow that hands out candy. Sadly this game is a step backwards, in more ways than one. For whatever reason it's similar to the first game rather than the second one. The combat while no longer turned based is not all that good. While the match the attacks with the meter thing at the bottom of the screen was a nice touch the combat lacks the "Tales Of Game" flexibility to pull that off. For the most part the Reyvateils that are considered so useful and valuable throughout the games don't even feel necessary. By time the magic is strong enough to be useful without spamming super attacks the enemy will already be dead from constant wailing. Then there's the weird stripping function which replaces different song magic, while the system works well there is no reason for the strange removal of clothes. Though to make it even the males lose theirs when they use their super moves too which creates what I like to call, "The hot spring laser barrage" Besides the music being awesome and story tying up all the loose ends through the last two games, it was a nice touch to add more detailed conversations during item creation. And while the mind diving is still interesting the Characters aren't as good as the ones in Ar Tonelico 2 and their respective life stories are not as interesting. In a way moving the last game to 3D didn't do a whole lot of good for the game and it's sad that the grand finale of the Ar Tonelico saga wasn't as good as it could have been.
I always liked Gust's Rpgs for many reasons: they tend to be "old-style" and their stories aren't that serious but yet are enjoyable, reminding me of fables...well this game can be a sort of half-way work. First of all the story starts off rather rushed and fast but tends to improve with time (sort of); the graphics are ok and I particularly liked the backgrounds even if they are 2d and the music is nothing to be reminded but it does it's job good enough. What are the problems then? First of all, the battle **** feels kinda weak, thin and totally lacking: your main job is to attack the enemies by pressing just one button 3 times and then cast the spell that your Reyvateil for finishing them by using purging for powering up their spells: the end. That's it mostly, and you don't even need to parry: it's automatic (by standing still...). You can also defend your Reyvateil by pressing circle when an enemy attacks her, but that's it basically: it feels like they rushed this battle system and your main job is to just help your Reyvateil to cast better magic, as your attacks won't be as strong as hers later in the game. But to me the biggest flaw of this game is just one: the fan-service. I mentioned before you need to purge for powering up your **** you do that by stripping your Reyvateil: it feels very annoying and very unnecessary and even though they explain "why" they have to strip it grows tiresome with time, making you skip their "strip" in battle from the start. However I enjoyed the game and if the players can pass the "purging" and fan-service gimmicks (or enjoy, depends on the taste) I would really say this isn't a bad game and it's worth a check before getting it completely.
I am The Destroyer. I will break games, complain about the littlest detail, and tell you whether or not the game is worth buying. There's a lot of things to be said, but can't due to the 5000 character limit.
Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel is one of the most unsuspecting games you will ever play. I say "unsuspecting" because of its flaws in logic, plotholes, bug crashes, missables, and one of the worst combat systems I've ever played, which we'll get to later. The unsuspecting part is you will want to see this game though. It's fantasy-like story will pull you in with it's amazing voice acting, and in-depth conversations which are mostly optional. But make no mistake, there is little-to-no hope in this title.
1. Story
The games story isn't all too bad and does a good job at reeling you in. Even the logic of Reyvateil's stripping to get more power was well-done. It isn't until later in the game where plotholes begin to open up.
And be careful when doing a New Game+ because by god, you press that circle button even one time, just a single push, it will fast-forward all cut-scenes from there on out until you can traverse the overworld or whatever the last dungeon or town you were in. You get to watch all text bubbles move around as if it were having a computer error, because that really makes more sense than actually skipping the scene..??
2. Voice Acting
Most easily the best part about this game. When the scenes were actually voiced, which is like I don't know... 60% of the time(?) you are hearing angels humming. Each role played perfectly, and I can find no flaws in any of the english voice actors or actresses.
3. Graphics and Visuals
The avatar pictures will be more fun to look than the actual character models. Lack of design in every area but towns.
4. Gameplay
Gameplay refers to the battle system, item synthesis, cosmosphere, and various areas that you explore during gameplay. Put it all together and it's an epic fail!
-Battle System-
So sickening! Release this type of battle system for even the original Playstation console and your Playstation would rebel against you and then punish you by spitting the disc out with scratches on it for making you load its awful combat frame rates. So many things are wrong in something that you will have to spend 50% of the game doing, and I can't speak of it all because this review isn't marked with spoilers. The combat system is so simplified that it's uncooked. Every special move your vanguards learn will feel exactly the same. Enemy variety is low, you will spend 30 hours fighting the same enemies the entire game, just with different names. Boss enemies are severely lacking. And the Supermoves for each vanguard is eternally flawed for what happens after.
-Item synthesis-
Boring, basic, predictable.
-Exploration-
Empty areas with no creativity other than few early levels. Repetitive beyond belief.
-Cosmosphere-
This is all we have for gameplay, the only feature that makes the gameplay cut. Cosmosphere is a device that lets you dive into any of the heroines minds and explore a world that they themselves have created through their inner thoughts and feelings. Each time you dive in, you are presented with a sidestory where you yourself must complete in order to get closer to said heroine. This will cause the heroine to become even stronger in the real world, benefiting you greatly, and allowing you to end the travesties- I mean combat much quicker. In order to dive into deeper levels of a heroine's cosmosphere, you have to talk with them in the real world, which can be done by resting at an inn or save point. It feels like these stories were made by a horny highschool teenaged girl with a BDSM fetish. Probably not, but if you say one wrong thing in the Cosmosphere, you're gonna watch a special scene, and then get kicked out of the sphere. You will then have to spend more Leaf and DP to try again, which isn't much of a penalty.
5. Soundtrack
I take it back. This is the best part about this game!!! Ar Tonelico Qoga comes with the type of soundtrack that makes you want to make a mix CD of, or finding the music files of it online to download onto your Ipad. Bringing its soothing tracks, outdoor adventures, indoor laboratories, and mood music for cut-scenes, each will play at impeccable timing. If anything makes you come back to this game it will be this.
6. Bugs Crashes
The low-rez in this game is torture! My game has frozen twice when doing a purge. It froze once when trying to enter combat. And for some reason saving my game takes an extra minute.
7. Personal Enjoyment
I didn't even want to do a New Game+ when it was all over! With story done, gameplay was left (oh no...) Forget DLC, I don't want to play any more.
8. Overall Verdict
People give this 6 or 8, but from me you get a 4 out of 10. I feel embarrassed to recommend this to anyone other than hardcore fans. Only got points at all for its music, voice acting, and it's half-story.
Well, battle system isn't too interesting, game content is kinda odd in Japanese style, some might like it but this game is IMO just perverted and that's why not for all. I mean for example person makes such spell in which she turns someone to cake and her clothes vanish in that process that is kinda we are dealing with here, I can take it as joke tho kinda but seriously not cool... Luckily other of game isn't as stupid like that at least so there is some content that is not useless even if rather silly still all the time. Still no way I am finishing this game, it is not for me but I will give it some points still as it's by means not terrible and there is audience for this game for sure, even if I don't find terribly much to like here.