A series of three role-playing games that tell the story of a ruined world where humanity lives on giant towers, and songstress maidens called Reyvateil wield mysterious magical powers.

Developer: Gust
Publisher: NIS America
Available on: PS2 (Ar Tonelico 1 and 2), PS3 (Ar Tonelico Qoga)
Original release date: 2006 (Ar Tonelico), 2007 (Ar Tonelico 2), 2010 (Ar Tonelico Qoga)

Articles about Ar Tonelico

From the Archives: Layers Upon Layers - One interesting contrast between Western and Eastern role-playing games is the way they each handle their core “rulesets.” Western RPGs tend to follow a model that is somewhat closer to tabletop role-playing, whereby all the rules are set out clearly in front of you from the outset. You generally spend the entire game applying these … Continue reading From the Archives: Layers Upon Layers →

From the Archives: Let’s Go Round Again - What do you think of lengthy games such as JRPGs (or indeed Western RPGs) having multiple endings? I remember having this discussion with a friend a while back, and he commented that he hated it when there was more than one possible outcome to the story, because he 1) hated having to repeat things and … Continue reading From the Archives: Let’s Go Round Again →

Nights of Azure: Introduction and History - 2015’s Nights of Azure — or Yoru no Nai Kuni to its Japanese audience — was something of a departure for veteran developer Gust. Primarily known for unconventional turn-based role-playing games with heavy crafting components, a style of game best exemplified by the developer’s flagship Atelier series, Gust opted to step out of their comfort zone with Nights … Continue reading Nights of Azure: Introduction and History →

Ten Great RPGs That Came Out After Final Fantasy VII - As we saw recently, there are those among us who believe that the Japanese role-playing game has been in consistent decline since Final Fantasy VII, and that only now are we starting to see a “comeback”. We’ve already talked about how this is a load of old nonsense, and that in fact the role-playing game … Continue reading Ten Great RPGs That Came Out After Final Fantasy VII →

Are JRPGs Primed for a Comeback? No; They Never Went Away - If IGN’s Colin Moriarty is to be believed, then Japanese role-playing games have been in a “steep decline” since Final Fantasy VII. You and I, as fellow enthusiasts of Japanese gaming, both know that this is perhaps a somewhat questionable claim to make, but it’s also worth examining, particularly in light of the fact that Moriarty … Continue reading Are JRPGs Primed for a Comeback? No; They Never Went Away →

I Shall Give You Endless Earth - Every avid gamer out there has at least one series — or perhaps even just one game — that they latch onto and will defend to the death. For my friend Alex, it was the Ar Tonelico series, a generation-spanning series of role-playing games from Gust, the team best-known for the Atelier series. And, once I’d played through all … Continue reading I Shall Give You Endless Earth →

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