Tag Archives: RPG

Atelier, Atelier Iris, Cover Games

Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny – The Fight for Eden

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The Atelier Iris subseries is, as we’ve already seen with Eternal Mana, something of an outlier in the Atelier series as a whole.

While all of the Atelier games involve RPG-style combat to varying degrees, the Iris subseries places a particular emphasis on what many would think of as a more “conventional” RPG-style structure: the protagonist goes on a journey, explores dungeons, acquires allies, seeks out wondrous treasures… there just happens to be some alchemy involved on the side.

Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny has a particularly strong emphasis on its combat and progression mechanics, making it a satisfying game for those who like making numbers get bigger. Let’s take a closer look at this aspect today.

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Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: For the Emperor – Final Fantasy II #13

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Could Firion and company’s quest finally be coming to an end?

Today, the crew dive right into the deadly Cyclone that is hovering menacingly just outside the walls of Fynn — and discover an ominous-looking fortress within. Is the Emperor inside?

Yes, of course he is — and no, of course their adventure isn’t over yet. But that doesn’t mean they can’t spend a little time celebrating a job well done… at least, until…

Atelier, Atelier Iris, Cover Games

Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny – Alchemy Evolution

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Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana was very clearly an attempt to do something different with the Atelier series… and also a bit of a playground for the development team to experiment with a wide variety of ideas.

This much becomes obvious almost from the moment you boot up 2005’s Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny, which takes many of the things that worked from Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, fixes the things that almost worked and ditches the things that didn’t.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at how Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny builds on its predecessor, and how this becomes clear over the course of the game’s early hours.

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Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: A Complete Waste of Time – Final Fantasy II #12

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We all make mistakes. And when you do, it’s best to own them, learn from them and try to see the best of the situation.

Like today, when I completely forgot where the place Firion and company needed to go next was, and thus spent nearly an hour doing entirely the wrong thing. I acknowledge that I did a stupid thing, but I can also draw a positive from it. I now know where the mirror is, and I had the opportunity to level Ultima a bit.

Although given my subsequent discovery that Ultima is a white magic spell and I gave it to my black mage… well, that’s a story for another day, I guess.

Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Leila

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The Final Fantasy series has, over the years, played host to some of the most well-known and beloved female characters of all time.

And this isn’t a recent thing, either; if you believe the fan theory that the White Mage in the original Final Fantasy is female (a theory which I can’t help but feel Square Enix leaned into somewhat with the sprite design in the remakes for PS1, GBA and PSP) they’ve been there since the very beginning.

And even if you don’t subscribe to that theory, Final Fantasy II certainly brought us some fine leading ladies, such as today’s spotlight character, Leila. Let’s take a closer look!

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Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Ultimania – Final Fantasy II #11

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Today’s Final Fantasy II adventure sees Firion and friends continuing their ascent up the Mysidian Tower, one-shotting bosses along the way.

At the tower’s peak, the elusive Ultima Tome, source of a magic spell that didn’t work properly in the original Famicom version of the game — and the first appearance of a spell that would become a series mainstay from hereon.

But wait, isn’t that Minwu? Wasn’t he in the fourth party slot for a wh– oh.

Atelier, Atelier Iris

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana – Narrative, Themes and Characterisation

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Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana is something of an outlier in the Atelier series as a whole, as we’ve already talked about.

Rather than adopting the established structure of “struggling alchemist works in a workshop to craft items, also there are adventures” it inverts this format to “struggling adventurer explores to discover mysteries of alchemy, also there is crafting”.

This change of structural focus gives the narrative scope to be a much more epic affair than many of the other games in the series — but at the same time it doesn’t abandon one of the series’ core principles. Let’s take a closer look.

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