Tag Archives: RPG

Atelier

Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis – The Ninth Atelier

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With the ninth installment in the mainline Atelier series, Gust took the curious decision to temporarily drop the “Atelier [x]” naming convention and instead start a new subseries.

Except it’s not quite that simple; the two Mana Khemia games actually have a fair bit in common with the Atelier Iris subseries in terms of presentation, mechanics, tone and themes, leading some people to consider them an unofficial part of the Atelier Iris “trilogy”.

Ultimately it doesn’t really matter too much; Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis certainly stands by itself as a solid title in the franchise as a whole, so let’s begin with a general overview of what it’s all about.

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Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: The Great Escape – Final Fantasy II #22

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Did you know that the Teleport spell does not work in the Unknown Palace? I did not.

As such, I took Minwu and company deep into said dungeon “just to see how far we could get” and then decided that we’d turn back when I ran out of Ethers. Unfortunately things turned out to not be quite that simple. At all.

Enjoy the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Phantasy Star Online 2

Phantasy Star Online 2: Day 1 As an ARKS Operative

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Well, after an inordinately long wait — about eight years, to be exact — Phantasy Star Online 2 has finally arrived, for both Xbox One and PC players… and possibly with other platforms to follow.

To say that English speakers have been eagerly awaiting this game is something of an understatement. The Dreamcast original, being one of the original breakout successes in online gaming — and many players’ first experience with cooperative, social online gaming — is a widely beloved game, so in the eight years since Phantasy Star Online 2 released in Japan, people have been finding increasingly creative ways to get their fix, with particularly dedicated fans even going so far as to provide translation patches.

Now, none of those workarounds and fiddly tweaks are needed; everyone can just play Phantasy Star Online 2 as they please. So I thought it would probably be a good idea to jump in on the PC launch day and have a go. Read on to find out how that all went.

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Sega Ages, Switch

Sega Ages Phantasy Star – Classic Dungeon Crawling, Modern Conveniences

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Although at the time of writing a lot of people are super-excited for the impending PC release of Phantasy Star Online 2, the series as a whole isn’t anywhere near as well-known as the heavy-hitting classics of the RPG genre.

Indeed, Phantasy Star as a whole has always been something of a niche interest series — perhaps in part due to the majority of its “golden age” being released on platforms that were not typically renowned for their role-playing games.

The first game in particular is very interesting to return to, especially when you consider its original release date as a contemporary of the first Final Fantasy and the second Dragon Quest. And the Sega Ages version for Nintendo Switch is the definitive way to experience it — so let’s explore that now!

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Atelier, Atelier Iris, MoeGamer Music

The Music of Atelier, Vol. 3: Atelier Iris 3 – Grand Phantasm

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It’s time to once again return to the wonderful world of Atelier music, this time with a look at Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm’s soundtrack.

Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm was a noteworthy installment in the series from a musical perspective, because it marked the point where Gust’s sound team switched from using synthesised, sequenced music to streamed prerecorded music. This allowed them considerably more flexibility to put together more elaborate compositions and make use of more realistic sounds.

So turn up the volume and let’s have a good listen to find out exactly what that means!

Continue reading The Music of Atelier, Vol. 3: Atelier Iris 3 – Grand Phantasm →

Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: High-Intensity Stat Training – Final Fantasy II #21

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Sometimes, you know you’re just not up to the job. And you know that you have two choices at that point: give up, or work hard to overcome the obstacles in your path.

Minwu and company decide to take the latter path. Interestingly enough, they manage to take down Ultima Weapon with relatively little difficulty, but as soon as they set foot in the strange inverted form of Pandaemonium, they get their arses kicked again.

Clearly some training is in order. And in Final Fantasy II land, I’m sure you know what that means. Let’s get it over with!

Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Give Me Strength – Final Fantasy II #20

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It isn’t easy being dead, as Minwu, Scott, Josef and Ricard have been discovering in their afterlife adventures.

I’d heard before starting that the Soul of Rebirth postgame scenario could be a bit grindy if you hadn’t prepared the characters beforehand in the main game… but, well, I didn’t prepare the characters beforehand in the main game, so guess what we have to get cracking with?

Still, it’s interesting to be challenged by this game again — particularly with a new lineup of characters that I’m having to figure out the best way to make use of.

Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Nell Ellis

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Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm has an unusually small playable cast compared to other installments in the series. This is primarily down to the fact that two of the three playable leads are able to switch “Blades” any time they return to town, effectively giving them the functionality of multiple party members.

One of those privileged two is Nell Ellis, an energetic young woman who joins main protagonists Edge Vahnheit and Iris Fortner after getting into a fight with her sister Yula over the pair’s reasons for coming to the town of Zey Meruze. Yula appears to believe that the former prosperity of the Ellis family must be restored, regardless of cost, while Nell takes the rather more down to earth — and, it has to be said, friendly — viewpoint that they should make the best of the situation they’re in rather than moping over the glory days or doing something they might regret.

She’s a thoroughly likeable character, infused with a huge amount of personality over the course of Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm, so let’s take some time to appreciate her!

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Final Fantasy II, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Pandaemonium – Final Fantasy II #18

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Today, we beat Final Fantasy II once and for all! Well, apart from the Soul of Rebirth story added in the GBA version, of course, but we’ll deal with that when we come to it.

We have a couple of significant obstacles in our path though: the Jade Passage and Pandaemonium dungeons! The latter in particular is quite easy to get lost in, as I find out to my great cost… but it does at least have some rather tasty treasure to enjoy if you happen to stumble across it.

Pack a lunch, sit down and enjoy, as we take the fight to the Emperor and attempt to save the world from invasion by Hell itself!

Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Give Me My Ragnarok – Final Fantasy II #17

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Our quest is nearly at an end! Today’s challenge is finishing off the Arcane Labyrinth and proving to Deumion once and for all that we are worthy of wielding the legendary weapons he guards.

If I wanted to, I could go back and do the whole thing again in the hope of getting legendary weapons for some of the other characters… but I won’t subject you to that right now. Especially not since Maria and Guy are both using staves rather than the bow and axe that Deumion would provide for them!

Next time, we’re on track to beat the game… after a few mishaps, of course…