Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by Mike Repella

I know it's a sin to have someone review a new game in a long running franchise who has never even played one of the earlier games in the franchise. But I’m going to come clean and admit that I have never played an Atelier game, not even Mana Khemia 1. I have played several other NIS titles, as well as many of the recent RPGs that Atlus has brought to North America. So with that said, this review is about the newest game in the Atelier series, called Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy, and it’s written from the standpoint of a new fan to the series.

Disclaimers aside, Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy is a Japanese RPG that has been ported and localized for the North American market by the fine folks at NIS America. The game is a successor to the Atelier series of games and a sequel to Mana Khemia 1 on the PS2. Don’t worry if you haven’t played any of the previous games though, you won’t miss anything if decide to give this one a shot.

 Mana Khemia 2 is your standard Japanese RPG where battles are played out from a 2D side view and are turn based. The classic formula we all know and love is there, but with a couple of twists. Your party can have up to three characters fighting at one time and the other characters in your party are in standby and can be switched in and out freely during battle. When a character is switching in, they either add to an attack or defend another character. When your guys are on standby they slowly recover their mana. The end result is an interesting fighting system that will keep you involved deciding who to switch in and out and when to do it. It definitely gets rid of the mindless order system of some RPGs and keeps you involved in the combat.

Adding to the fighting system is a meter called the unite meter. This meter will slowly fill up during a battle and when it gets full you go into unite attack mode. Unite mode allows your characters to attack faster and it also allows the characters on standby to jump into the fight and do more damage. A successful round of attacks in unite mode will fill up a finishing gauge which allows players to activate powers that deal massive damage.

Mana Khemia 2 brings back the alchemy system that this series is well known for. I found this crafting system to be very deep. Through the use of Alchemy you can create almost every item, weapon, and piece of armor used throughout the game. The basic formula for item creation requires three different materials and a recipe. Once you have the required materials and recipe you can then craft new weapons, armor and items.  The trick to getting the most out of the system is all in the quality of the ingredients you use. You can make a standard level 50 heal potion, but with the right ingredients you can also make a level 100 heal potion. The same thing goes for every crafted item in the game.

The storyline in Mana Khemia 2 leaves a lot to be desired. The plot involves a once prominent alchemy school that sits on an island that used to float high above the earth. Apparently magic has been failing in the world and the island has fallen to the ground, thus the sub title “Fall of Alchemy”.  What’s unique about the story is that you get to pick from one of two starting characters, each with their own storyline. One character is a male named Raze whose story revolves around his needy master and his past. The other character is a female named Ulrika, her story involves the mana in the world and where it came from. The biggest problem with both storylines is that neither one of them is all that interesting and to top it off, both of them share about 80% of the same events and material.  Both stories center around the characters enrollment at the alchemy academy. Most missions involve some sort of homework gathering or killing assignment handed out by the school’s instructors and you will find yourself going through the same dungeons over and over again.

Each character’s story takes about 20 to 25 hours to play through. Here’s the kicker though; you really have no idea where the story is going or if there is even a bad guy until about the last 2 or 3 hours, and even then it’s kind of a letdown. Once you complete one storyline, you must then start the game all over with the other character, playing through the same dungeons and watching 80% of the same story. To add insult to injury, the only way to see the real ending and experience the meat of the story is to play through the game twice, which will cause both characters’ stories intersect and unlock about 3 more hours of gameplay. The good thing is that the items you created and recipes that you have discovered all carry over to the new play session, however character levels do not. 

As with a lot of Japanese RPGs the story is meant to be a little quirky and there are many scenes where you will be left scratching your head, asking “what the F just happened”? This is where localization and good translation can make or break a game. Unfortunately I’m sorry to report that most of the humor that is probably present in the Japanese version either doesn’t translate well or was just translated poorly. There are so many scratch your head moments in this game that I can’t even relay them all. One of them has to do with a main character who loves puni’s (they are the equivalent of slimes) and she goes around touching them and squeezing them. I think this part was supposed to be funny, but it comes off as really creepy. Another character is this huge lumberjack looking guy who thinks he is a little fairy. The best part (or should I say worst) is that he is clearly portrayed as being very gay, with lisp and all. Again I think this character is supposed to be funny, but it just doesn’t hit the mark. I won’t even go into the character that puts the word “puni” before every word she says.  I’m all for Japanese quirk, especially when it is done right, but this is not it.

 

Mana Khemia 2 is a PS2 game and while it’s 2D sprite style graphics look decent, they aren’t anything special either. The characters are all fairly large and each have their own look and feel about them.  Likewise, the levels and dungeons are all richly detailed and can be large. Most of them are maze like and provide a nice change of scenery from the school setting that you will be spending most of your time in.

The sound is a mixed bag. The voice acting isn’t all that great. But let’s face it, the voice actors aren’t exactly dealing with an Oscar worthy script. Fans of Japanese voice actors will be happy to know that the original voice acting is an available option in the game. So if the English actors’ line delivery gets on your nerves you can just switch to the Japanese voices and pretend like you know Japanese as you read along. The music in the game is top notch. The theme song and battle songs are all expertly produced and recorded.

Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy is a deep game and I haven’t even touched on some of the game’s features. Fans of turn based Japanese RPGs and item crafting will find a lot to like with this game. However, don’t go into it expecting an epic storyline filled with twists and mystery. Instead you get a game that wasn’t translated all that well and most gamers will walk away feeling like they got lost in translation. Even with its flaws, Mana Khemia 2 does offer over 50 hours of gameplay for those PS2 RPG fans who crave more of Atelier series of games.

Gaming Trend Score

76

1. Graphics: 75
2. Audio: 85
3. Controls: 85
4. Gameplay: 70
5. Value/Replay: 70
6. OVERALL:76