Customer Reviews

Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (Premium Edition)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The ninth game in the popular Atelier series (though only the fourth one we've had here in the States), Mana Khemia shares elements of the AI games as well as the Gust/Banpresto RPG Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia.

The gameplay this time around is built around creating items through alchemy. While other games in the series had it as an important part, MK relies on it very heavily. To level up, you must create more and more items. This unlocks new abilities that you purchase with AP earned in battle.

The game is divided into chapters, and each chapter is divided into different sections. They start with an Event, which sets the stage for the chapter. Then there are a few Classes, where you hone your alchemy skills by completing quests. Then you have either Free Time or Detention depending on how well you did in your classes - Free Time has a quest system similar to Atelier Iris 3. You do odd jobs for money (and possibly items, I'm not sure about that yet). You can also converse with one of your teammates to build a relationship with them, but it's not really what I'd call a dating sim.

If you're a fan of the Atelier Iris series, Gust RPGs or NIS games in general, I highly recommend it. It's fun to play, there's a ton of content (10 hours in and I'm STILL learning how to do things!) The four-star overall rating is due to the fact that it can get a little repetitive at times .. but it's that same gameplay and wicked sense of humor we've come to expect from the series.

Besides, a black cat who transforms into a weapon? I like cats, and I like swords, so how could I NOT like this?

Another great game from NIS america - if you like turn based RPG's or collection games then you will find much to enjoy here. 8 Different endings to earn, a new game + mode and a challenging bonus dungeon for completists.

You may want to pick up the strategy guide for the crafting sub-game though. While the game does a good job of telling you what the element of all the different items and gear you collect is, you cannot access that list while crafting. So either a large collection of notes or the guide can be quite useful.

It must be a Great Game, my 15 yr old grandson played it all the way thru and my wife is now over 75% thru the game. Both of them said it is a 5-star game. The graphics are typical PS-2, but still looks good. I seems to be a continuation or side story of the "Atelier Iris 3" game and uses the same looking characters, dungeons, locations, etc. and the battle system is much the same except no experience is received and characters do not have levels. Instead they gain better skills and improved abilities thru alchemy which is the main theme of this version of the game. It's a fun game and keeps you busy collecting alchemy ingredients and materials to create new things. I reccomemd it to fans of the Atelier Iris gsme series and RPG fans in general.

Excellent game, Mana Khemia provides a fresh unique RPG experience. Mana Khemia has flashy battles, likeable characters, and a decent overall time completion to finish the game. There is also a bonus dungeon after you finish the game and a new game plus+ option. Highly recommended for RPG fans everywhere.

Let me begin with the caveat: for those of you who own the 80 GB PS3, I simply can't get this game to work with that system. It can recognize that a PS2 game is in place, but the screen remains blank after that. Oh well...

Anyway, on to the game. I loved AI:2, and thought that AI was a pretty good, if unbalanced, affair. I thought AI:3 was terrible, but this game is safely in the above average category. It's not stellar, but it does satisfy.

Let's begin with:
The Good:
- Mana Khemia's story mechanics are excellent. I love the idea of progressing through a school, with various missions given the guise of courses. The better you do on the missions, the higher your grade in the course. Get enough units, and you'll pass to the next scenario, after an event that moves along the story. Fail to get the units, and you'll...get bonus missions(!) that are very difficult. There are multiple endings to the game, so the replay value is certainly there. My only gripe here is that the cut scenes move very slowly.

-Mana Khemia has no levelling at all. Rather, by creating items through alchemy, you fill in a sort of sphere grid, which then allows you to spend the AP given in battle to increase certain stats or learn no skills. Excellent idea: the very point of the school is to become a better alchemist, and it's nice to see the game make this the central point of character development.

In addition, you can gain stats from other events (for example, I was given 10 additional hit points because I died in battle, after being resurrected at the infirmary). All in all, an excellent idea, as the sense of discovery (which should be a centerpiece of an RPG) is there.

- Battle is solid (though unbalanced - see below). Skills are prohibitively expensive, but at least physical attacks are again the bread and butter of battles (this was one of my major gripes with AI:3, as physical attacks were useless). The burst factor is again in place, but it's much more difficult to trigger than in the previous installment.

- The gamepack itself has a nice bonus - a CD with all of the tracks in the game. I like this, as the game itself remains reasonably priced.

The Bad:
- The same monsters. Again. This is lazy, and borders on pathetic.
- The battles are horribly uneven. Sometimes, you'll be accosted by some very manageable enemies, and then the next set you fight will whip your tail. Moreover, there is a day/night system, and fighting enemies at night can be incredibly difficult. I was wiped out three times in the first half of the game, which is very different from previous offerings in this series.
- I would have liked better interaction with the NPGs. While it's early, it again feels like they will say exactly one thing throughout the game. Unacceptable.

Nonetheless, this game feels fun again, as opposed to the snorefest of AI:3. The school atmosphere gives a touch of newness to this aging franchise, but it's hard not to notice the cracks in the foundation under the new paint job. If you like the series, you'll probably like this one. If you've never played a game in the series, I would first recommend Atelier Iris 2, but this ranks closely. And I would be careful if I were an 80GB PS3 owner without a spare PS2 lying around (thankfully, I still had mine).

Addendum: With the most recent patch for the 80 GB PS3 of old, this game will now play. Thank goodness - it's just about time to open up another ending. ;D

I bought this game looking for something new, and that's what I got. I hadn't played any atlus games beforehand, so I didn't know what to expect. All in all, this game is strangely child-like (I blame the anime), but if you can get over that part and focus on the rest of it, it is pretty decent. The game does have some complexity in the alchemy system and it gets progressively better as you go through 'school.' I wish it wasn't so linear, but I think everyone is resigned to that in japanese games.

I stopped playing FF12, if that gives you any indication, but I stopped playing this game when I got Disgaea.

old style animation, good play, funny voice track
you'll like it once you get started

First of all, if no one has said so already, I would like to point out that despite the fact that this game claims to be appropriate for ages 10 and older, that is very much not the case. Being a young adult, I wasn't remotely offended by the game, but was incredibly surprised to hear the "b-word" five minutes into the game based on the rating presented on the cover. That said, do not buy this game for your kids. Do not!

Furthermore, while I usually hate it when people do this...I haven't actually finished the game yet, but yes, I'm writing a review anyway. I've probably invested 5 hours into it so far, and unless a portion of the game comes along in which movement is literally impossible and the screen purposefully breaks into chunks of vomit-colored pixels, I maintain my high rating of Mana Khemia. Technically-speaking, I really enjoy this game. The controls are straight-forward and effective (believe me - I just got done playing Indigo Prophecy), the camera is a non-issue since you have no control over it (and blind spots are 1 in 100), and the battle interface (turn-based) is relatively simple compared to MOST games (*coughcough*), which I personally prefer. The learning curve for this game, as far as figuring out classes vs. events and specifically alchemy and synthesis, is also relatively steep - there's a lot to learn compared to, say, Pokemon Yellow, but you'll figure it out eons before you have any hope of so much as approaching Persona 4. Admittedly, however, the tutorials are not much help.

That said, if you're into next-gen. open worlds...you probably aren't even reading these reviews. This installation of Mana Khemia is 2D, though not side-scroller (see if you can wrap your head around that), and exploration is extremely limited. That said, I'm more of a plot-based sort of girl, and worlds as ginormous as Fallout 3 only hinder my obsessive impulse to advance the story.

My favorite thing about the game overall? Can you say, "Oh my god, this RPG let's me jump!"?

My least favorite thing about the game overall? Voice acting. But that's a personal thing. Seen Ergo Proxy? Hated Vincent Law? Well, now he's the main character of the game you just purchased. Go forth, emo kid. Go forth and whine.