Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
FMA 1 was just an action game. This one's like actually playing the series., July 27, 2005
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Earlier in 2005, we received Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel, which was a little game(that was actually released in Japan 2 years ago!) based on the popular anime/manga series that was a decent enough action-RPG. In it, Edward and Alphonse Elric went through an original adventure in which they met with a young girl named Armony. Despite the fact that it was fun enough(if using alchemy to turn a mailbox into a mini-tank to blow things up is wrong, I don't wanna be right), it was still a bit lacking.
Enter Fullmetal Alchemist 2: The Curse of the Crimson Elixer. The game itself actually feels much more like the anime than the first game did. The graphics now sport a cel-shaded look that perfectly captures the feel of the TV show, the in-game cutscenes actually feature voice-overs from the cast(not just the anime scenes), many more characters from the series such as Winry, Hughes, Rose, and Scar make appearances, and the game even has the TV show's 2nd opening theme, Ready Steady Go. When it comes to capturing the TV series, FMA2 gets an A+.
Combat is also a bit more fun. Ed has plenty more combos to wreck damage upon his enemies, and this time around also learns a set amound of weapons to make that allow him to do much more damage. You'll also actually have to switch between them, one weapon will actually be more useful than another. There's also many more things to transmute, and this time around there's no stupid gauge like the first game. Ed will automatically learn new transmutations for objects as he levels up, for example, he can create a bomb, then turn it into sticks of dynamite. The plot can essentially be divided into 2 parts. The first half of the game is a basic retelling of Hiromu Arkawa's series, such as the Cornello arc and the infamous incident with Shou Tucker. It's the second half of the game where the real plot comes into play, as Ed and Al battle mysterious monsters called Golems in their hometown of Resembol. It's this, as well as an encounter with a mysterious girl, that prompts them to investigate. Their search eventually leads them to Jack Crowley, who looks like the long-lost twin brother of Final Fantasy 7's Sephiroth. The guy's a bit off the deep end, and his goal to bring back a loved one has wound up creating the most dangerous threat our two alchemists have faced yet. It all ties in with a mysterious Crimson Elixir(hence the title).
The problems? Well, first off, the game is possibly shorter than the first one. It consists of about 7 "chapters" and each one takes about an hour at the most to complete. Al is also still a pain to control with the R1 commands, and often winds up getting low on health, leaving you to either forced to use healing items on him or just let him be knocked out(however, I've read that the next game is going to fix this be actually letting him be playable, so there's hope).
Despite these shortcomings, FMA2 is still a lot of fun. Fans may also want to check the bonus DVD, which contains episodes 27-28 of the anime(since they haven't been released on TV yet). With games like FMA2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir, we may not just be seeing an increase of quantity of anime games in the US, but quality is well. Definitely worthwhile to a fan.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fullmetal Alchemist 2 Exceeds the First., July 15, 2005
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
This game is far better than the first one. In terms of graphics, the game far exceeds "Broken Angel" due to the fact that the characters are now cell shaded and look more like the anime versions. The game play is also better because you are given many more melee attacks then in the first where all you could do was use your arm blade. In this game, Ed can kick, punch, dodge and still pull off all his famous alchemic works. I highly recommend this game to anyone who is a Fullmetal Alchemist fan and anyone else who as ever wanted to perform alchemy on anything or anyone.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good for fans of the series and just a good game overall, September 3, 2005
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
In an unfortunate state of affairs, the stores in my town suck when it comes to anime. We have Blood, Evangelion movies and the GitS: Stand Alone Complex anime and that's it. There's no Gungrave, Evangelion, Rahxephon, Fullmetal Alchemist, Escaflowne or Trigun to rent so people have to resort to downloading them(don't worry, I'm still buying the box sets whenever I find them). The first FMA wasn't particularly a big hit and critics weren't kind to hit so we have its updated sequel which is actually quite good, although as usual, there's some issues.
Story: The story can be divided into 2 halves: Ed and Alphonse investigating a couple people who are stirring some **** including a false prophet, a car bomber and a scientist's murder. The second half is where it makes a "plot" where mysterious creatures show up, along with a strange man and woman. 5/5
Graphics: Going for more of a cel-shaded influenced graphics the game is going ever so slightly to the feel of the show. Unfortunately characters don't move their mouths when talking and just show a anime-style character on top of the cel-shaded scene(similar to Lunar/Baten Kaitos style games). It does have some scenes animated directly like the show so bonus. 3.5/5
Sound/Music: I always consider English dubs to be a mixed blessing. You can better understand the scene and actors rather than reading the text at the bottom. It's just too bad that some of the lines are either delivered kind of flat(many of Al's lines or a bit too enthusiastic(Ed's lines). Music isn't too special either. 3/5
Gameplay: If many games are being GTA clones, than this game is like a Kingdom Hearts clone. Same style of engine only with a cool feature. Some of the specials you can meet on your quest allow you to help the battle. One acts like a giant vacuum cleaner so you can attack all the enemies in one shot. There's a rocket launcher, a big bowling ball, weapons you can use, even a bulldozer. Also cool is Ed has 3 weapons he can use in addition to fighting barehanded, a sword, a staff and a big hammer.
Controlling Al isn't that big of a concern. He's not too big on blocking so he gets hit a lot. You can do a alley-oop to make you go on higher platforms though. Some things will net you bonus points which allow you to raise your vitality, attack, defense and alchemy skills(allowing better specials on the field).
The game has one shortcoming too: it's rather short. It's got 7 chapters, each one will take you an hour to an hour-half to finish depending on how good you are battling. The story's interesting too, characters are well-loved including some cameos from the show, including hottie Rose, childhood friend Winry and Hawkeye. Speaking of the show, included with the game is an extra disc which contains Episodes 27 and 28 of the show so w00t.
If you're a fan of the show or just wanna play an action game with a cool story, try it out.
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