Game:

Ar Tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica (2007)

Duration: 20:02

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There are a number of reasons why I hate Luca, and hopefully this video will explain some of them.

Luca and Cloche are gonna go at each other's throats quite a few times throughout the game. This is just the beginning.

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Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica is a sequel to the PS2 game Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia. Developed by Gust as part of a collaboration with Banpresto, Ar tonelico II was released in October 2007 in Japan (and in 2009 internationally), well after the PS3 was released. Though largely positively received, localization effort was minimal at best, and numerous bugs and translation issues plague the international release of the game. Here I am playing the "Undub" version, a fan-made hack of the game that removes all the English voices and re-inserts the voices that were removed during localization.

Commentary will be done in annotations so as to be less intrusive than audio commentary. I promise to keep it to a few annotations per video, but you can turn them off if you find them annoying.

The story focuses on a young man named Croix, a young prodigal knight in service to the Grand Bell theocracy of the world of Metafalss, and its leader, the Holy Maiden Cloche. Threatened with overpopulation in a small world, the people of Metafalss seek a new world to call their own. Their salvation exists in the form of a hymn known as "Metafalica", a song that, when sung by the Holy Maiden, will create a paradise for the people of Metafalss to live in. However, all attempts to sing Metafalica have ended in disaster, as the Goddess and her Sacred Army attempt to prevent the hymn's completion. Croix and Cloche must retrieve and realize the Metafalica hymn, though their efforts will be impeded at all turns by political unrest, impeding rebellion, the Goddess and her Sacred Army, and a mysterious disease that is ravaging the Reyvateil population of Metafalss.

Ar tonelico is a very unique game, combining real-time RPG-style combat with an original song-based gameplay mechanic. Vanguards in the front of the party soften up enemies and protect the Reyvateils in the rear of the party, while Reyvateils use the time bought by the Vanguards to charge up their Song Magic and unleash it to deal massive damage and lay waste to the enemies weakened by the Vanguards.

The story and world of Ar tonelico is very rich and intricate, and among the many interesting things about it, the Cosmospheres stand above all else. Cosmospheres are a space within a Reyvateil's mind, shaped by their emotions. Each level of the Cosmosphere represents an aspect of the Reyvateil's psyche; fears, desires, subconscious thoughts, and even the true self will manifest themselves in various ways, whether cryptic or straightforward. A Reyvateil can allow her partner to "Dive" into her Cosmosphere, where they will attempt to help the Reyvateil realize their true emotions and overcome their fears and insecurities. This allows the two to strengthen their bond and use the realized emotions to craft new Song Magic, making the Reyvateil stronger. The more a Reyvateil trusts their partner, the deeper they can Dive, but the Cosmospheres become more convoluted and dangerous as the partner Dives deeper and deeper. If they are not careful, irreparable damage can be done to the Reyvateil and her partner, both physically and mentally.

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