Game Review: Atelier Iris 2

Title: Atelier Iris 2: Azoth of Destiny a.k.a. Atelier Iris 2: Eternal Mana 2

Year: 2005

Platform: PS2

What is it about: Long story full of adventure. But it involves saving their own world (and other worlds) from destruction.

Genre: Turn-based RPG

My review: It's quite an old game, but if you don't mind the outdated graphics of PS2, then this is definitely one game you must play before you chuck the PS2 aside. Atelier Iris 2, however, is not the latest in the Atelier Iris series. 3 is. I started playing with Atelier Iris 3 before Atelier Iris 2, and I can tell you one thing: Surprisingly, Atelier Iris 2 is a lot better than Atelier Iris 3.

Let me elaborate that. The first time I played Atelier Iris 3, I found that it is an awesome game. That is only to be expected in an NIS game. I love the gameplay and storyline. The battles are pretty animated too for a 2-dimensional game. Though, this game is the typical accepting missions from guild, bringing back a requested item, and receive your rewards kind of game. I'm not really a fan of these kind of games, but I still love Atelier Iris 3 anyway. That is until I started playing Atelier Iris 2.

Unlike Atelier Iris 3, Iris herself is not a playable character. But she shares the same significance in this game. This game is not about accepting missions and stuffs like that, but rather, real adventure in two different worlds. In this game, Felt the main character sets on a journey with his newly acquired sword, one of the two legendary Azoths, to another dimension where he meets the other characters. Felt's girlfriend, Viese, together with little Iris, stays at their home world to support Felt by providing synthesized items and teleporting it to Felt. This continues on for almost three quarters of the game where Viese decides to search for Felt and join the fight.

In Atelier Iris 3, the entire game revolves around a small town. Atelier Iris 2 on the other hand, has a huge world map, and there are many adventurous places to travel. Occasionally, the game also requires you to backtrack. During the game, there are a mixtures of humour and seriousness. In fact, the storyline is really epic. In Atelier Iris 3, you get the usual quests and missions and stuffs like that. But in Atelier Iris 2, you get to go for war! Your team actually plans to conquer a castle! Now that is cool.

Finally, in Atelier Iris 3, the final boss has very predictable moves. You can easily tell when he will attack and when you should defend.. The final boss in Atelier Iris 2 is much more challenging. One hit from this boss can drain your party's HP to the KO point. Fortunately enough, items are easily synthesized in this game.

Overall, this is what I consider among the best games in PS2, alongside Tales of the Abyss and Persona 4. If you don't mind turn based game (which I think you wouldn't mind if you are a fan of Final Fantasy or Persona series), then please give this game a try.

Rating (out of 10): 10