Tomas Elliot presents: a mildly enjoyable playthrough of a little gem, Ar Tonelico!

[Tomas Elliot]

Welp, I have finally brought myself to do this: to celebrate my recent purchase of a brand new computer, I am once again playing through Ar Tonelico, an old PS2 game of which I am particularly fond of (by the way, the page I linked has all the info one could ever desire about this game, but it also contains quite a few spoilers, so careful when you check it). Since I have always been saddened by how few people there seem to be who like the game or even know about it, I thought I'd create this topic to share my experience with you, much like those people who keep diaries of their nuzlocke runs in Pokemon games. I will be including plenty of images to make the read more enjoyable, and I will even have a poll when we reach a certain crucial choice in the game, leaving to them to decide which path I will take.

What I really love about Ar Tonelico is that there are many aspects about it, from the general pacing to the way the plot unfolds to the absolutely awesome opening sequence, that are more reminiscing of an anime than a game. And the dual aspect of the gameplay (at its core, this game is a JRPG, but developing strong bonds with the heroines is a fundamental part of the game, bordering into visual novel and even dating sim territory) only adds to this, allowing you to fight your way through the plot and to dive deeper and deeper into character development at the same time. To convey this effect I, too, will articulate this playthrough into episodes, complete with individual titles I'll be coming up with, in an attempt to recreate the anime feel. So, without further ado, let's get to it.

EPISODE 0: A bit of background

The game opens with a LONG cutscene, which details the backstory of the game. Since taking screens of that would have taken forever, I am going to provide a quick summary instead.

Long story short: a few centuries before the events of the game, humans have completely destroyed their planet Earth through a nuclear war. The land has been turned into an uniform, sterile wasteland by radiations, to the point that merely walking around is hazardous for the average person. Humans have therefore decided to move on artificial continents created by them, that float several kilometers above the ground: on such artificial continents, equally artificial climates and ecosystems make life possible. To handle all the informatic systems that govern life on such continents (including, you know, keeping them afloat), humans have constructed some incredibly large towers, which are essentially humongous servers: and they have also created the Reyvateils, a race of female-only artificial humans who, by using the power of Songs, can interface with the towers in order to create... Well, pretty much everything, from fireballs to healing spells. And the tallest of these towers is the titular Tower of Ar Tonelico. Just to give you an idea of just how ridiculously enormous this thing is, that purple area that cuts off the top part of the tower is called the Blastline, and it is heavily implied to be no other than the OZONE LAYER.

Years before the beginning of the game, a civil war nearly destroyed the world again: while the one responsible for this, the so called "Mother Virus", was defeated and imprisoned, her creatures, the Viruses, sometimes resurface and attack people. The game begins in Platina, the city you can see built on the side of the tower, right below the purple area. That is the city where Shurelia, the first Reyvateil to be created (which makes her over 700 years old) and the most powerful of them all (at least in theory), lives. Shurelia is the administrator of the tower: basically, while other Reyvateils can tap into the systems of the Tower to alter reality, Shurelia is connected to the Tower at a level so intimate, that she effectively commands all the systems, meaning that she has complete control over more or less everything, from the climate to the very ability of the continents to stay afloat. This, coupled with the fact that her connection with the Tower makes her effectively immortal, causes people to rever her as a goddess, but she is actually a humble, reasonable person who tries to do what is best for the people.

One day, Shurelia is attacked by a particularly aggressive breed of Viruses: the knights sworn to protect her, Lyner and Ayatane, soon find out that these new Viruses are immune to the weapons they usually use for virus busting, and are quickly overwhelmed. As Ayatane sacrifices himself to allow Shurelia and Lyner to get away, the administrator begs Lyner to hop on an airship and fly to the Wings of Horus, the floating continent that lies several stons below, in order to retrieve the Hymn Crystal Purger, the only weapon capable of defeating these new Viruses...

[Tomas Elliot]

Ok, the likes and the views tell me that there are people interested in this, so I shall just proceed with the first episode. I hope this won't count as double posting... Although Huk said it would be ok.

Episode 1 - Shooting Star

Last time we saw him Lyner (who, it should be clear by now, is the protagonist of the game) was hopping on an airship to fly all the way down, to the floating continent named Wing of Horus. His mission is to retrieve the Hymn Crystal Purger, the only weapon capable of destroying the Viruses that are attacking his hometown of Platina.
Unfortunately, this trip to the lower world is ill-fated: the moment Lyner begins inputting the coordinates in the airship's computer, a massive dragon appears out of nowhere and blasts him, severely damaging the airship and forcing him to go for an emergency landing... Which actually looks more like a crash: the impact is so violent that poor Lyner goes right through the windshield and falls out of the airship, ending up quite far from the actual crash site. He doesn't die only because a girl, who just happened to be nearby, gives him first aid.



Maybe she's afraid, maybe she is confused, or maybe she is just shy, but the girls runs off before Lyner regains consciousness. He manages to catch a quick glimpse of her as he wakes up, but when he finally manages to stand, the only things left of her is her handkerchief, which he takes with him. He has no idea of where he is, but for now, he will focus on finding out what was of his airship... And on finding and properly thanking the girl, if the occasion arises. And this is how the actual game (that is, the part in which we actually are in control of Lyner) begins.



It isn't long before we are thrown in our first fight. Most of the commands are still unavailable to us, so for now our strategy merely amounts to hacking away with the sword... Which I actually feel horrible about, considering that this particular enemy class, the Nyo? (the question mark is actually part of the name), has only one move at its disposal. A move that HEALS you. SO yeah, the little guy is helping you recover from the injuries you suffered in the crash, and you repay it by killing it for EXP. So much for all-loving hero.



As we try to move on to the next area, we get a cutscene of the girl who saved Lyner, who meets with the group she belongs to. We find out that her name is Aurica, and that she is a Reyvateil, which explains why she could cure such serious wounds in such a short time... And the first words to escape her lips are an apology. Wanna try and guess what kind of character she is?



Fortunately for her, her direct superior, Cardinal Radolf, appears to be a decent guy...



... Which is more than I can say about the other knight. Seriously dude, that's just wrong.



So Radolf and his group, who apparently where investigating the crash site, leave the area, and soon enough our hero arrives. He is understandably shocked to see his airship destroyed: after all, as far as he knows that's his only way back home, and without it, even if he finds the Hymn Crystal Purger, it will be meaningless...



So imagine how happy he is to see a random guy show up and start taking the airship apart, to sell it for scraps. Although probably I shouldn't be saying "a random guy", considering that he has a unique sprite.
Turns out the guy is an adventurer, and he doesn't believe Lyner owns the airship. The two don't even introduce to one another, they start bickering immediately, untill the green dude says he'll be back later, when "this annoying kid" isn't around. At which point, Lyner decides that his best option is to look for help in a nearby town.



Which leads to us seeing the world map for the first time. Next stop: Karulu VIllage!



But as soon as we walk into town, we once again find trouble. A guy whose sprite is a darker recolor of the knights from before (which means he is a bad guy, aren't these color-coded uniforms convenient?) is abusing his partner Reyvateil, who for some reason has forgotten that she could simply vaporize him with magic. Of course Lyner, being a pure-hearted hero who loves all living beings (well except the Nyo? anyway), decides to step in...



... But before he can, that Cardinal Radolf guy from before shows up, and proceeds to kick the jerk's ass. From his subsequent rant, we find out that there are two factions in the lower world: the Church, of which Radolf himself is a member, that is a military group with religious overtones, whose mission is to protect the people from monsters and to create a peaceful society, as well as Tenba, a mercenary group that will do anything for money. Of course, doing things for money is bad, so they also abuse their Reyvateils to drive home the point.



So anyway Aurica shows up, and Lyner, recognizing her, immediately starts hitting on her, using the old but always popular "I believe this belongs to you" trick...



... Except she shoots him down. Better luck next time, ladykiller!



In order to drown his sorrow, Lyner heads to the nearest market... Only to find out that MORE trouble is on the horizon: apparently, the townspeople have lost no time in finding a way of making the most of the wreckage!

Will Lyner manage to retain possession of the airship, his sole way of returning home? He came down to find the Hymn Crystal Purger, but so far he is being sidetracked... Will he find a clue? Find out in the next episode, which will feature ghostly wolves, suspicious monologues, and a new interesting gameplay mechanic!

[Red_Chaos]

sounds interesting, the screen shots differently helps me picture this game

[Odybld]

Hype hype hype! It pretty much feels like starting an abridged-style series for me. I have no idea about the story, you're always a humourous and slightly snarky read, and the screens are really well-picked.

A handkerchief? A fair lady dropped her handkerchief?! That pretty much reminds me of the three muskateers and how D' Artagnan picks up a fight with [spoilers] in the beginning

In general, your style is great, the choice and amount of screens is good, but in the cases that you'd like to utilize more text between shots, you can still use the full text AND place a one-liner either next or right under it. I did an example in the quote, and I put it in both positions to see which you may like more.

I also used Jeri's patented light yellow, it's the colour in the text editor under the regular yellow. It looks great in the forum, especially bolded (or in italics, if you dig that, that would be really great inside a paragraph). Allthough it's almost invisible in the text editor itself. Can you see it?

So Radolf and his group, who apparently where investigating the crash site, leave the area, and soon enough our hero arrives. He is understandably shocked to see his airship destroyed: after all, as far as he knows that's his only way back home, and without it, even if he finds the Hymn Crystal Purger, it will be meaningless...

Don't fuck with another man's vehicle. It's just against the rules!

Don't fuck with another man's vehicle. It's just against the rules!

So imagine how happy he is to see a random guy show up and start taking the airship apart, to sell it for scraps. Although probably I shouldn't be saying "a random guy", considering that he has a unique sprite.
Turns out the guy is an adventurer, and he doesn't believe Lyner owns the airship. The two don't even introduce to one another, they start bickering immediately, untill the green dude says he'll be back later, when "this annoying kid" isn't around. At which point, Lyner decides that his best option is to look for help in a nearby town.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Odybld

[Flux]

Remember the Nyo...

[Tomas Elliot]

Well, thank you guys for the feedback. I will now priceede to episode 2, and I'll make sure to give Ody's suggestions a shot while I do so.
Also, this episode is dedicated to the memory of all the deceased Nyo?, who died for our ealth and EXP. Rest in peace, little fellas.

Episode 2 - When in Horus

So, we left Lyner in a whole lot of trouble: not only he failed to find any clue on the location of the Hymn Crystal Purger, not only he crashed the airship that is his only way to bring the crystal back, now what is left of his airship is going to be sold for scrap!

You know my name?

So we rush to the crash site, where Lyner tries to explain his situation. He finally states his name, and the green gunner from before, who for some reason was still hanging around, has a reaction that Lyner doesn't notice. Apparently, the name rings a bell... This is not suspicious at all.

Am I the only one who smells a sidequest?

Anyway, the village's mayor demands evidence to support Lyner's claims, and provides some generic tear jerker exposition on the backstory of the town... I don't like where this is going...

Totally called it

OF FUCKING COURSE. How do you prove to a callous mayor that you are the legitimate owner of an airship? By killing some random wolves in a random forest! Let's get this over with quickly and get back to the main quest already.

A suspicious gunman

Fortunately for us, the green guy from before, who was being a jerk to us untill seconds ago, suddenly declares that he feels sympathy for us and volunteers to help. Which, paired with his reaction to the name "Lyner" above, is not suspicious at all. Turns out his name is Jack, and he is a gunman who was tired of his job, so he one day left his hometown and set out to search for treasure.

Lyner is an idiot

It also turns out that Jack knows Lyner is from Platina, despite the fact that Lyner never mentioned it in Jack's presence. Which, paired with his reaction above, isn't suspicious at all. When pressed on the matter, he comes up with this pathetically lame excuse: of course, at this point it is painfully obvious that something is up with the guy, so only an idiot would accept to team up with him, right?

I told you Lyner is an idiot

Right.

This happens painfully often these days

So we head out to defeat the wolves, murdering more Nyo? along the way. Of course, this couldn't be just a simple sidequest, so it turns out the wolves are actually GHOSTLY wolves, and are completely immune to our weapons. Which means, we now have to go on a side-sidequest to find a way to hurt them.

What did I say Lyner was again?

Jack suggests to go back to Karulu and come up with a plan, but he failed to keep into account Lyner's negative IQ. Hey, you didn't complain about his idiocy when it worked in your favor, so now you deserve to be stuck in a conversation about killing GHOSTS with a sword. Karma is a bitch.

Subtlety

Jack is so frustrated he drops another suspicious line. Because you know, suspicious. So anyway, it seems that the only way to defeat the ghostly wolves is to use a magical weapon, but we have no such thing. Fortunately, this is a JRPG, so the solution to the problem just waltzes in on its own.

When in Horus, do as Horus people do

Turns out, people in the lower world are capable of creating virtually ANYTHING, from weapons to healing items, by using a technique called Grathmeld. And it just so happens that the greatest master of this technique lives in Karulu, along with his grandkid. If we learn how to Grathmeld from him, we will surely manage to create a weapon to defeat the wolves.

Hey I want to handle grandkids too

After finding out that the "grandkid" is in fact an attractive young woman, and getting a good idea of just how Jack intends to "handle" her...

Grathmelding 101

... We dive right into the tutorial on Grathmeld. Basically, the idea is to look for recipe cards, that are scattered everywhere around the world. Once you get your hands on a card, you can use the ingredients listed on it to create new items. It might sound silly, but it will quickly become one of the most enjoyable mechanics of the game, specially when we get a Reyvateil to join our party.

Subtlety #2

So yeah, for now all we need to do is to master the technique in order to make a weapon capable of defeating the ghostly wolves. And sure enough, we do just that: apparently nobody had ever managed to master Grathmelding as quickly as Lyner does, even Jack is so impressed, that he drops another suspicious line. Because you know, suspicious.

You people have some lousy standards

Long story short, we mass-produce the new weapon and use it to kick some canine ass. Upon reporting back, we are instantly believed by everyone, they all celebrate the defeat of the wolves and thank us for our bravery. These are the same people who didn't consider our word trustworthy in the whole airship matter, and demanded evidences to support our claims. How comes they now believe us so easily?

Why thanks, what a great reward

We get a Grathnode Crystal for our efforts. It might seem a lousy reward now, but come next episode it will come in handy. In the ensuing conversation we learn that a hostile tribe, the Teru Tribe, lives in the tower just above the Wings of Horus, and prevent people from climbing up (they even built a massive gate to block the road). Therefore, the only realistic way to get back to Platina is to get our airship fixed: with the ghostly wolves gone, it is now possible to travel to Nemo, the biggest city of the continent, so we should go look for an engineer there. The people of Karulu will watch over the airship while we are away. Finally we have a plan, finally we are doing something related to the main quest: on top of that, Jack volunteers to accompany us, so we will be able to rely on his strenght in battle!

Subtlety #3

All well what ends well? Not really. As we camp for the night before reaching Nemo, Jack wanders off while Lyner is asleep, and gives us this suspicious monologue. I would say "because you know, suspicious" but in all seriousness, it definitely sounds ominous this time. It looks like Jack really has an agenda of his own, of which Lyner is not aware.

Misha?

Unsurprisingly given the type, a woman is involved. It looks like we will find much more than we expect in Nemo...

So, Lyner has emerged victorious from the sidequests and has mastered Grathmelding: will this be his first step in completing his mission? Will he find the clues he so desperately needs in Nemo? What is Jack hiding? Who is Misha? Find out in the next episode, which will feature a huge city, a sexy bartender, and an offer we cannot refuse!

[Red_Chaos]

so every time we meet a girl she is gonna get hit on.....funny how that is in real life...

[Tomas Elliot]

so every time we meet a girl she is gonna get hit on.....funny how that is in real life...

Nah lol, it's just that Jack is a perv. And even he will eventually have to cut the flirting short as the story progresses

Ep 3 coming out in the evening (GMT+1)!

[Redo.]

Ar Tonelico?! Ahhhw yeah my 2nd favorite RPG of my life (Surprisingly, both of my favorites are from the PS2).

Also, go full on Misha route, Aurica was never worth ir in my books, and shame there's no Shurelia route.

Ar Tonelico 2 being a worse game than the original gave us at least a Jacqli (Mir) route, and even a Cocona route if we didn't choose any of the other 3!!!!

I should play Ar Tonelico 3 once, but it feels strange that both Croix in AT2 and the main of AT3 can have a relationship with her... how does that even works?

Sony should release THIS game on the PSN, insta buy for me.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Redo.

[Tomas Elliot]

Don't worry, we will have a poll to decide which route we will choose in Phase 2... Remember to come back to this topic and vote when the time is right!

And now for the third episode:

Episode 3 - Airport City Nemo

Having finally solved the problems connected to his crash, Lyner heads to the biggest city of the floating continent, Nemo, hoping to find a clue there. As the journey is rather long, he and Jack decide to set a camp for the night, which leads to the suspicious monologue we saw o close the previous episode: but while Jack is busy foreshadowing events to come, Lyner is deep asleep... And by having a look at his dreams, we get some more exposition on his past.

No dad, I am NOT going to be a politician

Apparently Lyner's dad, Leard, is the commander of the Apostoles of Elemia, the faction that rules Platina. As Lyner is his only son, he wants him to become his successor, so he has been interfering with Lyner's life throughout the years, trying to make him follow the path he had prepared for him. Lyner however always refused to go into politics, and instead decided to become a knight: in a last-ditch attempt at forcing Lyner's hand, Leard rigged the final exam of the military academy, but Lyner found out and confronted him about it.

My life is for Shurelia-sama

In that occasion, Shurelia stood up for him, defending his ideals and persuading Leard to accept Lyner's decision. This is the reason why Lyner has sworn to protect her with his life and is fiercely loyal to her. It is also the reason why, unlike many other humans of his period, he has a deep and sincere respect for Reyvateils, and he hates with a passion those who abuse them.

Good morning Crono Lyner!

Unfortunately, the dream is interrupted by Jack, who wakes Lyner up, so we cannot get any more insight on the young knight's past. As they resume their walk to reach Nemo, Jack gives Lyner a valuable piece of advice: we can only hope he will be smart enough to follow the advice...

100.000 souls, and then times as many people!

And here we are at last, the airport city, Nemo! Jack offers to give Lyner a tour, so we get to see some famous spots like the Songstone Park, of which I am not posting a screen because we will return there soon enough...

I smell a boss battle...

... But as soon as we get to the main square, we find that trouble is waiting for us. Apparently, the big guy is a robot created by the Apostoles of Elemia, whose job is to defend the tower from intruders. Judging from the fact that it is now attacking civilians, it would seem that the Viruses have managed to hack into it and rewrite its programming! And this is not all: Aurica shows up right when the robot is beginning to charge an attack, and carelessly walks into the line of fire. To protect her, Lyner jumps in front of the attack, and a boss battle is initiated.

... Or not?

Well nevermind, it is actually a tutorial on the new commands unlocked by having a Reyvateil in the party. But really, it was clever on the dev team's part to disguise a tutorial as a boss battle, complete with boss battle theme... Also, the way Lyner has to explain the commands to Aurica is fitting of their respective characterizations: I never thought I'd enjoy a tutorial this much!

So much for being careful

So anyway, Lyner shows off a bit too much (possibly in an attempt to impress cute little Aurica?), and people start figuring out who he is.

And now for a commercial

Fortunately, before people start asking dangerous questions, Radolf shows up and asks us to follow him to the church, as he wants not only to properly thank us for saving Aurica, but also to introduce us to the leader of the Church, one Bishop Falls. Before following him however, let's stop at what is probably the first SERIOUS shop of the game: useful items aside (the Replica Horn is this game's Revive) there are two Grathmeld recipes. However, we are not going to make the items for the time being, because Aurica leaves the party as soon as the battle with A.B.R. ends, and Grathmelding is more fun with a Reyvateil in the party.

MOAR SUSPICIOUS PEOPLE

NOW we are ready to follow Radolf. But as we do, we get to see a mysterious guy, who apparently is keeping an eye on Lyner... Because of course, that is what this game needs: more suspicious people.

Your bishop is in another church

So anyway, it seems Bishop Falls is not in the building at the moment. He will return in the night, so Radolf arrange for us to stay at a nearby inn, so that we can meet him tomorrow.

Did you really expect some competence from Lyner?

The inn is a rather big one, complete with weapon shop and bar: for now, we focus on the weapon shop, where a rather silly cutscene gives the guys an opportunity to bicker some more, and us to learn about a new feature called "Enhancing".

You can put offensive crystals on armor and defensive ones on weapons, too

Remember that Grathnode Crystal we received as a reward for the wolves sidequest? Well, we can now use it to improve our equipment! For now we of course have a very limited choice of crystals, but by proceeding with the plot we will unlock some brutal combinations, to really gain an edge in battle...

"Eyes", he says

For now, we move to the bar, where Jack doesn't miss one split second to start hitting on the (admittedly quite gorgeous) bartender. By the way, her name is Claire, and she will be more important in the plot than her role might suggest right now. Heck she has a unique dialogue portrait, that alone should be an obvious clue.

He says "you two", but then he singles Lyner out

And that is exactly when the suspicious guy from before decides to show up. Apparently, he has an offer for Lyner, and needs to discuss it in private. Clueless as ever, Our hero follows him outside...

You are such a great friend, Jack

... And THEN we find out that Jack knows full well who the guy is, and he also suspects that this is a trap. Wait a minute, you KNEW I was walking right into a trap, and you did nothing about it because you were too busy hitting on a lady? Seriously, screw you Jack!

Is that any way to ask a guy to work for you?

Outside, Bourd introduces himself to Lyner, and explains to him how things work in the lower world: the CHurch and Tenba are constantly competing over resources, and Lyner, as a skilled fighter, is a valuable resource. Therefore, Lyner will join Tenba and lend his power to their cause: if he refuses, Bourd will kill him.

Wait, you are not planning to take them on by yourself, are you?

However, Tenba has a reputation for abusing Reyvateils, and we saw before what Lyner's opinion on the matter is. He therefore refuses steadfastly to join Tenba, and gives an admittedly awesome speech on why Reyvateils should be respected and cared for. He then decides to take on not just Bourd, but the entire elite guard of Tenba, just to prove a point...

Great...

... And it goes about as well as you'd imagine.

Yay, I survived the beating. That's something right?

As Lyner collapses on the ground, Bourd is impressed to see that he has managed to survive what was supposed to be a fatal blow. He therefore decides to once again try and persuade him to join Tenba. Which means, he is going to imprison Lyner in Tenba's main facility, and keep him locked up untill he agrees to join.

Well, what was supposed to be a peaceful trip soon escalated in ways we could have never seen coming, our hero is down and out, and still noclues on the Hymn Crystal Purger have been obtained... With the Viruses rampaging to the point of turning the guardians of the tower against humans, Lyner needs to hurry: will he manage to escape Tenba's clutches? Find out in the next episode, which will feature a childhood friend, a glimpse of things to come, and a serious boss battle!

[Tomas Elliot]

Welp, no new comments, but the reads and likes are constantly increasing. Thanks to all that have shown this project support so far: please help me spread the word and gather even more attention to this topic, so that we can get more and more people to know this awesome game!

And now enough with the talk, and let's proceed with the story.

Episode 4 - Enter Misha!

So, last time we saw him, our hero Lyner had been defeated and captured by Bourd Rade, the second in command of the mercenary group Tenba: as the new episode begins, we get to see the interior of Tenba's main facility, where Lyner has been locked up.

Now that's one fancy hairstyle

We see one girl wandering around the facility, asking people she comes across about the prisoner. Eventually, she overhears Bourd talking about how he locked up the "Apostle of Elemia" in cell 3, so she heads there.

Such a moving reunion...

Upon seeing that Lyner is the prisoner, the girl bursts into tears of joy, swiftly opens the cell, and rushes inside to hug him. Fact is, she is a childhood friend of his: they were separated many years ago, and she has been through a lot while they were apart. But none of that matters anymore because, after suffering so much, the two are finally, finally reunited...

... Or not?

EXCEPT LYNER DOESN'T REMEMBER HER AT ALL. And since he has no idea of how to deal with a woman's feeling, he flat-out tells her to her face, which understandably upsets her. By the way, the title of the girl's theme song is "Expressive Girl", and sure enough, she has really expressive eyes. Just look at the range of emotions she displays throughout this conversation.

And she's kinda cute when she pouts, too

So anyway, she introduces herself as Misha, Misha Arsellec Lune. Wait a minute: Misha? Haven't we heard that name before?

There is no time to think about it, because a guard catches them, so Lyner has to knock him down before he can sound the allarm. Misha then proceeds to lead him out of the prison, and right towards the nearest exit.

And thus, our JRPG became a dating sim

And as soon as we stop at a save point, another tutorial is triggered, where we learn about what is probably the most important mechanic of the game: the conversation system. Basically, now that we have a Reyvateil in our party, we can spend some time deepening our bond with her by talking to her, whenever we stop at a save point. topics for conversation can be unlocked in the most diverse ways (some are triggered by plot events, some are unlocked by having certain items or doing certain actions in combat, and some are found by exploring the various locations). The more you talk with a girl the stronger your bond with her gets, which in turn unlocks new levels and features in the Cosmosphere. We will learn about the Cosmosphere in the next episode.

Careful what you wish for

With the tutorial out of the way our escape resumes, but we are soon forced to stop when we run into 3 Tenba dudes, who are just hanging around and doing things dudes do when hanging around. You know, like chatting idly, making jokes about girls, casually breaking the fourth wall, stuff like that.

You don't badmouth Reyvateils in Lyner's presence

However, one of the guys makes the huge mistake of badmouthing his partner Reyvateil, calling her a "useless doll" and stating that, if she cannot even craft some strong magic, he will just ask to be assigned a new one. And we all know how Lyner tends to react to this kind of stuff. He therefore runs out of his hiding and confronts the guys, lecturing them about how Reyvateils must be respected, despite the fact that he is severely outnumbered...

You better believe that, sister

... Which prompts Misha to say some very true things about our hero. Hey, if you have known him since childhood, you should be used to this kind of stuff.

She might not look like it, but she means business

Fortunately, among the things Lyner has forgotten there is also the fact that Misha is a Reyvateil (this despite the fact that the tutorial we saw earlier explicitly used the words "Reyvateil" and "Cosmosphere"), and a rather powerful one at that: these guys might have the boss battle theme but they are total pushovers, and Misha wipes the floor with them before Lyner can even draw his sword.

We then resume the escape, and the more time we spend with Misha, the more apparent it becomes that she is a very dependable person, who can do a lot of things...

Misha the rogue

... Including picking locks apparently. Asking her how she learned to do that is actually a conversation topic with her, but she dodges the question.

Reyvateils and humans... Oh my!

We get some time to talk, and so we learn that, due to the fact that Reyvateils are fully capable of interbreeding with humans, there are actually different types of Reyvateils: those born from a human father and a Reyvateil mother are called the "Third Generation Reyvateils" (yeah, being the daughter of a Third Generation means that you are a Third Generation too, which makes no sense but whatever), and are the most common type. On the other hand, those who are 100% artificial are called the "Pure-blood beta Reyvateils": these are much rarer and more powerful that Third Generation ones, and the reason why Tenba treat Misha well is that she belongs to this type. So wait, you used to be friends with a ridiculously powerful robo-girl, and you FORGOT? Seriously Lyner, how dense are you?

Yeah, he's kind. Dumb, but kind.

Incidentally, see the sad smile she has when she says that? When we dive in the deepest parts of her Cosmosphere, we will find out that there is MUCH more to it than we'd think now.

Door, how dare you make MIsha cry?

Also of note is her reaction to seeing this door. If we choose Misha's path when phase 2 rolls around, this will actually be a plot point.

Again, careful what you wish for

So we make it outside, and a further conversation gives us this interesting bit of foreshadowing. Wanna bet that getting this "something important" back will become a plot point?

But the conversation is cut short by an explosion: apparently, something terrible is happening right below us...

Oh hey, a familiar face

Namely, Ikaruga, Tenba's secret weapon, has been taken over by a virus (the black and red thing on the left, that's the same virus that attacked Shurelia at the beginning of the game), and is now threatening to blow up Tenba's nuclear plant. Of course, we really don't like the idea of helping Tenba, but considering that the alternative is being wiped out by the inevitable explosion...

Finally a serious boss battle!

So yeah, we meet this mysterious female engineer, who accepts to lend us a hand (she has a unique sprite and gets EXP after the battle, wanna bet she will eventually become a full-time party member?), and a boss battle is initiated. Unlike the previous ones, this is actually a serious boss battle, and it takes a decent amount of effort and tactical planning... Thankfully, the engineer has a healing technique, leaving Misha free to focus on attacking. Which is nice considering that Ikaruga resists physical attacks but is weak to magic.

Eventually, the boss goes down, but Bourd shows up again: he sarcastically thanks Lyner for the help, and once again offers him to join Tenba. Lyner refuses, and both he and Misha get away...

What is he up to?

... But Bourd doesn't give chase. Instead, he turns around and issues a very specific order. Just what he is planning this time?

So, Lyner has managed to escape Tenba's clutches, at least for the time being. Will he manage to get back to his original mission? Will he remember about Misha? Find out in the next episode, which will feature a first time, a suspicious shopkeeper, and a tsundere cat-girl!

[Red_Chaos]

Good stuff, though it's hard to read the screen shoots on an iPhone xd

Keep trucking!

[Tomas Elliot]

Yeah, sorry about that, but I cannot possibly make the pics any bigger than that, or each post will become insanely large...
Anyway, let's keep trucking!

Episode 5 - Their First Time

Remember when I said that Lyner had managed to escape Tenba's clutches? Yeah, looks like things aren't going to be that easy...

Tenba conglomerate, Firefly Alley

... Because apparently the facility we were imprisoned in is not on the mainland, and the town we just reached is not Nemo. We are in Firefly Alley, a small floating island which hovers right BELOW the Wing of Horus, and stays afloat thanks to Tenba's nuclear generator. Everything here, from the facilities to the houses to the island itself, was built by Tenba... Meaning that we aren't rid of them just yet after all.

Gotta collect them all!

As we wander around the town we come across this shop. They sell "Ar Tonelicards", which are exactly what it sounds like: cards. Cards that include all sorts of flavour info on characters, enemies, items and whatnot. If you are lucky, you can find cards that provide you info on secrets of the game, and even Grathmeld recipes. Seriously, I am not going to post screens of them for obvious reasons, but I recommend trying to collect them, they are seriously addicting...

In fact, I just did exactly that

... So much so in fact that Misha warns you against them as a talk topic. She looks like a little girl, but she surely likes to lecture us like an elder sister of sorts, I wonder why?

Grathmelding time!

Incidentally, this is why I said, in an earlier episode, that it is better to Grathmeld while a Reyvateil is in your party: you get extra dialogue scenes for doing so, and sometimes the girls even suggest alternate names for the items you create. Some of these dialogues are extremely funny, which only adds to the overall fun of Grathmelding...

So this is what he meant

Anyway, let's get back on track. Since Firefly Alley is below the main floating continent, you need an airship to get back to Nemo... And it looks like all flights were cancelled. So this is what Bourd was planning: our main escape route is cut off...

Frankly I find it to be scary, too

If you go to the edge of the port, you will unlock a talk topic with Misha in which she will bash you for doing something so reckless. Being afraid of heights myself, I cannot blame her.

Bourd REALLY thought of everything...

Misha does know another way of getting back to the main continent: a pipeline that connects Firefly Alley to the tower. By going through it, we can go inside the tower and then climb up through it: the pipeline is our only escape route now! Except the entrance to it is sealed off. Bourd really didn't leave anything to chance...

The black market queen, Spica

We need to find another access to the pipeline, so we go back to town in order to meet Spica, Misha's informant. SHe might look like an ordinary candy vendor, but when you say the password...

That's kinda a lame password tho

... Her "store mode" changes: she is actually the queen of black market, and sells rare Grathnode crystals as well as secret info. And sure enough, she doesn't disappoint us: there IS another way of accessing the pipeline...

We will hear the words "first time" A LOT throughout the game

... But there is a problem. A big one. You see, the fact is that there are 3 kinds of magic in this game: Red Magic, which is used to attack; Blue Magic, which is used to heal and buff allies; Green Magic, which is used in the overworld to destroy obstacles. To blast the entrance to the pipeline open, we need to use Green Magic, but Misha doesn't know any... Which means we will have to dive in order to craft some. And the mere thought of diving makes both Lyner and Misha EXTREMELY uncomfortable, because it is going to be the first time for both...
Now leaving aside the obvious innuendos, let's try and look at the matter from a serious perspective: diving IS a huge deal for all parts involved. You see, all Reyvateils are connected to the tower, and can tap into its power to cast spells. However, since the connection goes through their minds (each Reyvateil literally has a private server in which her entire self is stored), their thoughts, emotions and memories are in the way. Being too emotional about something or having deep sealed issues hinders their ability of channeling the power of the tower. This is why we dive: the partner literally enters the Reyvateil's mind to remove the obstacles, and he gets to see her bare soul, the moment he is in it is impossible for the Reyvateil to hide anything from him.
Knowing this, think again about what diving for the first time must feel like...

Mind your business, pal

... And the fat, nerdy shop assistant that makes crass jokes about it doesn't help, either. Yes, we NEED him and those ominous machinery in order to dive. So much for intimacy.

Hama appears!

So anyway, we are finally going to dive. Which means, we will be accessing the Cosmosphere, a virtual world divided into 10 levels, each of which is a metaphore of an issue, fear, or memory of the Reyvateil. Here we meet Hama, the guardian of Misha's mind: she has cat ears, she uses and ocarina to float, she wears an apron and she acts all tsundere towards Lyner. Eventually, we will discover a rather harsh truth about these characteristics of hers, but for now, she is a rather funny companion for our adventures in Misha's mind.

Let's count the bunnies!

So anyway, since it is our first dive, this level of Misha's Cosmosphere is essentially a tutorial, so nothing particularly noteworthy happens. I just wanted to bring this guy to your attention: throughout the game, we will meet lots of Cosmosphere residents that look like rabbits, in all the Cosmospheres we visit (not just in Misha's)... So yeah, remember this. Eventually, we will find out why they all look like rabbits and... Well, you'd never guess.

Blast all the walls!

Anyway, the dive is a success, so we acquire Green Magic (specifically, the Thunder Shot spell). Which means that we can now go on a destruction spree! You see, the fact is that there are countless walls, all around Tenba's facility, with cracks on them. By blasting them we can gain access to secret rooms, where countless items are located. We can even get our hands on an Akashic Record, a very rare item we will need as ingredient for high-level Grathmeld.

Bourd is STILL two steps ahead

So anyway, after collecting all the items we get back to our quest, blasting open the wall and finally accessing the pipeline... Only to find that Bourd HAD PREDICTED THIS TOO, so he placed some guards there to cut our escape. Fortunately, he is smarter but we are stronger, so we just overpower the guards and force our way through.

Give it up already!

Informed of this, Bourd orders to assemble a team to give chase, and this time he is going to lead it personally! Just how persistent is this guy?

Things don't really seem to have improved: Lyner still has no clues concerning his mission, and is still being hunted down by Tenba. Will he manage to get away? And even if he does, what will he do next? Find out in the next episode, which will feature an unfriendly girl, a breathtaking view, and a high altitude battle!

[Odybld]

Congratulations to Lyner for managing to go through an episode without showing off his incredible stupidity. Also congrats to him for having his first time with a Reyvateil (heh).

Each new episode means we meet a new girl.

[Tomas Elliot]

Welp, in this new episode we will get to recruit a girl we had already met before, does that count?

Episode 6 - Drinking Game

As the title suggests, I would like to propose a drinking game for this particular episode. Keep a bottle of wine/beer/vodka/whatever you like next to you: every time a surprisingly convenient coincidence resolves a dangling plot thread, you drink. Ready? Here we go.

It's just an excuse for clinging to him, is it?

So, Lyner and Misha have had their first time dived and crafted Green Magic, which has allowed them to blast the access to the pipeline open: now they can reach the tower and start climbing up! However, the pipeline itself is very narrow and Misha, being scared of heights (we learned this with that conversation topic about going to the edge of Seagull Port, remember?) asks Lyner to hold her hand. Jokes aside, this pipeline IS a narrow path suspended over several kilometers of free fall, so I can hardly blame her...

The unfriendly engineer, Krusche

We make it safely to the other end of the pipeline, reaching a portion of the tower called the Terraced Fields. It is exactly what it sounds: the tower is so big, people were able to create terraced fields on its sides, and now live there, cultivating everything they need for survival.
Here we meet that female engineer who helped us during the boss fight against Ikaruga: apparently, her name is Krusche and she needs to collect something important at the Floating Wharf, which is a different section of the tower that lies between the Terraced Fields and the WIng of Horus (remember, Firefly Alley floats BELOW the Wing of Horus, meaning that now we are actually below the main continent, and we need to climb up to reach it). By the way, Krusche's explanation as to how she got here is a plot hole: the only way to get to from Firefly Alley to the tower without an airship is to go through the pipeline, but Lyner and Misha were the first to use that path (on the account of being the ones who opened the entrance to it, which was sealed) and didn't meet anybody on the way.

GOD I hate these things

Welp, plot hole or not, we still got to recruit what has the potential to become the best non-Reyvateil party member available in the game, so we really can't complain... Also because this is the area where the single most annoying enemy class of the game, the Hula Flowers, start appearing. These critters can heal themselves through an ability that triggers when you hit them: in other words, healing for them is a FREE ACTION. You hit them, they heal back, and then they still get to attack: to beat them, you need to exploit the game mechanics in order to power Misha's magic up, and them wipe them out in one blast... Which is tedious to do for a single enemy. To make things worse, you don't get much EXP from them, and given the way random encounters work in this game, running away is actually disadvantageous. So yeah, Hula Flowers are effectively the Zubat of Ar Tonelico.

Leave the fourth wall alone

There is a problem: upon joining the party, Krusche has stated that she wants Lyner to protect her, just likes he is protecting Misha. Sha has said that sarcastically, but still, Misha is now jealous of her, so the two don't miss a chance to bicker. So, when our heroes reach a door that only Lyner can open (a Platina ID is required), Misha brags that "her" Lyner is an Apostle of Elemia. Lyner tells her to knock it off, prompting Misha to break the fourth wall.

Inside the titular tower

So, we are now inside the tower of Ar Tonelico. You know those RPGs in which dungeons look huge on the map, but actually don't take long to navigate and give the impression of being smaller on the inside? Well, this is NOT one of those RPGs. The tower looks IMMENSE from the outside... And on the inside, it is just as huge, a maze of corridors, stairs, elevators and doors, in which getting lost is VERY easy. The girls won't stop bickering, which doesn't help either.

In retrospect, I should have expected this

Lyner has an idea: let's use a shuttle to go directly to the Floating Wharf! It being Lyner's idea, of course it doesn't work, so now we need to find the power generator to get the shuttle going.

Get your drinks ready

After much roaming in the huge maze that is the tower (made MUCH more difficult that it had any right to be by the damn Hula Flowers showing up at every corner), we find the generator, and that's when the drinking game begins: the generator has stopped, and the only way to restart it is to hit it with Lightning-attribute Green Magic. Now guess what kind of magic we crafted with Misha during our first dive. How convenient!

Reunion at the Floating Wharf

We finally make it to the Floating Wharf (not pictured: Tomas Elliot's fit of rage when the encounter meter was RESET after completing the generator sidequest, resulting in yet another horde of Hula Flowers to fend off), and who should show up, if not Radolf? Apparently, he was on a mission from the Church when his airship was attacked by the security robots of the tower. It would seem the Viruses are still hacking the robots...

Yeah, good luck with that.

So yeah, we soon get roped into a boss battle, for which Radolf joins our party... Which is NOT a good thing, because Radolf is slow AF and this is a timed mission (meaning, we need to beat the boss before it gets in a specific amount of actions). We win without suffering losses because I have played this game too many times for any battle to actually be a threat to me, but seriously, Radolf is a handicap more than he is a help in this fight.

Drink!

We are back to square one: the boss is gone and the FLoating Wharf is now safe, but how are we going to make it back to Nemo? COINCIDENTALLY, Radolf just happens to be on his way there: how convenient!

Drink!

Not only that: remember how Krusche had to pick something up at the Floating Wharf? Well, turns out the "something" is an airship: she is actually an engineer who specializes in airships, and she promises to fix Lyner's. For now, she leaves to get her own airship back to Nemo, she will meet will Lyner again at the airport and go check his airship afterward: how convenient!

Drink!

But wait, there is more! As we fly back to Nemo in Radolf's airship, we find out that the Church has gathered quite a bit of info on the Hymn Crystal Purger, and the man Radolf wanted us to meet, Bishop Falls, is actually willing to help us: how convenient! Seriously, that's 3 cases of deus ex machina in one cutscene!

Just who is Misha?

So Radolf leaves, and we get to spend some quality time with Misha. She drops some more foreshadowing in regards to her true identity: what is this mission she is talking about? And why cannot Lyner remember her despite being given so many details?

Look who's back

Well, Misha seemed eager to just tell Lyner everything, but the moment is interrupted by Aurica. She gets all shy and remissive in Lyner's presence, with him greeting her warmly, so of course Misha gets jealous.

Geez, this guy...

What, were you expecting a catfight? Not this time! Bourd breaks the party and states what his goal is: to get back Misha, whom he needs for his plan, and to kill Lyner who dared to make a fool out of him! Misha fights back, so Bourd grabs Aurica, threatening to drop her if Misha doesn't surrender... So Misha surrenders.
AND BOURD DROPS AURICA ANYWAY. That's just the bastard he is. Lyner's body reacts on its own, out of sheer reflexes, and he grabs Aurica in an attempt to save her, but in doing so he slips so they both fall to their death...

Drink!

... Only to be saved by Krusche, who was flying directly below the Church's ship! How convenient! But wait, how can two people casually stand on the wing of an aircraft this small, without destabilizing it?

Reality ensues

Well, they can't. Krusche's airship is destabilized, so they crash on a small island called the Falcon's Claw, that floats next to the Wing of Horus.
So yeah, we solved more plot threads than I can count, but that didn't really help us: we cannot do a thing untill we are reuinited with the rest of the group, and for now we are stuck in uncharted land, with the sole Reyvateil support being provided by the severely underleveled Aurica... Will we manage to make it out of this predictament?
As the episode ends with this question, Krusche makes one last smart, subtle, tasteful remark concerning the fact that Aurica seems to have some attributes that Misha lacks...



So, will Lyner manage to get back to Nemo safely? What dangers are waiting for him in the Falcon's Claw? Will he finally be able to get back to his original quest? Find out in the next episode, which will feature ancient ruins, mysterious benefactors, and Aurica's Cosmosphere!

[Azeria]

GOD I hate these things

Welp, plot hole or not, we still got to recruit what has the potential to become the best non-Reyvateil party member available in the game, so we really can't complain... Also because this is the area where the single most annoying enemy class of the game, the Hula Flowers, start appearing. These critters can heal themselves through an ability that triggers when you hit them: in other words, healing for them is a FREE ACTION. You hit them, they heal back, and then they still get to attack: to beat them, you need to exploit the game mechanics in order to power Misha's magic up, and them wipe them out in one blast... Which is tedious to do for a single enemy. To make things worse, you don't get much EXP from them, and given the way random encounters work in this game, running away is actually disadvantageous. So yeah, Hula Flowers are effectively the Zubat of Ar Tonelico.

zzzz that's not Zubat, that's friggin Pelipper/Tranquill with their Detect/Roost shenanigans. Now if Zubat could have Detect/Protect+Roost in the wild....I'd agree there.

Drink!But wait, there is more! As we fly back to Nemo in Radolf's airship, we find out that the Church has gathered quite a bit of info on the Hymn Crystal Purger, and the man Radolf wanted us to meet, Bishop Falls, is actually willing to help us: how convenient! Seriously, that's 3 cases of deus ex machina in one cutscene!

What's a game without a bunch of Deux ex machina's? A good one. A slightly underwhelming one. Also that's more of Plot Induced Shit rather than Deux Ex Machina.

What, were you expecting a catfight? Not this time! Bourd breaks the party and states what is goal is: to get back Misha, whom he needs for his plan, and to kill Lyner who dared to make a fool out of him! Misha fights back, so Bourd grabs Aurica, threatening to drop her if Misha doesn't surrender... So Misha surrenders.

AND BOURD DROPS AURICA ANYWAY. That's just the bastard he is. Lyner's body reacts on its own, out of sheer reflexes, and he grabs Aurica in an attempt to save her, but in doing so he slips so they both fall to their death...

Asshole that takes character hostage and throws her to her death? Nice one. You know what you do in Hostage situations? You don't obey them. They won't drop them, otherwise they wouldn't have any leverage.

So, will Lyner manage to get back to Nemo safely? What dangers are waiting for him in the Falcon's Claw? Will he finally be able to get back to his original quest? Find out in the next episode, which will feature ancient ruins, mysterious benefactors, and Aurica's Cosmosphere!

Sweet,a cliff hanger.

Seems interesting enough and I kinda had to comment on a few things anyways. Might try to play the game whenever I get enough free time....

[Tomas Elliot]

You know what you do in Hostage situations? You don't obey them. They won't drop them, otherwise they wouldn't have any leverage.

I believe "Lyner is an idiot" was mentioned before. Multiple times, in fact.

But seriously, you really should give this game a try. It is so different from any other JRPG out there, the whole Cosmosphere part is something you won't find anywhere else. That alone is enough to keep me coming back to this game over and over again, honestly.

[Red_Chaos]

ok i know what RPG stands for but what about the J part.....

[Tomas Elliot]

ok i know what RPG stands for but what about the J part.....

"Japanese". Simple as that. Because generally RPGs made in Japan follow a different structure compared to the western ones, hence the distinction.

[Tomas Elliot]

Having clarified Red's doubt, on we go with the new episode!

Episode 7 - Bishop Falss

First of all, I have to apologize: the man who we are about to meet, who will play an increasingly important role for the rest of the game, is named "Bishop Falss", not "Bishop Falls" as I have repeatedly mis-spelled his name ;-;

Anyway, let's get back to Lyner, Aurica and Krusche, who are currently trapped on a small floating island named Falcon's Claw.

She is cute in her own way... Which do you prefer? Her or Misha?

So, right in front of the place where we crashed there is a save spot. The moment we use it, Aurica comes to talk with Lyner: shy as she is, it takes a while to make her spit it out, but it seems she just wanted to thank Lyner for saving her life. Well, actually it was Krusche who saved both Lyner and Aurica, but anyway, we have now unlocked the conversation system for our second Reyvateil!

Kill all the birdies!

Apparently, there are ancient ruins on the island, so we decide to explore, hoping to find a way to escape (or to just kill time while we wait for Radolf to come save us). Most of the wild encounters here are fliers, either birds or dragons. You know what I like about fliers? THEY ARE NOT HULA FLOWERS.

Fighting with Aurica as the Reyvateil is a pain, because she doesn't hit NEARLY as hard as Misha, but well, it actually makes sense for her to be this weak: remember the Reyvateil types? Aurica is a common Third Generation, while Misha is a rarer and stronger pure-blood Beta.

Good thing Misha isn't here

As we explore, we come across this seriously scary, if breath-taking, view. You see rhe ceiling above us? Yeah, that is the floating continent, Wing of Horus. And below us, kilometers and kilometers of free fall. And look at how narrow the passage is, with no security measures of any kind...

Let's relax with some Grathmeld!

There is another save point, so we take the occasion to Grathmeld, finding out that Aurica's thought process is rather... Unique.

Remember this statue

Deep within the ruins there is a statue of the goddess Tyria. Together with Frelia and Shu... Err, Eoria, she forms the Elemia Trio the Church worships. The ensuing exposition is more important than it looks: in Phase 3 (and in Phase 2 if we choose Aurica's path) all the stuff we learn here will become a plot point.

Dude, in battle you are horrible, but in cutscenes you are a great help...

So we leave the ruins, and we run into Radolf, who is leading an expedition to rescue us. We are saved!

Nemo sweet Nemo!

And just like that, we are back in Nemo. As Lyner says, it's now time to take care of all the dangling plot threads!

The leader of the Church, Bishop Falss

First thing first, we get to meet Bishop Falss, after much insistence on Radolf's part. The man proves to be very helpful: upon hearing from us about Platina's situation, he offers us all the help we need. He is going to spend the day researching through all the info found by the Church's officials during their missions: hopefully, by tomorrow he will be able to tell us where the Hymn Crystal Purger is!

Geez, glad to see you too, Claire

Meanwhile, we are staying at the usual inn. Upon seeing us, what does Claire do? Does she tell us how worried she was about us being kidnapped? Does she ask you about what happened? Does she tell us where Jack is? Nah, she TEASES US ABOUT BEING WITH TWO GIRLS.

On a more serious note, we find out that Claire is also a Reyvateil, and that she and Aurica grew up in the same village. Unfortunately, said village was destroyed during a battle (this will become a plot point later on, so for now let's leave it at it), so they both had to move to Nemo. It is subtle, but if you pay attention about it, you will notice that the hairstyles of both Claire and Aurica involve letting two bangs free from their respective hair decorations, and the hair itself is EXTREMELY long for both. Apparently, this is a tradition of their village.

It's ok Aurica, you can use the word "idiot"

That night, we get to spend some quality time with Aurica, and she points out, in her usual remissive and polite way, that Lyner is an idiot.

Off to Singing Hills!

The next day, Bishop Falss greets us with good news: he has it on strong basis that the Hymn Crystal Purger is in a ruin called the SInging Hills! Finally we are back on track: all we need to do is to go look for the crystal. To this end, Falss tells both Aurica and Radolf to accompany us: frankly, Bishop, I am very glad that you'd let Aurica stay with the party, but feel free to keep Radolf at the Church...

Mind your business, dude

So, before we can set out on our quest, Radolf recommends diving with Aurica. Which greatly embarrasses her and makes her nervous because, you guessed it, it's her first time. As we will soon find out, "it's my first time" is basically the subtitle of this game.

Don Leon appears!

So after much persuading, we get to dive into Aurica's Cosmosphere: here we meet Don Leon, her Mind Guardian. The very first thing he does upon being introduced is to punch Lyner for being an idiot: I already love this guy!

Incidentally, he refers to Lyner as kisama: remember this, it will be the object of an unintentionally funny moment later on.

Oh hi Jack

By the way, beginning with this dive we will start meeting, in all the Cosmospheres we visit, residents who represent the opinion the Reyvateil has of a certain person. For example, this is how Aurica sees Jack. I gotta say, it is quite accurate.

Is this really Lyner speaking?

We also find out that Lyner can be surprisingly understanding and perceptive, quickly figuring out what the issue of the level is, as well as a possible solution. I mean, if you are so smart in the Cosmosphere, why do you keep doing so many idiotic things in the real world?

Anyway, we soon solve the issue and clear the stage (it is the first level after all, so nothing dramatic is supposed to happen). For our effort, we get not only a new Green Magic (Fire Shot, adding to the Wind and Sonic shot Aurica already had), but also a rather powerful Red Magic, Flamia, which is a godsend to patch up Aurica's offensive abilities.

That's awfully specific

Back to the real world we go, and first thing first we have Krusche check out Lyner's airship. Unfortunately, she has bad news for us: there are 3 key components that are damaged beyond repair, and making new ones would cost a ridiculous sum. Looks like we will have to find another way up after all...

The Singing Hill

For now, however, we must focus on finding the Hymn Crystal Purger: here we are at the entrance of the Singing Hill! What is awaiting us inside? Is the crystal really here? Will Lyner manage to complete his mission? Find out in the next episode, which will include a miracle, a beautiful song, and an update on Shurelia!

[Tomas Elliot]

New episode is here! It's now time to venture into the Singing Hill ruins, searching for the Hymn Crystal Purger!

Episode 8 - Mir

So, as the episode begins, Lyner shows everyone a 3D diagram of what the Hymn Crystal Purger looks like. Krusche points out that the projector Lyner uses to show the diagram is shaped like a pendant, and is way too cute for Lyner's tastes. She therefore asks if it was given to him by a woman...

This guy's ability must be Oblivious

... Which causes a misunderstanding, when he enthusiastically spouts these words. Of course he is talking about Shurelia, but Aurica understandably thinks he is in love with someone... Which hurts her, because it's obvious that she is already starting to develop feelings for him at this point. As quiet as she is, she doesn't say anything, but we will see in a moment that this seemingly innocent exchange did affect her...

Is there a single working lift in this entire game?

So, the lifts needed to navigate the ruin are broken, and we need to find the power generator to get them running again. This is a totally original plot point they had never used before in this game.

The dude is much weaker than he looks

Turns out that there are many switches we need to flip, in order to restore all the lifts. Each time we flip a switch we are thrown in a boss battle against one of these scary-looking robots. They have the boss battle theme and some hard-hitting techniques, but all of said techniques are single-target, meaning that, if you can survive the hit (and you should, if you took two minutes to enhance your equipment before this dungeon), you will then be able to heal the character that was targeted by using Krusche's "Cure Tablet" technique. Which in turns leaves Aurica free to use her recently acquired Flamia to obliterate the enemy.

Found the crystal!

Eventually we manage to get to the deepest part of the ruin, which is literally falling apart (meaning that you can distinctly see the kilometers of free fall below, remember we are on a floating continent). And there we finally find the Hymn Crystal Purger! Our joy however is short-lived, as another boss, the twin brother of the one we fought with Jack and Aurica in Nemo (back in Episode 3), appears out of nowhere to attack us. I forgot to take a screen of this boss battle, but let me tell you something: it is a tricky one. This boss can absord Red Magic, so you are forced to use Aurica exclusively for support: if you cleared her first Cosmosphere level before coming here (and you did if you are doing things in the same order I did) your best bet is to use the Blue Magic called Fire Guard, as it not only improves your elemental resistance to Fire, it also adds an extra Fire-type damage to your normal attacks, making your front line hit harder. Most of the Boss' attacks are single-target, so Krusche's Cure Tablet should be enough to heal.

Something awakens inside Aurica

Anyway, the battle with the Boss is so intense, the shockwaves cause the whole area to literally crumble. Our heroes flee the scene, but Lyner refuses to give up on the Hymn Crystal Purger, so he rushes to grab it... And nearly falls to his death as a result. This is the last straw for Aurica: between the fear that Lyner might love another woman and the tragedy unfolding before her eyes, she completely blacks out (it's hard to tell given how small the screenshots are, but she has empty eyes in this scene). And while in this state, she taps into a mysterious power that allows her to do the impossible: she crafts Blue Magic in the real world. To put things into perspective, both Shurelia and the final boss of the game will later state, in different occasions, that it is impossible for them to craft magic outside of the Cosmosphere, and those are the strongest Reyvateils alive, so this is a seriously impressive feat. Thanks to it, Lyner's fall is slowed down enough...

Look who's back

... For Jack to catch him. Turns out, our suspicious gunman had heard from Claire that the party was coming to the Singing Hill and, knowing full well the dangers of this dungeon, he got worried and decided to come help. And he arrived at the right time: the Boss from before is not done, and it attacks Aurica as she tries to run to check on Lyner. Fortunately, Lyner comes to his senses and, helped by Jack, rescues the Reyvateil. The battle plays out more or less like before, except this time the Boss is in a more offensive form that hits harder, but doesn't absorb Red Magic, so between the fact that you have Jack (who is infinitely better than Radolf when it comes to damage output) and between the fact that Aurica can now fire off her Flamia spell, this battle is MUCH easier than the previous one.

It's a small world...

So the party is reunited and, surprise surprise, Krusche has some bone to pick with Jack. I was afraid that she would be revealed to be one of his "seduced-and-abandoned" adventures (which would be plain wrong, she is 15) but thankfully this is not the case: in truth, she is the one who weaponized Jack's arm and takes care of its mantainance, and it would seem the gunner is WAY behind on the payments. He promises to pay soon, and we end this ordeal with a good laugh.

On the road again

As we leave the dungeon, Lyner thanks everyone for helping him achieve his goal: now, since it seems it is impossible to fix his airship, all he needs to do is to climb the tower to get back to Platina. Jack reminds him that the Teru Tribe doesn't allow humans to climb up, but Lyner reassures him: all they need to do is to ask Bishop Falss, and he will surely come up with a solution...

Aurica's Cosmosphere level 2

... But before that, let's dive again into Aurica! There is a precise reason for doing so, as we will find out in a moment.

Then how comes you can talk?

So anyway, in one of the optional cutscenes of this level (I strongly recommend hunting for those in every Cosmosphere level you visit, they add a whole new depth to the experience) we see that Don Leon is starting to trust Lyner, and he even drops a hint on how he became Aurica's Mind Guardian. As we progress in both the story and the Cosmosphere, we will learn more on the matter.

Keep track of the bunnies!

We also meet another bunny-shaped resident. Remember what I said when we visited Misha's Cosmosphere? Kepp track of these guys.

Costume get!

So anyway, the conflict of this level is pretty much the same as the previous one, so we clear it easily. In the process we find out that Aurica's village (which, as we learned before, was destroyed during a battle) burned down because of Bourd. Yes, that Bourd, the Tenba guy: apparently, he caused a skirmish between Tenba and the Teru Tribe, and Aurica's village was caught in the crossfire.

As a reward for clearing the level we get a costume, which Aurica can wear in battle to enhance her stats. This will become a recurring element in both Cosmospheres: for each level you clear, you get a new costume. And by the way, this is the reason why I said that it is important to visit Aurica's second level right now: if you fight 10 battles with a costume, you unlock a talk topic about it, which in turn unlocks (or helps unlock) the next level of the Cosmosphere. Since there is still one dungeon to visit before starting our climb, chances are that we will find there the necessary 10 battles, and thus we will be able to visit Aurica's level 3 before starting the climb. And considering that Aurica's level 3 gives one of the best costumes obtainable in Phase 1 (if not the single best), it is important to do so, it will help immensely when we climb the tower.

This guy really is a great help

Back in the real world, we report to Bishop Falls. He congratulates us for our success, and offers us all the help we need to climb the tower. Meaning, Radolf and Aurica will accompany us. Again, I am thankful for Aurica, but you can keep Radolf if you want...

Music is magic even when not used to cast a spell

We spend the night at the usual inn, where we learn a bit about Claire's past: after the village she and Aurica lived in was destroyed, she moved to Nemo and was scouted by Tenba. However, she was disgusted by their methods, so much so that she decided to stop using magic. Since then, she has been trying to rediscover the roots of songs, which means... Well, music as we know it IRL. Even without magic, when she sings she can touch people's hearts. Fascinated by this, Lyner asks her to sing something, and she complies... And I gotta say, she really is as good as you'd expect. The soung is touching, her voice is beautiful, and soon enough the entire city has stopped to listen to her. It really is a fantastic sendoff for Lyner, who is about to return to Platina!

A tender moment brutally interrupted

That night Lyner cannot sleep, so he goes for a walk... And he meets Aurica, who is practicing her singing. The two share a tender moment... Which is interrupted by a fearsome noise! What in the world happened?

The Mother Virus, Mir

To find out, we cut back to Platina: we see Shurelia, who is confronted by no other than the Mother Virus, the person responsible for the civil war of many years prior! Turns out her (we can assume she is female, considering that she is nicknamed the "Mother" Virus) name is Mir, and she has found a way to weaken her prison, so much so in fact that she can now make her voice heard and her presence felt. In the ensuing dialogue, Mir and Shurelia sound like they know each other from a long time ago: in English, one could simply chalk it as Shurelia being the one who sealed Mir, but in Japanese one can't help but notice that they are using the respectful pronoun anata to refer to one another... Which is not what you'd expect the Big Good and the Big Bad of a game to do: is there more than it appears to their relationship?

Fortunately it didn't fall on a city...

Anyway, Mir states that her goal is to exterminate humans, in order to create an utopia for Reyvateils only. Shuralia shouts that she won't let her, but Mir retorts that she has always been better than Shurelia, so much so that even now that she is sealed, she can still muster up enough power to beat her at her own game. To prove this point, she literally wrestles control over the tower from Shurelia, albeit for a short moment... But that is enough for her to detatch a crucial component of the tower and drop it on the continent below (the noise of the impact is what interrupted Lyner's moment with Aurica).

Dude, she is like, out cold...

Content with this display of power, Mir knocks Shurelia out and leaves. And it turns out that Ayatane, that knight who sacrificed himself at the beginning of the game, is still alive, and still watching over Shurelia, although he seems to have a rather... Creepy attraction towards her. I mean ok, I am all for bodyguard crushes, but the lady is out cold, shouldn't you help her up instead of gushing over her?

So, the situation is really taking a turn for the worse: the viruses are growing stronger, and the Mother Virus herself has joined the fray. Lyner must hurry back before it's to late! Will he manage to make it to Platina in time? What new perils are waiting for him? And what consequences did the impact of that massive plate with the continent have? Find out in the next episode, which will feature a reveal concerning Jack, a grudge match with an old foe, and the president of Tenba!

[Tomas Elliot]

Ok people, I have already prepared the next update. However, as I made it, I realized something: the next episode covers the last part of what can be considered the "warm up" phase of the game. Meaning that everything that happens beyond that will have HUGE consequences on the plot... Which means, spoilers. If I were to continue beyond the next update, spoilers would be inevitable.

So yeah, I have added a poll to the OP: please vote and let me know what you think on the matter!

[dead account]

If people want to play Ar Toneleco themselves without spoiling it, then they can just, you know, stop reading this and go play it themselves.

Nobody's forcing them to read your playthrough.

Plus, I'm pretty sure that your statuses already spoiled parts of this game for people already.

[Nova]

As long as you put the "major spoiler" warning in front of every spoiler-heavy episode, it should be totally fine!

[Tomas Elliot]

Well, thank you for your votes people. I will leave the poll up for a little longer, but from the looks of it, it seems this playthrough will continue beyond this update.
So, let's proceed with the new episode!

Episode 9 - Farewell Bourd

Welp, still better than a city I guess

The episode opens with Krusche giving us big news: remember that piece of the tower Mir dropped? Apparently it hit a Tenba facility, and if that wasn't bad enough, apparently a meeting of their leaders was taking place inside! Worse yet, there is a strong possibility that Misha, Tenba's most valuable asset, was also on the scene...

Dude, chill out

At the mere thought of Misha being in danger Jack panics, and he drops a suspicious line that is so blatant, even Lyner realizes something is up. I repeat: even LYNER, of all people, realizes something is up. Just how blatant was it?
Jokes aside, it turns out that Misha met Jack six years ago, when she first came to the lower world in order to accomplish her "mission", and he became a big brother of sorts for her. She was the one who told him about Lyner in the first place.

Let's prepare to go save Misha!

Incidentally, only four party members (3 front row ones and one Reyvateil) can take part in a battle at any given time, and one of them MUST be Lyner. So yeah, now that we have Jack in the party, we have a total of five members, so we must select one to bench. Needless to say, I benched Radolf: however, later on in the game there might be battles in which you are forced to use specific characters, and thus it is advisable to keep all members of the party uniform in terms of both level (benched characters still get EXP, so this won't be a problem) and equipment (which means, make sure to always get the best equipment available for everyone, and to enhance evetyone's equipment equally). Radolf is bad enough without the need of having bad equipments in the battles where you have to use him.

She cannot even say "my eyes are up here" because she has a eyepatch

So we get to the Tenba facility, which is in ruin and full of monsters (I did say we would explore one more dungeon before starting the climb, didn't I?). Eventually, we get to a secret lab, where Bourd confronts us: but he is not alone, the president of the whole faction, Ayano, is with him! She surely has one... Interesting dress code.
Misha is also with them, but he tells us that she is ok, and that we don't need to rescue her. Jack is shocked to see her: Lyner thinks that what upset him is the fact that she won't try to flee from Tenba...

Ageless Misha?

... But there is actually something else: apparently, Misha has not aged in the past six years! She is in fact supposed to be in her early twenties! And yet, for some reason, she looks like a kid... What's up with that?

Ready to start the climb

For now, there is nothing for us to do, so we head back to the inn. Lyner is worried about Misha, but still, he must forget about the matter for now and focus on starting his climb: the whole incident has proved to him that the situation is getting worse by the minute, and that he needs to return to Platina before it's too late!
Of course, his friends offer to help him to the bitter end, so they decide to go bid farewell to Bishop Falss and then depart...

Aurica's Cosmosphere level 3

... But first, Cosmosphere! We had the necessary ten battles with the Skuwat costume when exploring the Tenba facility, so it's now time to acquire the level 3 costume, which is going to be crucial in the climb. The level deals with Aurica's inferiority complex towards Claire, to whom she has been unfavorably compared since her childhood. Lyner must help her realize her true feelings towards her friend, and shed her childish grudge and envy.

Fanservice Aurica appears!

This is also the first of many levels in which Fanservice Demon Aurica shows up. Leaving aside the fanservice jokes, she is actually much more important than she looks: she represents a shard of pure evil that dwells within Aurica's soul, and is slowly but steadily twisting her feelings. Remember when, during last episode, Aurica was able to tap into an unknown power? Well, for now let's just say that the two things are connected. We will find out the truth as we keep diving, although only in Aurica's path during Phase 2 it is possible to fully grasp the implications of Demon Aurica's existance.

Aurica loves music boxes

Eventually, Aurica's true feelings prevail and, among other things, she says this: if we choose her path in Phase 2, there will be a very sweet call back to this very scene at some point.

Teach us Don Leon!

Anyway, the costume you see Aurica wearing in these screens is what we are after, and we obtain it as we clear the level, along with a powerful Red Magic called Dragonferno. However, I thought it'd be more interesting to post this screen, rather than the "costume get" screen, because Don Leon gives us some clever insight on the nature of the Cosmosphere.

Farewell and thanks for everything, Bishop!

Back in the real world, we bid the Bishop farewell. He tells Aurica and Radolf to keep helping us, and promises to pray for our safety daily. And with this we depart, but seriously, I am so glad we meet this guy: it is really heartwarming to see a senior citizen do so much to help a youngster during a crisis, out of nothing but sheer generosity.

Bishop?

Uh... Why is he saying such an ominous thing, and with an equally ominous music in the background to boot?

Mundane utility

Anyway, we are finally ready to begin the climb. Along the way we find out that Aurica's Green Magic can be used to dry fish and cook BBQ. Not just that: dried fish and BBQ actually make for surprisingly effective healing items!

What, did you think Aurica and Misha were the only ones?

And this is why I insisted that we obtain Aurica's level 3 costume before beginning the climb. This is the area where enemy Reyvateils begin appearing: each of them has control on a specific enemy class (for example this one controls wolves), and can summon a new unity whenever you kill one. The only way to win is therefore to blast the entire enemy party in one shot, and needless to say the only way to do so is with Red Magic. So we need Aurica at her bestest here.

NOT THIS DOUCHEBAG AGAIN

And right when it seemed the climb would go smoothly, who should appear if not Bourd? Apparently he is still pissed off that Lyner refused his invitation, so he came to kill him once and for all and... Wait, did he just say "Once Mir reawakens"? Is he talking about THAT Mir?
We will never know, because he immediately initiates a boss battle. And in case you are wondering yes, that girl in the back providing him Reyvateil support is Misha. This is is master plan: to force Lyner to pull his punches thus gaining an advantage in battle, Bourd is forcing Misha to fight for him...

Farewell Bourd!

... Which comes back to bite him in the ass HARD. because throughout the battle (which itself is quite easily if you have enhanced your equipment focusing on defensive abilities: all you need to do is to protect Aurica untill she prepares a fully charged Dragonferno, then just unleash the magic and wipe out the entire enemy party with it) Misha does not unleash her magic. And AFTER the battle, she charges it to full power, and then gives Bourd what is probably the single most badass speech in the entire game, stating that she is not a doll for him to use, and that he is a fool for thinking that he was manipulating her, when it actually was the other way around all along.
Afterwards, SHE BLASTS HIM INTO OBLIVION. Allow me to reiterate this point: MISHA JUST MURDERED A MAN IN COLD BLOOD, and keep in mind that he was defenseless after losing the battle to our heroes. Of course, he was a complete bastard and deserved it, but still, this (alleged) little girl killed him off without as much as flinching.

Finally Lyner did the right thing

Well scratch that, the "without as much as flinching" part was a facade. Misha has been through a lot: from having to leave Platina and Lyner to being experimented on by Tenba (we will find out more about this later on), from finding out that Lyner forgot everything about her to watching as he seemingly fell to his death, Misha marched through all this with a mask of adamantine determination mixed with undying cheerfulness. She was the strong, reliable girl who would do what needed to be done with a smile on her face. Now, the realization that she just murdered a man in cold blood causes that mask to crack at long last; Lyner for once understands exactly what is going on, and does the right thing: he hugs her. And she finally cries out all of her bottled up emotions in his chest. It is one of the sweetest, deepest and most emotional moments in the game...



... And Aurica can do nothing but watch. And as the others welcome Misha back to the party and resume the climb, her expression says more than any comment of mine ever could.

On this bittersweet note we end this episode: please don't miss the next one, which will feature a huge gate, a shocking truth, and the sexiest dress in the whole franchise!