Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia

The Good
Ar tonelico is a traditional turn-based RPG. The way battles are set up are slightly different, however. Your chosen Reyvateil has the ability to charge her Song Magic for as long as she has MP. If you continue to fuel her MP, she could , in theory, defeat a boss in a single shot. The addition of the Reyvateils makes the battle a bit more rewarding.

The premise of Ar tonelico is sound, so of course it would have a high-quality sound track. All of the music (most notably the Hymnos) are flawlessly pulled off and contain what is now seen as GUST/NIS's main style of music.

Also in GUST's style, the entire game is in 2D (The exception being the world map) with vibrant backgrounds and detailed sprites. This is one of those games that focuses more on the art and not as much on the resolution, and that is refreshing. The character art during conversations is also of very high quality.

The story and characters are well developed. The story will also change slightly depending on which character you are closest to. Though this isn't a new concept, it does add some replay value. (It's almost worth it to play through the game a second time just to see the other Reyvateil's Grathmelding skits).

The Bad
The voice acting in the game could have been better. As you go through the game the voices won't bother you as much but some characters just don't fit with their voices at first.

The Bottom Line
This game is great for anyone who likes turn-based RPGs. The world, characters, and concepts are original. The music and artwork are amazing. It's just an all-around great game.