Ar Tonelico 2: Melody of Metafalica
In the world of Ar Ciel, the Reyvateil region is being threatened by an
epidemic that’s been killing the citizens. A knight from the Grand Bell,
Croix, is sent there to deal with the epidemic. The people of Metafalss, lead
by the Grand Bell, rebel against the Goddess who controls the world, in order
to achieve their dream and create a utopia by singing a Song in the Hymnos
language, called Metafalica – as the legend says.
_Melody of Metafalica_ is an RPG, much like its predecessor, Melody of
Elemia, that takes place one and a half years later. It is the second
installment in the _Ar tonelico_ series. The turn-based battle sequences from
the random enemy encounters are split up into two phases. In the first one,
Attack, the different characters can perform various attacks until a time
gauge runs out. When there is a Reyvateil in the party, a member of the race
who can wield magic by transforming sounds into energy, players can determine
which magic to use and the moment to unleash it. In the second phase, Defend,
enemies have the opportunity to attack and will target the (up to two)
Reyvateil who are singing at the back of the party. The other characters must
then defend by timing the defensive moves. The effectiveness of attacks is
also often determined by how well the attacks are synced to the requests of
the Reyvateil.
The game is largely centered around female heroines and it contains a dive
system where Croix can dive into the mind (Cosmospheres) of certain Reyvateils
to get to know their feelings and emotions. That game element plays out with
text-heavy dating-style elements where the choices can alter the storyline and
it is also the system through which new Song Magic is crafted. Diving can only
be done to the three main characters in the game and Croix needs to commit to
one, it is not possible to hop between them. New “evil” Reyvateil can be
converted by using the Dive system and afterwards they will contribute to the
party. These are equipped through an additional item slot that affects a
character through offensive or defensive means.
