PS3 Review - 'Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel'

Ar tonelico Qoga is the final installment in the Ar tonelico series. In Sol Cluster, a kingdom is ruled by Clustania, an organization with an ultimate goal of enslaving humans and ruling the world. Two key Reyvateils (humanoids) fight back against the injustice.

Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel Review

I've played some strange games in my day; some really weird ones. Now that I have played Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ceil, I can add it to that list, but as strange as it may be, that doesn't stop it from being rather good.

+ Good combat; + Interesting story; + Constant progression; + Diving is strange but fun; + Crafting is fun and rewarding

Not a very difficult game; The game doesn't allow level grinding; Some story elements may turn off players

If you've played the first two games, you'll probably want to play this, but don't expect a praise-worthy game.

Cameos from characters of past games; unique character relationships; multiple endings

Overused dungeons; tasteless sexual content; typical JRPG plot; sluggish battles; high random encounter rate

Review: Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel for PS3

NIS America has dedicated itself to bringing the Ar tonelico series to North America back in 2007, when it released the first PS2 entry, Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia . Now, four years later, it is continuing to let Reyvateils out of Japan with Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel , the first Mature...

Multiple difficult levels; great translation; good character portraits; Cosmophere sidequests act like visual novels; item synthesis is available; can see talks with party members; can customize Finnel and Saki's abilities and can talk to Saki and Finnel while resting.

Looks like a PS2 game; physics are screwed up so Aoto may bounce down staircases or have trouble jumping; camera angles are frustrating; some environments look rather lackluster and generic and most battles can be won with button mashing the attack button.