Ar Tonelico PS3 Confirmed for U.S.

[DeadlyAnGeL91792]

At NISA's press event in San Francisco last night, the next entry in the Ar Tonelico series was officially announced for a U.S. and European launch. Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel will continue the franchise's tradition of combining Japanese dating simulation gameplay with RPG-style battles. Unlike its predecessors, however, Ar Tonelico Qoga will feature an action-oriented battle system as opposed to a turn-based affair.

According to NISA's announcement, Ar Tonelico Qoga is the final installment in the series and the story will be set in Sol Cluster, a kingdom under the tyrannical rule of the Clustania organization. This organization aims to enslave all of humanity, but the two key Reyvateils (humanoid sorceresses) join forces with the game's hero and fight against Clustania's machinations.

The most intriguing piece of news to emerge from NISA's event is the new implementation of "song magic" -- a staple of the franchise. Originally, the Reyvateils used the power of song to channel their powers. In Ar Tonelico Qoga, this theme is used more literally in conjunction with the gameplay, as players will be able to hit buttons in time with the rhythm of the music to power up the attack.

Ar Tonelico Qoga will once again enable players to dive into the subconscious minds of the Reyvateils in order to power up their abilities, as well as develop emotional relationships with the girls. The game will also include multiple endings that change depending on the player's choices.

Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel is being developed exclusively for the PlayStation 3 and is scheduled to launch during spring of 2011.

Source:http://ps3.ign.com/articles/110/1106693p1.html

and debut trailer http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/37989/ar-tonelico-3/videos/ar_tonelico_3_trl_102609.html

i think now that there not doing so well there gonna localize more games idk really but im still hoping for a a vesperia ps3 localization.

[Cless]

Most wanted game (that exists) in the universe right now. So sad that it follows the typical Gust localization schedule of taking over a year to bring it out. Oh well...I have a lot of Atelier games to catch up on.

Looks like NISA's cutting back on releases, so combined with their new awesome editor who shouldn't be overly swamped with stuff, the game should have the first AT localization I could confidently call "good."

Geeky side note: Glad to see them using Ar Ciel instead of Al Ciel like they had it in AT2. That's one thing the fan retranslation of AT2 can fix without being inconsistent with the official localization.

[Wildwurger]

Neat. Another RPG for a system I actually play on a regular basis. Also, girls. :D

ISN'T IT SAD, WURGER'S 360?

[DuskShark]

Most wanted game (that exists) in the universe right now. So sad that it follows the typical Gust localization schedule of taking over a year to bring it out. Oh well...I have a lot of Atelier games to catch up on.

Looks like NISA's cutting back on releases, so combined with their new awesome editor who shouldn't be overly swamped with stuff, the game should have the first AT localization I could confidently call "good."

Geeky side note: Glad to see them using Ar Ciel instead of Al Ciel like they had it in AT2. That's one thing the fan retranslation of AT2 can fix without being inconsistent with the official localization.

Are you also looking foward to Cladun: This Is An RPG and ZHP?

[DeadlyAnGeL91792]

Are you also looking foward to Cladun: This Is An RPG and ZHP?

those games are wayyyy to japanesy...then again it is nippon ichi/ nis

[Cless]

Are you also looking foward to Cladun: This Is An RPG and ZHP?

I'm getting everything, but I'm a little bit disappointed that Classic Dungeon isn't getting a UMD release.

[Takel]

Looks like NISA's cutting back on releases, so combined with their new awesome editor who shouldn't be overly swamped with stuff, the game should have the first AT localization I could confidently call "good.

If the Sakura Taisen localisation is to be used as a guide, there shouldn't be issues with the quality. I'll still be sceptical till the end though as that is how much of a bad taste #2 left me. I'm personally a bit mixed in regards to the real-time combat since it places the actions of the other vanguards at the helm of the AI, and we (mostly) know from experience that in a 3D real time combat system, it can be rather difficult to keep a caster protected if you're outnumbered.

Spring 2011...

Neat. Another RPG for a system I actually play on a regular basis. Also, girls.

ISN'T IT SAD, WURGER'S 360?

My PS3 is getting lots of attention because I don't have to juggle region locks with it. And you can blame the Japanese for their console attachments.

[Cless]

If the Sakura Taisen localisation is to be used as a guide, there shouldn't be issues with the quality. I'll still be sceptical till the end though as that is how much of a bad taste #2 left me.

Maybe it's silly, but them simply giving up some continuity with the past localization and correctly transliterating Ar Ciel gives me lots of hope already.

EDIT: It seems they've taken the time and care to learn the Hymmnos language for this game, and will be fixing a lot of inconsistencies from past localizations. http://www.t-ono.net/Gaming-News/Ar-tonelico-3-for-US-Confirmed-as-Qoga.html

[Takel]

Maybe it's silly, but them simply giving up some continuity with the past localization and correctly transliterating Ar Ciel gives me lots of hope already.

EDIT: It seems they've taken the time and care to learn the Hymmnos language for this game, and will be fixing a lot of inconsistencies from past localizations. http://www.t-ono.net/Gaming-News/Ar-tonelico-3-for-US-Confirmed-as-Qoga.html

I'm going to presume that the burn over AT2 was bad enough to make any one a bit cautious this time around Hoping for translated hymmnos or at least provided in additional materials since we've always missed out a huge amount of impact or resolution in not having the central plot devices in the games translated.

[Cless]

Awkward logo is...awkward!

[throughhim413]

Pretty amazing that they have a logo with two words that people will understand on it. At least, if they understand "knell," that is.

I'll buy it, but I should probably play AT2 first. I still haven't got around to it.

[Carnivol]

I sometimes wonder if there's some sort of stupid contest out there to find the most "exotic" words for the most mundane things. I'll be damned if the rest of the script is as sophisticated as the game's title.

[Cless]

Ar Ciel is the name of the world, which I think wasn't revealed until the second game. Qoga...only the ultra hardcore are going to get that one--it's a Hymmnos language word meaning "ending," but you won't learn that by just playing--at least not the first two.

I think "qoga" is a some sort of attempt at being clever, but I'd prefer they just go back to using "III" to at least stay consistent. And to keep the original, non-silly logo:



I like the Knell of Ar Ciel subtitle, though.

[Takel]

Knell of Ar Ciel is a nice subtitle. In my opinion, the original japanese subtitles are awkwardly long possibly boarding on silly, though they do hint at one of the underlying theme of the game...

qoga is just... silly. I do understand they are attempting to allow people to come into the game without playing the previous two, but is it really necessary to label it such and not just "Ar tonelico - Knell of Ar Ciel"? In any case, the original logo has clean lines while the addition of 'Qoga' just overcomplicates it by adding a word which is completely made up of curves. Not playing the 2nd game is just an absolute shame, however as a key element of the third game originated in the second and everything is wrapped up with the ending. Especially given that Ec Tisia incorporates all of the Harmonics opening themes.

Ar Ciel was mentioned in the first game from memory, and the 2nd game redefines it as the name of the world itself.

[Carnivol]

Holy profanity @ Japanese subtitle

I guess I could see what they were trying to do with the QOGA thing (now that Cless elaborated a bit on its meaning), but Knell of Ar Ciel shouldn't really be needed if they wanted to use QOGA. But, yeah, since they went ATII for ATII, it does indeed create a consistency issue if they use QOGA instead of III (not to mention how they totally should've just kept the III and rolled with a "Melody of ___" subtitle instead, for full 1-2 naming convention consistency).

But, yeah, like Takel just said, I guess dropping the III opens doors for potential sales to people who're afraid of jumping into the middle of a franchise with numerical releases... but it kinda sucks how games are being such a short term deal now and hardly any publisher have any interest in trying to keep on selling, market and support their older releases (w/out first doing the whole multi-million remake thing).

[Cless]

Ar Ciel was mentioned in the first game from memory, and the 2nd game redefines it as the name of the world itself.

My memory's never been great, but I don't see it in the game's glossary, at any rate. Not even a mention of Sol Ciel, the name of the first tower...

I guess I could see what they were trying to do with the QOGA thing (now that Cless elaborated a bit on its meaning), but Knell of Ar Ciel shouldn't really be needed if they wanted to use QOGA. But, yeah, since they went ATII for ATII, it does indeed create a consistency issue if they use QOGA instead of III (not to mention how they totally should've just kept the III and rolled with a "Melody of ___" subtitle instead, for full 1-2 naming convention consistency).

I was talking with a friend who has played the game the other day just before the full title was announced, speculating what sort of "Melody of" subtitle would work. He couldn't really think of anything. I guess maybe the subject matter of the game is too dark to make it work...hence their beating you over the head with qoga and knell this time around.

But, yeah, like Takel just said, I guess dropping the III opens doors for potential sales to people who're afraid of jumping into the middle of a franchise with numerical releases... but it kinda sucks how games are being such a short term deal now and hardly any publisher have any interest in trying to keep on selling, market and support their older releases (w/out first doing the whole multi-million remake thing).

The kicker for me is that this game kind of requires the first two games--especially the second--to really get the story. Ar tonelico II ENDS with a prelude to Ar tonelico III!

Maybe Gust will port/remake the first two games to the 3DS/PSP2, and NISA can redeem themselves by doing brand new localizations of both.