News in from Moon Phase today that a sequel is in the works for one of the premiere RPG titles of 2006, celebrated for its phenomenal soundtrack and innovative gameplay, Ar Tonelico. Dubbed Ar Tonelico 2: Sekai wo Hibiku Shoujotachi no Metafalica (“the girls’ creation song that resounds through the world”), it will feature the return of the creative team of Gust and Banpresto with the same band of accomplished musicians and artists to bring another tale from the same vivid universe as the original, and is slated for release later this year. The teaser site is up here; I strongly recommend you drop everything at hand and head over for a watch (and listen – the track accompanying the flash animation is sublime). We’ll be following this eagerly on HD just as we did its predecessor. Edit: those looking for a bit meatier scoop can head over to Famitsu, where they have a respectable number of screenshots up and introduce a few of the new gameplay features. (no more)
Holy crap.
It was pretty rare for a game like Ar Tonelico to be released stateside.. and if AT2 really does come, then here’s to hoping that it’ll enjoy an English language port as well..
Oh, and dual audio~
You mean the talking is only in English here? ;_;
It would be awesome if they released all the vocal songs form the first game and related paraphernalia in a separate album. And just the vocal tracks; I want no extra talking.
And more Haruka Shimotsuki is always good. :3
The English release of Ar Tonelico has dual audio.
1. YEAH!!!!
2. There *are* 2 vocal collection albums, in addition to the regular OST.
Sup hannibal! Long time no see.
And yeah, the vocal collections are a must-listen. A few of the tracks rank up there with the best cinema soundtrack work I’ve ever heard.
So, do we start peppering NIS America with e-mails demanding a State-side port? Huh, huh, who’s with me?
Yeah, I’ll agree that the vocal collection albums are great–they’ve been playing pretty regularly in my iPod since I started playing the game.
I hope the sequal will move the dating sim components more towards what we saw in the Growlanser games–i.e., giving you options about what to say to the Revatiels.
Are those screenshots of the characters cooking? From grathmelding to iron chef? Ah, I love this game studio.
The movement to get NIS to open their eyes has already begun. There’s a thread on their forums in the feedback section, and in 2 weeks, Ar Tonelico 2 is in the top 10 of Pram’s Wishlist. However, we need to get as many people as involved as possible. My goal is to create a viral marketing campaign that will have a full head of steam by the time a US release is confirmed.
In the meantime, spread the word on forums and anywhere else. Feel free to join the wikispace at http://ar-tonelico.wikispaces.com/