Ar Tonelico, Coming to the US! Options

[Marionette]

Ninja spies just told us that NIS America, publisher of such quirky and much loved titles as Disgaea and Phantom Brave, has picked up Ar Tonelico for U.S. release. Developed by Banpresto, the guys behind Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, Ar Tonelico was just recently released in Japan. Very much an old school Japanese RPG, it looks to have all the airships, floating cities, babel-esque towers, and sword weilding heroes with improbable hairstyles you could ask for.

A description of the early minutes of the game is available at NCS, along with an order form if you just can't wait to play the game in English. We're still waiting to hear about a release date, but you'll be the first to know once we have one. I like you the best, after all. You're my favorite. -1UP

Source -
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3147748


«©NCS» The world of Sol Shell is made up of floating cities built on archipelagos that dot the skies. The other major feature on the planet is a sky scraping tower which pokes above the cloud cover and extends into the upper atmosphere. The top portion of the tower holds a city called Platina which is governed by the protagonist's father. As the game begins, the hero Rainar Barselt is joined by fellow knight Ayatane Michitaka as the top portion of the tower comes under attack. With the shaking walls and floors, Rainar, Ayatana, and a third cohort stake out and begin their adventure. Rainar eventually meets a number of heroines who belong to a race known as the Levantiel. The Levantial girls chant and sing songs called Humnos which may be used to heal or to impact powerful damage on enemies.

Ar Tonelico plays like a standard RPG where Rainar roams a colorful 3D and walks into random encounters against creatures. Battles are fought on side-view encounters where simple commands are executed by scrolling through them with the L-Analog stick. Interaction sequences relay the story and an item synthesis system allows the hero to create new objects from base ingredients. A love system is present where the hero's actions affect how a female party member feels towards him.

More info -
http://www.ncsx.com/2006/013006/ar_tonelico.htm

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By the makers of Atelier Iris, I'm actually pretty interested in this game. The OST sounds amazing from what I've heard of so far, if you're interested in viewing a battle trailer, here's how battles are :

http://ar-tonelico.jp/dokkoi/index_01_12.htm

[Yuka]

PPA lives in Germany.