Now Playing: Ar Tonelico Qoga - Knell of Ar Ciel

 Now this game is borderline creepy.

 Oh, Japan, you crazy bunch of perverts you! Taking creepiness into the next level, Ar Tonelico is a game where waifu moe girls that look 10 years old or younger get stronger as they lose clothes. Yeah, they went full Japan. As years went by, Japanese Media has centered around fanservice, and there's no escaping it, it doesn't matter what show you are watching, what manga you are reading or what game you are playing, if it comes from Japan, chances are it's gonna have fanservice. And I got tired of it. Which means we're already off to a bad start.

 But here's the deal, I wasn't the biggest fan of Ar Tonelico 1, so I never got the sequel, and even if I considered it, the game breaking bug surrounding a certain boss was a huge turn off. But then I came across some footage from Ar Tonelico Qoga, and 'OMG IT LOOKS JUST LIKE THE TALES GAMES!', so I decided to give it a try! And here I am, rather disappointed.

 The combat is a shallow shadow copy of the one from the Tale's games. Battles take place in real time, while three combatants run around dishing damage and protecting a fourth, a girl that sings magic. It's a bit more complex than that, timing your hits with the tempo of the song will make a gauge, in the form of a heart, fill, and then you can purge their... you can purge their clothes, to make them stronger. Welcome to Japan. And that's the gist of it, it's simple to a fault.

 And then there's the story, it feels like I'm playing Ar Tonelico 1. There's substitute characters for the two Reyvateils, and the third 'secret' one is a carbon copy of AT 1's secret Rv, there's even an Ayatame look alike too. The 'Diving' works exactly like the one from AT 1 and follows the same lame generic Japanese waifu-related situations. And while the plot is slightly different, it still plays out in the same way, as a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure the brunette Reyvateil works for the bad guys, just as the brunette Reyvateil did on the first game.

 Basically, if you like waifu, fanservice fests, this is your game. If you liked Ar Tonelico 1 and don't mind more of the same, this is your game. Because there is an audience for this game, one that I'm not a part of. Everyone else, like me, would do better to skip it. Except that I already bought it, so I'm gonna follow this game all the way to the end, even if it kills me.