Ar tonelico

[LVUER]

Since AT2 still in Japanese, I don't buy one (I can't read them). So I just watch the opening intro in YouTube. The anime intro is very disappointing, worse than AT1 (AT1 anime intro itself isn't bad). I mean I'm a little disappointed with AT1 game so I really hope AT2 will be A LOT better.

Well, just have to wait till AT2 hit the state and play the game itself...

[aquagon]

I liked more the opening movie of 2 than the one of 1 (but the song of 1, Singing Hills ~ Harmonics Eolia ~, it's better than the one of 2, Singing Hills ~ Harmonics Frelia ~)

And 2 it's definitely better than 1 in all aspects (Chroah it's a lot better than Lyner, to begin by comparing both main characters). And the main and backstory plots are much better this time around, so I can assure that the quality was improved a lot.

But some of the name changes that NIS America is doing are sickening me:

Chroah -> Croix (neutral)
Chroche -> Cloche (WTF!?)
Infel Phira -> Infel Pira (This kills off the meaning of this song magic server name in the game's backstory, and myself being a Hymmnos researcher and student, I feel insulted).
Meta Falss -> Metafalss (neutral)

And you haven't watched any of the gameplay videos? Since in there you can see in action the new battle system (which has upped somewhat the difficulty)

Edit: I researched a little, and from what I saw, it never was said that the companies involved in Ar Tonelico's development had a big budget for making the game (especially because Gust is a small company, and they were also working in Atelier Iris 3 when AT1 was released originally).

[Ashen-tan]

I wouldn't be too surprised about the change from "Chroche" to "Cloche." Localization people are notorious for romanizing "r"s into "l"s, or vice-versa. Case in point: the romanji for the main character in Tales of Phantasia was "Cless." But when they translated the GBA version, we got "Cress." Since there is really no exact distinction between the "r" and "l" sounds in Japanese, you get little quips like that. As for "Infel Pira..." I never actually played the first one, even though I've really wanted to -- I've just never had the money to get it. But was it translated as "Infel Phira" in the first one? If so, that's some extreme oversight on the part of the translators. <.<

I'm looking forward to AT2 as well. I've seen gameplay videos, and the battle system seems to be pretty epic. A lot more so than AT1, that's for sure.

[LVUER]

I only saw the gameplay screenshot (not the video), it looks good (better than AT1). So I thought the anime intro would also good (but it isn't). That's why I said to wait for the game itself.

I researched a little, and from what I saw, it never was said that the companies involved in Ar Tonelico's development had a big budget for making the game (especially because Gust is a small company, and they were also working in Atelier Iris 3 when AT1 was released originally).

May be the budget isn't big (I think no one would say aloud how big their budget is in a game). But lots of famous company involved in AT1, like Banpresto and Gust.
When you say big, how big do you mean? If you compare it with a game with big caliber like Final Fantasy... Of course we couldn't say AT1 budget is big.

[aquagon]

I wouldn't be too surprised about the change from "Chroche" to "Cloche." Localization people are notorious for romanizing "r"s into "l"s, or vice-versa. Case in point: the romanji for the main character in Tales of Phantasia was "Cless." But when they translated the GBA version, we got "Cress." Since there is really no exact distinction between the "r" and "l" sounds in Japanese, you get little quips like that. As for "Infel Pira..." I never actually played the first one, even though I've really wanted to -- I've just never had the money to get it. But was it translated as "Infel Phira" in the first one? If so, that's some extreme oversight on the part of the translators. <.<

I'm looking forward to AT2 as well. I've seen gameplay videos, and the battle system seems to be pretty epic. A lot more so than AT1, that's for sure.

Infel Phira was added in this game (it happens in a different tower from the first one); but it was romanized in the original japanese version of Ar Tonelico II; and both Infel (seed) and Phira (love) show up in the Hymmnos dictionary of the Hymmno Server if you check it out.
I mean, why they have to change things that are romanized in the original japanese version and are written in the game's own language?
And the backstory that they are removing it's the connection of this song server to the story of Metafalss, and the connection to an ancient myth of Metafalss that it's told in the song lyrics of Ar Tonelico II (I'm not telling it here because of spoilers; wait until the game arrives to discover it by yourself).

The only real problem that I have with Chroche's name change is that the writing and the pronunciation are uglier than the original (at least in my opinion). And I'm not the only one that feels upset with these changes.

And I strongly recommend you to play the first Ar Tonelico beforehand; if you don't want to get lost in the plot; and hear some great music (if you haven't checked out already the soundtracks).

I only saw the gameplay screenshot (not the video), it looks good (better than AT1). So I thought the anime intro would also good (but it isn't). That's why I said to wait for the game itself.

I researched a little, and from what I saw, it never was said that the companies involved in Ar Tonelico's development had a big budget for making the game (especially because Gust is a small company, and they were also working in Atelier Iris 3 when AT1 was released originally).

May be the budget isn't big (I think no one would say aloud how big their budget is in a game). But lots of famous company involved in AT1, like Banpresto and Gust.
When you say big, how big do you mean? If you compare it with a game with big caliber like Final Fantasy... Of course we couldn't say AT1 budget is big.

These companies aren't as famous around here (at the time of AT's release, they were known only to importers (Super Robot Taisen; Banpresto) and to fans of the Atelier series (GUST)).

And of big budget, well... I was only speaking generally; I wasn't comparing it with any other game..

And even if you didn't like the anime intro; I can ensure you that there are better anime cutscenes during the game itself (my favorite being when a certain song it's sung in the final phase).

[Ashen-tan]

That does seem kind of odd. But, I've seen it done before (changing something that's romanized into something else in the English release). I'd give an example, but it is a little late. Yay for brain fry-ed-ness.

I know some people who feel that way a lot about those particular kinds of translations. Good example is Tales of Innocence (which I'm currently waiting for the game script to be finished, since I decided to buy it from an import store): the female lead could be romanized as either "Ilia" or "Iria." Now, the translator felt that "Ilia" rolled off the tongue more and looked better. But "Iria" is an actual name. So... -shrug- Sometimes it comes down to a matter of taste.

I actually have heard the soundtracks, and I very much enjoy them. It's pretty much my favorite part, even including what I've seen of the gameplay. I'm still trying to figure out whether it's AT1 or AT2 that I have the soundtrack to, though. The ID tags say "Ar Tonelico II," but... Ah, I'll figure it out eventually. It's good either way. xD

[aquagon]

The point is, that anything that's written in Hymmnos shouldn't be changed at all (it's the game's own language after all, it's not japanese or anything like that).

I could direct you to the albums that have the tracklisting and the scans with the song lyrics if you want...

And; I'm glad that you enjoy the music; but isn't the same hearing it from the discs than listening them in the scenes in the game where they are played (or sung, depending on how you see it), and know the story behind them and their purpose in the plot.