Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana
World and plot. "Eternal Mana" is set in the world of Regallzine, long the home of alchemy and mana. Wars and internal disputes have separated the kingdom of Esviore and now, the area of South Esviore where the game takes place is no longer under the control of King Slaith. Instead, each separate city-state of South Esviore runs their own affairs, trading with one another but remaining mostly separate. The situation with Regallzine is also tied with the fate of Avenberry, a legendary city of alchemists that existed many hundreds of years before the game 's beginning. No one knows exactly what happened, but it is said that Avenberry fell because of the misuse of the alchemy that ran their lives. Many alchemists and treasure hunters have come to Avenberry to try to unlock its secrets since that time, and the city of Kavoc was built for that purpose. However, none have been able to get past the gate that guards the citadel, and Avenberry's secrets have so far been preserved. Alchemists today are few and far between, most basing their research on the studies of Iris, an alchemist who lived before the fall  of Avenberry. They travel the world in search of new alchemaic artifacts for synthesis, ruins of the past, and Mana. The mana are a race of beings that allow alchemists to use their power. They augment the power of the elements which Alchemists extract from objects in the world and use them to create new and powerful magical items. Mana have feelings, emotions, and personalities just as people do, and many become good friends with their alchemist, although some people do forget about this fact. The protagonist of the game, Klein Kiesling, is one of these wandering alchemists. His adventure  begins when he stumbles across a monster in a forest, is rescued by a girl, and gets wound up in her fate and eventually, the fate of the world. Characters. Playable characters. "Eternal Mana" contains six playable characters. Three characters can be in a battle party, with the player free to switch the others in and out at any time. Mana. The main driving force behind the alchemy of the game are the Mana Spirits. Some Mana have the power to transform into new, even more powerful Mana forms. Below is a list of each Mana, and their element: Gameplay . Battle system. The battle system in Atelier Iris is turn-based. Combat is tactical in that the party members can have their positions arranged in their half of the playing field before battle, and can be knocked back by some attacks. Each participant in the battle chooses an action from the ring of commands available. All characters can use actions such as Attack, Skill and Items but Klein, as the only alchemist of the party, can use Mana Items and Mana Synthesis (which duplicates the effects of Mana Items, at the expense of MP.) Once enemies are defeated the party  gains experience, gold and possibly items. Every time a character levels up, he gains 3 points to be added to the skills of the player's choice. Characters equipped with Mana spirits gain bonus skill points. Synthesis. As an alchemy-based game, "Atelier Iris" features several forms of item synthesis: Exploration. "Atelier Iris" is notable for having several in-game actions that help in exploring the game's world, including unusual ones such as flying, changing into a rabbit, using a Mana as a footstool, or healing the whole party. These actions are gained each time a new Mana joins  the party. Music. The soundtrack was composed by Akira Tsuchiya, Ken Nakagawa & Daisuke Achiwa and was released May 19, 2004 in Japan by TEAM Entertainment. Opening Song Ending Songs Reception. "Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana" received mixed reviews. It received an aggregated score of 77.74% on GameRankings based on 49 reviews and 74/100 on Metacritic based on 38 reviews.