8. Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (PS2)
      Until the coming of the Atelier Arland games on PS3, there wasn’t any game like Mana Khemia out there. Not so much in terms of combat, but more in terms of the kind of story it would tell. And, as you notice from the high placing, I don’t think any of those games can compare in shear terms of writing. Really most games I don’t think can.

      To talk about combat first, it is fluid and fun. Making use of six characters at a time, three active and three that can be switched in mid battle, it has an excellent set up to make use of so many people at once. You have, essentially, gauges to fill to switch people in or out, and you do so either as a follow up attack, or switch out to guard. Different characters even have different abilities and effects in regards to whether they are defending or attacking. Examples include Muppy taking all allies into his shell on a Support Defense, taking the hit of an group attack by himself, or one character doing a counter attack during a support defense.

      Though the most fun is had with the card counter, the system that shows you turn order. In addition to character cards, their are blanks. Basically when you go, your card is moved back in the line, and to goes to the next card, skipping over any blanks. Some attacks actually add a card to the field, and each time it’s that cards turn it goes off. The fun comes in with setting up your own abilities, and even abilities that manipulate the cards rather then the battlefield directly. It’s a weird system to try to explain, and something as simple as turn presentation doesn’t seem like much, but it adds a great level of strategy and depth.

      Also one of the better uses of the Alchemy of the series, I feel the only game to out-craft this one was Atelier Ayesha. That said, the alchemy is almost used in place of typical leveling. It was by discovering formula’s that you would gain your advancement, using experience points to unlock abilities your alchemy began revealing. Unlike other games of the Atelier series (Which, regardless of name, this is one no doubt),

      What really sells this game for me though is you don’t see this kind of story in RPG’s, or for that matter gaming as a whole. The closet you’ll come are games like Rune Factory, but even those don’t quite fit the bill. You aren’t saving the world, you aren’t stopping some government or school conspiracy, you are simply dealing with your own past and it’s relation with the effects it will inevitably have on your localized area. Yet while the problem is localized and small in scale, the superb writings still makes everything thing feel so important to you the player it’s easier to get invested in it then some of gamings most massive and world ending plots.

      I’ll leave a spoiler for the next part, because that is what I’ll need to do to truly allow you to understand my love of this game, but the non-spoiler version is this. The writers understood that to make something feel big, it has to both be something extreme in comparison to the world around you, yet not feel like it was done for the sake of being dark. Imagine if, for example, you are playing a normal Harvest Moon game, and close to the end the bubonic plaque hit’s killing 80% of the town. You’re going to call bulltrout on that.

      Also think of playing Gears of War, you’re not going to be shocked when various NPC’s start dying. You might be sad if the writings good, but it’s something you would expect to happen. Mana Khemia manages to find a perfect balance here, and deliver one of the more emotional end stretches I have ever scene in gaming. Next I shall spoil that for you.

(SPOILER)The whole game essentially builds up that there is something strange about the main character. His Mana can’t speak to anyone but him, his mana can’t phase away, strange events like reviving the tree happen, and finally reviving a dead party member. As it turns out, it’s not his cat that is the Mana, the cat is a normal every day cat. But our lead himself is the Mana, and the worlds only artificially made Mana at that.

He was created by the person he views as his father, though they never actually met, in an attempt to rectify his own mistakes due to his arrogance, and created a mana who was capable of granting wishes. It didn’t quite end the way he expected though. The Mana he created didn’t simply grant a wish, it looked deep into your heart to grant it’s deepest desires. In the case of his father, he wasn’t able to bear the trouble he caused a girl whose life his Alchemy had greatly shortened. As a result, the Mana had taken his life.

Upon learning what it is he had done, the power begins to stir to grant his own wish. His desire was conflicting. He wanted to disappear, yet also wanted to be with all those around him, spending the last few years making all of these friends, so he wished to disappear with everyone. The dialogue and build up is absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking.

      Finally, to end this bit, there is basically an ending for each character, whoever’s arc you end up finishing being the ending you get, and determining to prior scenes, one of which is just before the final boss. You even get an ending if you forsake building your friendships. Though given how awesomely written they are I have no clue as to why you would want to.