I've given up trying to guess when the PlayStation 2 is going to stop getting RPGs. Every time something is released that seems like its swan song, another game is just on the horizon, encouraging RPG gamers to hold onto their aging PS2 even longer. Last year's Persona 3 and Mana Khemia seemed ready to cap off the PS2's library, but here we are, at the end of 2008, and we're looking forward to new titles like Persona 4. Not all of the RPG fans holding on to their PS2s are hardcore gamers who enjoy the more difficult experience that the Shin Megami Tensei titles offer, and for them, Nippon Ichi is releasing one of the newest titles from Gust, Ar Tonelico 2: Melody of Metafalica.

Ar Tonelico 2 occurs in the same world as the first title. Humanity lives alongside magical beings called Reyvateil and strive to survive in a strange world. Reyvateil are magical beings who can craft "song magic" through their connection to magical servers, which makes them powerful warriors, although the time it takes to cast their spells makes them rather like glass cannons. The world is currently on the brink of a tragic era, with war breaking out between armies and a mysterious illness called Infel Phira Dependency, or IPD, causing Reyvateil to go berserk and kill anyone around them. Croix, a rookie Knight, is quickly drawn into the war when he is tasked to defend the figurehead of the Neo Grand Bell, the Lady Cloche, from a coup. Before long, he, his childhood friend-slash-girlfriend Luca, and Cloche are drawn into a war that threatens even the goddess who created the world.

Most of Ar Tonelico 2's gameplay is functionally identical to Ar Tonelico 1. The basic interface, world map, menu screens, etc., are pretty much the same, so if you've played the first game, you'll know what to expect here. The big changes come from the revised combat system. There are four members in your party: two Vanguards and two Reyvateil. Think of them are two separate groups fighting together. Each Vanguard is connected to a corresponding Reyvateil, and they fight as a pair, and their friendship (or hatred) will have an effect on how well they work together. The two Vanguards are the characters who you control directly. At the beginning of your attack phase, a timer ring appears in the lower right-hand corner. As the ring counts down, you can have your Vanguards attack enemies at will. The two Vanguards are bound to the X and Square buttons, respectively, and pressing the appropriate button will make them attack, Valkyrie Profile style. You can further modify those attacks by holding one of the directional buttons while pressing the attack button. Some attacks are slow but damaging, while others are fast and multi-hit, which makes them great for combos. Hitting enemies with combos causes the timer bar to fill up slightly, and the more combos you can pull off, the longer your attack phase lasts.

Reyvateil, unlike Vanguards, don't attack. At the beginning of combat, you can order your Reyvateil to begin chanting a spell. Despite having two Reyvateil, you actually have one spell, which the two Reyvateil chant in unison. The longer they chant, the more powerful the spell they'll use, although the Reyvateil can only chant as long as their MP lasts, so it is important not to overcharge your spells. You can also cast the spell any time during your attack phase by pressing the Circle button, and it is wise to do this when your timer bar is about to run out for maximum damage.

This may seem simple enough, but there are an absolutely insane number of things you can do to modify these spells. For one, each of the four directional attacks you can perform has an effect on the Reyvateil as well as the enemies. Performing an Up attack, for example, causes the harmonics between the Reyvateil and her respective Vanguard to increase, which allows the Vanguard to do more powerful attacks. Pressing Forward increases the Reyvateil's Burst Gauge, which, when full, evolves their spells to a higher level and makes them more damaging and more powerful. Down increases the Psych between the two Reyvateil, which improves their synchronization; Reyvateil who are synchronized will activate a special synchronization mode that allows them to do devastating damage, but only as long as their synchronization lasts. Finally, pressing Back will Care for the Reyvateil, which doesn't damage enemies but restores Reyvateil MP, allowing them to chant longer.

On top of that, you have to watch the Mood Meter, which is a diamond-shaped Cartesian-style graph located in the lower right-hand corner of your screen, around which the timer ring circles. Inside that graphic, the four points correspond to your four directional attacks. The graph changes every turn, and by performing those attacks, you slowly fill up the Reyvateil's desires. Fulfilling their desires is a must if you want to get the corresponding boost, and if it's done enough, you can even unleash a super-powerful attack to devastate foes.

On the other hand, the defense phase is almost blissfully simple compared to the attack phase. Unlike Ar Tonelico 1, enemies in Ar Tonelico 2 will only attack your Reyvateil. There is where the Vanguards come into play. At the beginning of the defense phase, the Vanguards will leap in front of their respective Reyvateil to defend them from attacks. This begins a timing-based mini-game where two bars appear in front of the Vanguards, with various colored areas inside the bar. As enemies attack, green lines will travel down those bars, and your goal is to press the Vanguard's button as the green lines reach the brightest colored area in the bar.

The closer you are, the better your defense will be, ranging from Terrible to Perfect. A Terrible range means that both the Vanguard and Reyvateil take full damage, Good means the Vanguard takes full damage but the Reyvateil takes reduced damage, Great means the fighter takes reduced damage and the Reyvateil will take minimal or no damage, and Perfect means that nobody takes damage and status effects are nullified. If you master perfect timing, your characters can be invincible, although you need to have quick fingers for that, and most players will probably average Greats. It's important to not just to keep your Reyvateil alive, but to defend them because successful defenses raise their mood and being hit weakens their spells.

How well you do in battle has benefits beyond the obvious. Each battle in Ar Tonelico 2 is ranked, based on your Reyvateil's mood, the amount of magic it's accumulated, successful defenses and many other factors. Ranking provides a number of important bonuses. High rankings give you a lot of Dive and Synchronization Points and cause enemies to drop rare and super-rare items more often, while low rankings lead to angry Reyvateil and poor items. Since super-rare items are necessary for improving your items and armor, as well as crafting rare bath soaps or bath toys, it's in your best interest to do well in battle.

Wait a minute, "bath toys?" Ar Tonelico 2 has a fairly odd way of improving your Reyvateil's stats, the Dualstall system. This is done by … having the Reyvateil take a bath together. You begin these baths by placing Dualstall crystals in the bath, up to three per Reyvateil in your party. Then you can add a bath toy, various soaps and your Reyvateil. The Reyvateil wander randomly through the bath water, playing and chatting with one another. If they happen to wander through the Dualstall crystals, they'll receive special bonuses. Since Reyvateil are attracted to bath toys, it's a good idea to create a clever setup that causes them to wander through crystals to get to the toy. Various combinations of crystals, soaps and toys will also cause the Reyvateil to get into discussions with one another, which improves their Synchronization rate. Once the bath is over, the Reyvateil may receive an increase (or decrease) in stats depending on what kind of crystals you put in, if they wandered through them, and various other factors. They'll also receive special effects, unique to each Reyvateil, which can boost their damage, increase their cast speed or have other unique and interesting effects.

In addition to the bath, Ar Tonelico 2 also brings back the Cosmosphere from Ar Tonelico 1, although this is effectively unchanged. For those unfamiliar with the concept, the Cosmosphere is a magical area located inside the Reyvateil's mind that is built from their inner hopes and fears. The main character can dive inside the Reyvateil and play through a "visual novel" adventure, where you travel through the Reyvateil's mindscape and try to help it solve its mental issues by having wacky anime-inspired adventures. These adventures are fueled by the Dive Points you earn in battle. You have to spend Dive Points to advance the story, and if you don't have enough, you can't advance the Cosmosphere until you do. Advancing the Cosmosphere earns you both new "song magic" and costumes for your Reyvateil. Costumes can modify a Reyvateil's abilities, and song magic is usable in battle.

However, you can't just power through a Cosmosphere as soon as you have the Dive Points. You also have to make a Reyvateil trust you by having conversations with him, with new conversations being unlocked in a variety of ways, including advancing the plot, finding certain areas or creating items. Once you've had enough conversations, you can advance to the next Dive level. The primary change to the Cosmosphere in Ar Tonelico 2 is the addition of the Infelsphere, a second Cosmosphere you'll have to explore for a story-related reason. It's functionally identical, except you'll be spending Synchronization Points instead of Dive Points. It's not really possible to discuss this further without ruining the plot, so I'll leave you with that tantalizing hint.

In addition to all of the above, you'll also be able to find and hunt down IPD-infected Reyvateil in the various levels. These Reyvateil function as mini-boss encounters and can provide some of the game's more challenging battles. Defeating a Reyvateil allows you to capture him, and you can then heal him. Once an IPD is healed, they'll make requests. If you complete those requests, they'll join the Lady Cloche's fan club and allow you to gain incredible boosts in battle.

Also returning from Ar Tonelico is Gust's trademark Synthesis system, although it's a bit different in Ar Tonelico 2. You must go to one of a number of shops, not unlike Atelier Iris, and make friends with the shopkeepers. Once you receive a proper recipe card, you, the shopkeeper and one of your Reyvateil can work together to create new items from that card. While recipe cards are the same, the selected Reyvateil can change the item you create, and some Reyvateil can't work at certain shops. Naturally, the best items in the game must be created this way, and you'll have to do a lot of synthesizing if you want to keep your gear up to snuff.

Ar Tonelico 2: Melody of Metafalica is pretty much a sequel to Ar Tonelico in every way. The combat system is significantly improved, and everything else has been made a bit more involved, but overall, it's a very similar game to its predecessor, right down the shockingly raunchy dialogue. If you're a fan of the Gust games, then Ar Tonelico 2 is going to offer more of the same gameplay you've come to enjoy, and if you're not, then it isn't going to change your mind. For gamers looking for a casual RPG to spend their time with, Ar Tonelico 2 should provide a solid experience.