Ar tonelico - hands-on

Wait... what's all this talk about relationships and personal bonding? Well, the Reyva Teils are needy folk, requiring you to chat, listen and generally behave like a good boyfriend at all times. If you nurture their feisty spirit, they'll learn newer, more powerful songs and become even greater assets in battle. A new feature called the Dive System allows you to delve into the subconscious minds of the Teils, giving you the opportunity to truly mesh with these fine minstrels.

Wait... what's all this talk about relationships and personal bonding? Well, the Reyva Teils are needy folk, requiring you to chat, listen and generally behave like a good boyfriend at all times. If you nurture their feisty spirit, they'll learn newer, more powerful songs and become even greater assets in battle. A new feature called the Dive System allows you to delve into the subconscious minds of the Teils, giving you the opportunity to truly mesh with these fine minstrels.

Armed with their hurt-or-heal types of songs, the other half of battle rests on the shoulders of Lyner Barset and his ragtag group of friends. While the Reyva Teils are busy singing, they charge a meter from right to left with each passing turn. Meanwhile, Lyner and co's physical attacks fill that same meter from left to right - when they meet in the middle, Lyner and the Teil become harmonized and gain even more stat-boosting abilities. Getting hit will, of course, cause this meter to drop, so battles tend to have a heavier air of aggression than some other RPGs.

Armed with their hurt-or-heal types of songs, the other half of battle rests on the shoulders of Lyner Barset and his ragtag group of friends. While the Reyva Teils are busy singing, they charge a meter from right to left with each passing turn. Meanwhile, Lyner and co's physical attacks fill that same meter from left to right - when they meet in the middle, Lyner and the Teil become harmonized and gain even more stat-boosting abilities. Getting hit will, of course, cause this meter to drop, so battles tend to have a heavier air of aggression than some other RPGs.

Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.