Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny review

It's hard to bag on such a stunningly bright, cheery adventure

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Even the most heart-warming characters can't make a game fun to play, though. That's where the breakneck pace of the new battle system comes in. Instead of just taking turns, you're vying for placement on an action bar. Whenever your character's icon reaches the end of the line, you can choose all sorts of attacks - charged-up special moves, items or one of two types of physical blows.

The first is straight-up damage. You hit the dragon or slime or whatever the thing in front of you may be. End of story, back to the end of the line. Or you can go for a break attack, which pushes the enemy further back on the action bar. If you can time your attacks right, you can plow through creatures before they even get a chance to hit back.

Trouble is, they can do the same stuff. Thus, the battles are furiously fast and require constant attention. Iris 2 is pretty easy on the whole, though, so don't expect many knock down, drag out fights. Still, being able to actually clear the room of enemies and random battles is a huge plus.

More info

GenreRole Playing
DescriptionAnother typical RPG adventure with an overused plot and tons of reading. Luckily, its aggressive battle system and infectious charm keep the world alive.
Platform"PS2"
US censor rating"Everyone 10+"
UK censor rating""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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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.