PixlBit

Mana Khemia is a rpg developed by Japanese developer Gust for the ps2, The game was released in Japan on june 21st 2007 and in the US on March 31st, 2008. The game is another iteration of Gust"s Atelier series, and incorporates elements of standard turn based combat and alchemy. A playstation Portable version was released,with additional features included.

Mana Khemia is a console rpg and is the spiritual successor to Atelier Iris series, and as a result shares many common elements in that series. At the core of the game is alchemy through which the player can create weapons, armor,usable items, and complex ingredients for these recipes. The player is required  to gather core materials through feild exploration, spoils of combat, or buying them in shops. When in the feild you can opt to avoid encounters with monsters by running and jumping over them, but also may attempt to strike first and go into battle, the battle system is almost the same as the Atelier Iris series, so im not going to get into the details of this.

                    Platform jumping is a part of life in Mana Khemia

                         Battles play out like Ateliers Iris in a lot of ways

                        You even participate in school and projects like this alchemist lab

The game,s main focus is on the lead character Vayne Aurelius, son of the legendary Alchemist named Theofratus who had disappeared sometime after Vaynes birth. After a visit from a mysterios stranger, a young man named Vayne, and his mana embark on a new life at the presigeous Al - Revis academy, there he learns to master alchemy with the help of classmates. There is the school which has various locations with in the school to explore theres also shops to buy ingredients etc, there are many dungeons around the school, such as forest and ruins. as you progress through the story, more areas will become available to you.

The graphics are your usual NIS affair beautiful and bright and crisp as ever and a pixi magical glow is always around in the feild of this game. The music was composed by Ken Nakagawa and Daisuke Achiwa and is done very well along with the fantastic voice acting. The gameplay is fun although I found the fighting to be repetitious and not all that great, now dont get me wrong its not bad it just very repetitive and not that creative, and thats the reason I gave it a 3.5,now the alchemist system in very deep and intrieging, and will keep you very busy in the classroom studying luckily you wont be fighting a ton so its not that bad, the game is a very interesting and a worthy game to add to your ps2 collection and being an NIS game, you should already know that I will totally recommend it just on the NIS alone but it really is a good game.