Day 10: RPG battle music
Zilla Fieri
[meme] Day 10: RPG battle music
Day 10: RPG battle music
Zilla Fieri
This topic has a lot of options and is easier for me to pick from than something like shooters or licensed games, but after thinking on it, I know exactly the game I wanna talk about
Zilla Fieri
Mana Khemia OST Splendid Force Extended
Mana Khemia
Zilla Fieri
Originally released on the PS2 as Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis, it got a PSP port called Mana Khemia: Student Alliance. I played the latter
Zilla Fieri
it's a Gust game, so if you're familiar with Ar Tonelico or the Atelier games, you'll mostly know what to expect in terms of quality
Zilla Fieri
Mana Khemia's about the protagonist, Vayne Aurelius, becoming a new student at the Al-Revis academy to become an alchemist. As such, the game's big on crafting and getting ingredients, so much so that a character's stat growth isn't based on levels, but how much of the synthesis chart you've filled out
Zilla Fieri
I like it, actually
Zilla Fieri
Very appropriate to the theme and I believe there was an equipment augmenting system as well that I don't remember, but that's not the point
Zilla Fieri
I'm bringing up the battle music because interestingly, the regular encounter music changes as you progress throughout the game
Zilla Fieri
The themes kind of escalate in urgency as you make your way through the story and weave through the plot that can get a little heavy and a little weird at times
Zilla Fieri
Splendid Force, with its whimsical woodwinds and upbeat tone, is your encounter theme for the first part of the game. First third, maybe? Sure.
Zilla Fieri
When you're still getting into the game and learning how to do things, getting your bearings and figuring out a combat system that, admittedly, starts off not stellar but gets better as you recruit new allies and get new abilities.
Zilla Fieri
Mana Khemia OST Repulsion Extended
Partway through, this becomes your regular encounter music
Zilla Fieri
Right off the bat, you can feel the difference in mood
Zilla Fieri
You're not so green by this point in the game; you know something's going down, but you've also got a better grasp of your abilities and a few more friends willing to help you solve Al-Revis academy's mysteries
Zilla Fieri
The whimsical woodwinds are gone and the electric guitar that only got a minor segue in the first theme become the primary instrument in this theme
Zilla Fieri
Here, it's more in line with your standard JRPG battle music
Zilla Fieri
This is around the point in the game where fights become a lot more fun
Zilla Fieri
You can have three party members active in a fight and a few in reserve. Reserves can be switched in and anyone on reserve passively regains HP and MP, so you get to use your special skills more often
Zilla Fieri
Especially cool since you can have characters swap in during your own attacks to provide some extra damage or when you're being attacked so the reserve character can come in and either defend or take the hit themselves somehow
Zilla Fieri
Once you get your fourth character, battles become so much smoother. And by the time this theme plays, you have...maybe five or six characters, I wanna say?
Zilla Fieri
Great stuff.
Zilla Fieri
Mana Khemia OST Disruptor Extended
And for the last third or so of the game, this becomes your new encounter music
Old St. Nut
Huh. Sounds like you're giving this game a hearty endorsement.
Zilla Fieri
I am! I really enjoyed it and talking about it now has me wanting to replay it
Zilla Fieri
Haven't touched it since high school, so I would not mind a revisit at all
Zilla Fieri
as a Gust title, it does have moments where it can get pretty anime, but I don't remember it going against the game too often
Zilla Fieri
If there's one thing I don't like about the game, it's the inclusion of the eighth character, Muppy
Old St. Nut
Would you consider streaming it perhaps~?
Zilla Fieri
See that pink thing in the flying bowl on the right of that pic? That's him. Random ass alien thing in a fantasy setting about alchemists and magic
Zilla Fieri
Apparently not bad at all in terms of usefulness, especially as their defensive swap can protect the entire party from a big AoE while taking that hit with heightened defenses or something like that
Zilla Fieri
I'd need
Goat Arson
to confirm for me but yeah. Problem is they felt really out of place
Zilla Fieri
But yeah, I'd be down for streaming it!
Zilla Fieri
as a PSP game, it'd take all of nothing to emulate it, so all I'd have to do is download the iSO
Zilla Fieri
But yes, the third encounter theme is Disruptor. They finally upped the tempo in this one!
Zilla Fieri
The answers still escape you, but you're getting close. Damn close. Close enough to see the cracks in the mystery and uncovering the darker parts of the school
Zilla Fieri
You still have schoolwork to do and friendships to maintain, but you've been juggling that all this time, using it make yourself and your allies stronger
Zilla Fieri
You made it this far; the rest of the way won't be easy, but you're ready for it and the game knows it
Goat Arson
Hi yes someone is talking about alchemy
Goat Arson
So re:Muppy. Mechanically, he's pretty interesting. He's got the party-wide defensive swap-in, which is useful, and a lot of off-the-wall control-type abilities that can shake up the field. Narratively, however, there's zero reason for him to exist.
Goat Arson
He has no ties to the overarching plot, he's not even hinted at until his intro, and he doesn't contribute anything other than the bog-standard lines that everyone in your party gets when reacting to big things.
Goat Arson
Plus he keeps going on about conquering the world but doing nothing about it
Kayskringle
"Mana Khemia, Mana Khemia, why does that sound familiar-"
Kayskringle
"OH!? THE ONE WITH THE MAP DESIGN THAT KICKS ASS?"
Zilla Fieri
Yeah I hear Muppy is pretty great in battle
Zilla Fieri
The narrative dissociation is what kept me from using him because what the actual fuck
Zilla Fieri
But maybe the next time I play, I'll actually give him a chance