There are, however, a small group of people who like school. These are often the ones who go onto to become important, world-changing members of society, such as game developers. Hence the story behind Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis, the spiritual successor to the Atelier Iris series. In this case, "spiritual" refers to the characters, story, and setting of the game. There are slight differences in the character growth system, but the rest remains true to the series Mana Khemia is based on. For excited Atelier Iris fans, this is the best news they've heard all year. But it doesn't do much for players hoping this spin-off would put a new spin on the series.

In a Nutshell

Mana Khemia can be summed up pretty easily by calling it Atelier Iris Version 1.6. It's not a whole new software package, but rather a revised edition of a disc that's been spinning in your PS2 for the last few years.

The .6 difference comes from new school setting where our new cast of heroes currently resides. But rather than playing as a young legal, business or medical hopeful, or a middle-aged man starting a new career when he had planned to retire, these students are studying the art of Alchemy. Their graduation won't land them a solid job in a liquid economy, but who cares – their newfound spells and special attacks can be used to save the world!

Our cast includes Vayne, Flay, Jess, Nikki, a talking cat, and several other kooky characters. Together they’ll find themselves going on scavenger hunts and battling monsters that are insanely similar to those featured in the Atelier Iris games.

Low on Mana Power

There are two driving forces behind every RPG: the story and the gameplay. If the heroes aren't likable, if the villains aren't interesting, and if the overall plot can't retain your interest, then the game is practically a failure. In that case, its only chance of survival is addictive gameplay. Sure, we'd love for RPGs to have both a great story and great gameplay. Realistically, that just doesn't happen anymore. You get one or the other (Disgaea and Mass Effect excluded).

Whether you agree with the above statement or have begun forming your list of personal favorites to prove me wrong, in this case my theory rings true. Mana Khemia’s gameplay is decent, which means the story is anything but. When thinking about the graphics, the words "retro" and "stylized" supercede other words that quickly come to mind – "old," "dated," or "yesteryear." But there are no words to supercede those which popped into my head upon first hearing these characters speak: "disjointed," "discombobulated," and "defenestration."

What in the world were these actors thinking? Were they given no direction at all beyond, "Read these lines and make it snappy"? The only urgency in Flay's voice comes from the all-too-apparent fact that he has something to say and wants to say it as fast as possible. He doesn't care if the inflection is right, nor does he plan on saying the line over again if it doesn't make any sense.

Vayne is an enormously sad excuse for a hero. His appearance isn't too shabby, and his text-only dialogue is passable for gamers like myself who know we typically can't expect something better. But his vocal communications are a disaster. He sounds so tired and timid that just thinking about his discussions with Sulpher (his cat) and company makes me want to take a nap. Not every hero can be a confident, take-charge-and-win kind of guy. But if you're going to create an underdog, there's got to be something about him – even the slightest underlying quality – that makes us cheer for him from beginning to end. Vayne doesn't have any such quality. I don't even have the desire to pity him. I just wanted to get away, and that meant skipping through the story ASAP.

Like Looking in a Broken Mirror

Mana Khemia wants to be Atelier Iris. But it’s not Atelier Iris. The gameplay hasn't changed so drastically that you won't recognize it; if the AI series is a friend you've longed to see once more, playing Mana Khemia will be akin to a high school reunion. You've grown older with thumbs slightly more wrinkled, while the game is showing its age by not growing at all. The gameplay and simplistic graphic content, no matter how effective for the "retro RPG" genre, is almost identical to the way it was a year ago. But you're old friends – and what do looks matter when you can spend hours reminiscing about the good old days?

Mana Khemia (speaking as a friend): "Remember that time when you needed a specific item but forgot to snatch it from the forest? Then you had to run all the way back to the end just to grab it, fighting dozens of additional monsters along the way?"

Gamer: "How could I forget!?"

Mana Khemia: "Or that time you scratched your head wondering if the game was repeating itself, since the current quest felt like one you just completed an hour ago?"

Gamer: "Ah, memories."

The new stuff, however – the story, the characters, the overacted voice acting – is almost too lackluster to swallow. The music is catchy but it's nothing extraordinary. There are deeper scores out there to be certain. If the Atelier Iris gameplay isn't solely enough to hook you, the rest of the game will surely discourage you from playing till the end.