A, very tiny disspointment over the first,
Storyline 8/10, actuall daul split paths
yeah, you do have the choice to choose from to main chars/storyline, a boy named raze or girl named urika, both with a notably diffrent storyline, Not a semi fake under 30% diffrent storyline that youd probaly usually see in other games that split into diffrent storylines trying to sound superior, though you might go to the same place's (with some diffrent places on ether storyline) or have a few events that crosses to both main chars path, but i can say both storylines are about 75% diffrent if we include alchemy forged items or same general concept, but enough ranting, in al revis academy you play as an alchemy student reguardless which char you choose, with raze sort of being draged into it from his master Lily while urika wanting to try and hatch her mana egg, though both storylines change into something diffrent and more bigger later on as you progress, like mana khemia 1 you'll be cycling through weeks/months doing school assiments consisting of making items, gathering, and aiming for high grades to spend time with your merry band of characters with your free time, so in other word's the game is prety much excatly the same as the first which isnt a bad thing, when it comes down to it really though its just a diffrent plot/storyline, with diffrent characters, and new items to forge, the cast of characters of the game in my opinoin isnt as near strong as the first but still manage to be alright spliting into 5 diffrent chars for both sides including the main char, for raze he gets Lily and whim (whim as a mana) who has a complainy personailty, Et, (simple name but youll get used to it) a hyper active happy girl who likes to have fun, Yun, a badass mecenary mana of fire, and puniyo, which i suppose is a bit of a spoiler if i say nething else, Apart of raze urika gets...werid characters, Chole, a smart girl who loves to cast dark curses, Peperoni, a talking oversized fairy of man sized with a talking isp, Enna, the most normal one who likes machines, and my favorite, Goto, a talking pimping ball who thinks hes colored red, but im prety sure its orange unless im color blind, with all that said theres nothing to say more much except urikas storylnie is less...serious compared to raze and more whacky, but its also fine,
Gameplay 7/10, improved....i suppose,
like mana khemia 1, 3 people in front, and the rest in the back to jump in for support and into the fray with an attack or guard each having there own style and effect, its still fast paced, and runs slightly quicker i belive, for people who dident play this game before you dont get exp points, instead a grow book that you fill out from forging items and using AP gained from battles leading to increased stats or new skills, which may sound like a pain to do but it isnt, you do increase max HP/MP though unlike the first in random combat battles, what determines it isnt clear to me so in a sense i suppose you do sort of gain exp to get more powerfuller if for some reason the grow book isnt enough, the actuall gameplay is fast, flashy, its just good and generally better then an average rpg you'll feel the game will move as fast as you do making random battles end quick, the only thing wrong with the gameplay is the small lack of explorable areas within areas and a tweak in a certain system with ups/down compared to first and nearly the same style,
Music 9/10, just as good as the first,
fusing both a godly guitar and piano and drums comes out another great track list to the game, nearly at the same lvl as the first, mostly battle music will keep you awake or get into it and themes are generaly well done, i have to add a point for the bonus of getting the soundtrack CD with the game if you did neway,
Graphics 8/10, 2D of course,
2D wise, everythings dwarn well, and sprites for moves/characters as well, really nothing more to say here,
Replay Value 7/10, alright
well- im not sure if theres a new game plus at the very end because i dident want the multy saves, but anyway after beating a storyline you can transfer all your alchemy knowlege and forged items to the other oposing storyline to make it much easyer, and if you beat that storyline, youll get a small 3rd storyline consisting of both protagonists partys, all ranging up to 50 hours+ worth of gameplay, since you play both storylines and a 3rd, i dont see to much of a reason why to play it again, other then its a fun game,
Final Word,
compared to other typical rpgs its a generaly better game, and if your lucky enough to grab the free sound track/poster, it makes it all a bit more worth buying the game, as for people coming from mana khemia 1, if you like the same concept yet with just diffrent chars and storylines, you should prety much enjoy it at a near or under lvl as the first,