Mana Khemia has been underrated in most critics reviews. Don't let yourself be discouraged by the grpahics. Great game!
However, a few days ago I decided to give the game a second chance, and man! it deserved it.
It was just after the first half an hour of playing that I was regretting not having played a little bit more the time before.
Indeed, the game goes showing its best little by little. As in any other game in the Atelier series, the main objective is to synthesize new objects, such as food, weapons or armors, by the means of alchemy.
The idea might seem boring, but in fact, it's really addictive. You need weapons, armors and accessories in order to fight monsters, which at the same time will provide you with new elements that you will use to synthesize more powerful objects... and so on.
The story is actually naive, but good enough to keep you entertained while you discover and unravel the subtlety of Mana Khemia.
Don't let yourself be discouraged by the ugly basic font, or the in-game graphics, or the cheesy looks of the game. It is really enjoyable, and highly addictive.
In my humble opinion, Mana Khemia has been underrated. Give it a try!