Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny

The other basic attack is Charge - using it doesn't affect the enemy's placement on the battle line, but it does charge up your power meter. The more Charge attacks you do, the more that meter will rise. Level 1 spells and attacks are pretty "eh," but keep 'em coming and pile on the power levels. Just keep in mind that the enemies are barraging you with teeth and claws the whole time. Do you charge up for big attacks or keep the monsters from fighting back? Oh, decisions.

The random battles have been slightly tweaked as well. Rather than forever bumping into creatures, you can eventually clear an area of all baddies and explore at your leisure. Exiting that place and coming back revives all the monsters, but you do need them, after all. Iris 2 sticks to the level-up-before-you-progress mentality that's been laid down for decades.

It hasn't even been a year since last year's game, and Iris 2 is already coming home at the end of April. Too much too soon? Possibly, but for RPG fans this looks like more of the same in a good way.

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Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.