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ased on one of the Cartoon Network's top-rated anime series, Fullmetal Alchemist 2 is a fast follow-up and prequel to last January's Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel. Two brothers—Edward and Alphonse Elric—inhabit a world dominated by "alchemy," the power to transmute metal into helpful gadgets, wicked weaponry and whatever else is needed in ceaselessly rough-and-tumbly circumstances.
Wielders of this alchemical power, Edward and Alphonse unwisely attempted to resurrect their dead mother using a forbidden human transmutation. Their failure brings a dehumanizing price: Edward's right arm and leg are transformed into alchemy-channeling metal limbs (called "automail"), while Alphonse's body is destroyed, his soul saved and bound by Edward to something that looks a bit like Brad Bird's Iron Giant attired in samurai armor. Determined to reverse their affliction, the two brothers roam the land, righting wrongs and questing for the fabled philosopher's stone, which has the power to restore them to human form. In this case, the wrongs include monstrous creatures on the prowl and people being rudely sucked into the ground.
The prequel is divided into seven chapters, which unfold in episodic fashion (there is no multiplayer), split between non-interactive storytelling and staggered combat through each level. Each chapter takes place in a different locale, ranging from temples and sewers to caves and hidden cities. Gameplay consists of watching narrative sequences punctuated by linear progression and combat through 3-D levels. Both Edward and Alphonse accrue experience in battle, which allows players to apply bonus points toward four attributes: vitality, attack, defense and alchemy. Healing, offensive and defensive items and accessories are scattered about the playing field or proffered after defeating a notably tricky monster.
As in the previous game, players directly manipulate Edward Elric while indirectly influencing Alphonse. Edward has a library of moves, from simple jumps and barehanded attacks to elaborate transmuted weaponry, dodges, counterattacks and the ability to transmute alchemical objects into melee assets. Alphonse behaves intelligently enough to engage enemies on his own, but can be fine-tuned using Edward to instruct Al to equip or man weapons, execute rage attacks and occasionally "alley-oop" Edward into precarious spaces.
Passable action-oriented prequel
Edward and Alphonse can't catch a break in the series, so it will come as no surprise that this prequel (set early in season one of the television show) is mostly colorful filler rather than advancing the overarching quest. That said, the story and combat mechanics are markedly improved, if the rest of the game remains somewhat deterministic. A word of caution to Square-Enix role-playing enthusiasts: This is strictly an action-adventure title whose focus is storytelling and combat (and little else between).
The best that can be said about Curse of the Crimson Elixir is that it starts out slow and gradually improves (indeed, too many games suffer the reverse). Battling through the early Temple of Leto area is repetitious and even boring, but stick with the game through its third chapter and things get interesting, with creepier environs and more challenging boss battles. The new cel-shaded graphics may in fact be a step back (the cel frames often appear badly aliased, i.e. jagged, deforming characters' faces and bodies), but the new look does more closely resemble the series' anime foundation. The addition of fan-favorite characters, new alchemy attacks and Alphonse's improved AI show that developer Racjin is paying attention to feedback from series fans.
Unfortunately, the game is still rigorously linear, interspersed by hundreds of canned narrative exchanges that often fall flat. Dialogue is advanced by pressing the X button, so that what should be seamless dramatic sequences (during which multiple characters "sigh" or "exclaim") instead become inappropriately absurd narrative lurching. The recycling of static portraits (there's 30 minutes of original animation here, but conservatively distributed) during the game's numerous and lengthy conversations is revealing—at roughly 10 hours to beat, there's simply not enough to do. Fans of the series may love the game's episodic nature, while general gamers will probably be disappointed by its brevity.
An RPG it's not (it's a stretch even to call it an action RPG), but as a decent tribute to the TV show and a button-mashing scuffler it could be worse. It's too short, frankly, to recommend for purchase, though series fans will (and probably should) ignore such caveats. As a rental, it's an amusing bit of diversionary fun that can serve as a fitting introduction to the show—there's even a bonus DVD with two full episodes. As an improvement over its predecessor, this is one of those games that rewards lowered expectations with a reasonably entertaining bit of diversion.
My first Fullmetal experience probably won't be my last, but I want to see Square-Enix move in the direction of a true console-style RPG (as opposed to an action brawler) if there's a third game on the horizon—the series is practically howling for it. —Matt
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