I really want to play the others, but the only 2 I own right now are the 2 PS3 ones. The 2 PS2 games are probably at the top of my wanted list for PS2 RPGs. My local retro store has the 2nd one in box, but the box looks a little worn. I'm going up there this weekend, if it's complete & everything else looks good I may try to talk him down on it a little. Don't think he has the first one tho.
Have you played the PS3 Ar Tonelico game? If you have, what do you think of it?
*MY* opinion on AT3 =
*Music* Every bit as amazing as the 1st 2 games; aural bliss! 10/10
*Story* Decent. Not as good as the 1st 2 game's stories/does a tolerable job of answering & filling in the unanswered & open-ended questions + themes from 1 & 2. 6.5/10
*Characters, dialogue, and interactions* Not as enjoyable as 1's characters but, pretty comparable to 2's. 7.5/10
*Combat* a mistake & a step-down from 1 & 2. 1 & 2's combat were a little different but, they were both clearly turn-based. In #3, however - they decided to change the fighting to something closer to action-based w/ more real time elements...Not that this is, by default, a bad thing; unfortunately, it was pretty weakly implemented. Why, I'd be willing to bet that any competent & experienced RPG player could play, beat, and even platinum this "ARPG" one-handed w/o any trouble at all
*Overall* (for fans of the 1st 2 games) = 7/10
(for a 1st AT game) = 6/10
I'd very much recommend playing this series in order to get as much enjoyment as possible out of it.
Also, I'm pretty sure that one of our newer regulars here (the adorable & love-able Kashell:) wrote a pretty thorough review of AT3 (and, very possibly AT1 & 2 as well) on G*FAQ's.
I always enjoy reading his reviews because - having known the lad for years, I know that we have a lot of gaming tastes, likes, and dislikes in common; if you think and/or know that you share similar gaming tastes w/ me...I'd highly recommend reading some of his reviews there...he's written a few of 'em