The best entry is widely considered to be the second game, as it has the best gameplay and story in most peoples opinion anyway.
You can definitely jump in to the second game without playing the first as they do mostly have separate plots, but there are some cameos from the first game that are really important and the games do have a connected overarching plot.
The first game is definitely charming and has all the notable mechanics that make the series great but has a more generic JRPG plot to it and suffers from some mediocre writing and typical turn based combat, but if you can stomach playing through it and getting the true ending, it really makes the second game much more enjoyable.
The second game is what really made me fall in love with the series though.
I haven’t played the third game yet but I’ve heard it’s the worst entry in the series from other fans
Edit: so basically the first game “Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia” if you have patience to play through the game to get to the second game, or the second game if you’d rather experience the best the series has to offer right away
Thanks for the explanation! Which entry do you recommend the most for starters?
The best entry is widely considered to be the second game, as it has the best gameplay and story in most peoples opinion anyway.
You can definitely jump in to the second game without playing the first as they do mostly have separate plots, but there are some cameos from the first game that are really important and the games do have a connected overarching plot.
The first game is definitely charming and has all the notable mechanics that make the series great but has a more generic JRPG plot to it and suffers from some mediocre writing and typical turn based combat, but if you can stomach playing through it and getting the true ending, it really makes the second game much more enjoyable.
The second game is what really made me fall in love with the series though.
I haven’t played the third game yet but I’ve heard it’s the worst entry in the series from other fans
Edit: so basically the first game “Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia” if you have patience to play through the game to get to the second game, or the second game if you’d rather experience the best the series has to offer right away