Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana is the sixth installment of the Atelier Series of role-playing games which were developed by Gust, and the first game from the series to make the journey across the Pacific from Japan.

The story follows the exploits of Klein Kiesling, a young alchemist, as he explores the world, along with a group of friends he makes along the journey. Pretty standard RPG fare, narratively speaking.

Released in Japan in 2004, North America in 2005 and Europe in 2006, the game received decent reviews, but many of the innovations (which include item fusion/synthesis) earlier adopted by the Atelier series had already been adapted by other games which were released in North America before this chapter was introduced.

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Tropes used in Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana include:

• Battle Couple: Klein Kiesling and Lita Blanchimont. Also Delsus and Marietta Lixiss.
• Berserk Button: As you may expect from a Tsundere, don't criticize on Lita's bust size.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: "You can't do that! The ESRB would go nuts!"
• Catgirl: Norn
• Chekhov's Gunman: Some seemingly minor supporting characters wind up directly aiding the party through the game. For example, Pamela the friendly ghost initially seems like a sort of comic relief character, but eventually helps you translate some writing in a ruin that she remembers from when she was alive.
• Competitive Balance:
  • Glass Cannon: Klein, has some of the strongest attacks of the game, but can die really fast again stronger enemies.
    • Arlin whenever he uses the Berserker ability.
  • If you let Lita's wings sprout she easily becomes this, low HP, horrible MP, but great Status, take your pick.
  • Fragile Speedster: Lita,
  • Jack of All Stats: Delsus, balanced and overall useful for most situations.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Arlin, fast, strong with physical and magic attacks also having good balance in Speed and Defense. No wonder he is a Crutch Character.
  • Squishy Wizard: Klein and Norn, both can do serious damage, but have the worst Defense value of everyone.
  • Mighty Glacier: Marietta, excellent physical attacks and she even has a healing spell, her Speed is depressing, though.
• Crispin Freeman as Delsus
• Crutch Character: Arlin to some.
  • He goes straight for a Game Breaker after he learns his Bull's Eyes. ability. With that tech, it makes the normally very long and hard final boss seems like nothing.
• Defrosting Ice Queen/Kuudere: Veola, who initially seems a borderline Emotionless Girl but gradually gets to be friendly with Klein and (sort of) Lita.
• Despair Event Horizon: Lita attempted to kill herself after she woke up from her stasis, but was unable to. She spends the latter part of Veola's plot arc trying to pull Veola back across the horizon when she realizes that Veola is building what is basically a glorified assisted suicide machine
• Duel Boss: Arlin, twice. The first one is a Hopeless Boss Fight, the second is a fight totally based on luck.
• Exposition Fairy: Popo, who is hilariously enough an actual fairy.
• Evil Counterpart: Mull to Arlin.
• Fan Service: Lita gets naked on screen twice. Censor Steam and Modesty Towel included.
• Five-Man Band
  • The Hero: Klein Kiesling.
  • The Lancer: Arlin.
  • The Chick: Lita Blanchimont.
  • The Smart Guy: Delsus.
  • Tagalong Kid: Norn.
  • Sixth Ranger: Marietta Lixiss.
• Heh Heh, You Said "X":

Veola: I'll name it... the Blowmaster!
Lita: You do realize... never mind.

• Heel Realization: Beggur after the final duel against him.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Mull.
• Ineffectual Loner: Arlin, he's turned into a stone when he confronts Mull alone.
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Beggur. So very, very much. The EPIC Ham voicework really helps this, to boot.
• Lady of War: Marietta Lixiss.
• Love At First Punch: Lita does rescue him first, and then she calls him a weakling for traveling alone.
• Nice Hat: Lita's
• Power Gives You Wings: A bit inverted here. Lita sprouts her wings when her internal mana supply is drained, leaving her weak. She still has wings that betray her artificial nature, though.
  • Strangely enough, while sprouting Lita's wings drains her Max HP, it does raise the attack power.
• Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Alkavana Knights.
• Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Zeldalia to a T. The voicework makes this even better, since despite looking like she's twelve, she has the voice and mannerisms of a stately older woman.
• Smug Snake: Good lord, Mull is terrible about this. You never get to fight him either, although you do get to see him satisfyingly blown to bits by Amalgam.
• The Unfought: Mull, much to everyone's rage
• Trailers Always Lie: That shot of Norn looking really mysterious and powerful? Nothing even remotely like that happens in the game itself.
• Trailers Always Spoil: No, Virginia, those wings Lita sprouts in the opening movie are not merely symbolic.
• Tsundere: Type B. Lita bounces rapidly back and forth between being sweet and perky to Klein or raging about what a jerk he is. She's very much soften up when her back story kicks in.
  • Marietta is a clear Type A for Delsus.
• Verbal Tic: Norn and her meow and nya for English and Japanese voiceovers respectively.
• Whip Sword: Merietta's