Out of all the JRPGs that manage to make it Stateside, I think the Atelier series is one of the most overlooked. Sure it’s not like the powerhouse like Square Enix’s Final Fantasy or has the multimedia marketability of Namco’s Tales of series, it’s seen its share of success ever since Atelier Iris was released on the PS2 in the US in 2005. Its use of alchemy as the focal point may sound boring to some, but it backs it up with a colorful cast of characters, a story that has more of an easy going pace, and when the series went from 2D to 3D when it made its way over to the PS3, some really great graphics and art that make the game look like a moving story book.
That story book is about to enter a new chapter in the form of Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk. With a new character in a land that has no connection to previous games, can this new alchemist stand on her own power or has the influence of the previous games proved too strong for a new star?
Lead into Gold
New start- In the last three games on the PS3, they all occurred in the kingdom of Arland. This meant that characters each of the games could interact with each other in their respective game and also that locations such as the capital of the kingdom would eventually be visited. For Atelier Ayesha we not only leave behind the Arland kingdom but the characters as well. Ayesha takes place in a land distant from Arland that few people from the kingdom travel to.
Doesn’t start as an alchemist- In each of the previous games, the heroine starts off learning alchemy or takes an interest in the art. With Ayesha it’s different. She is not an alchemist and in fact doesn’t know what alchemy is. This is due to the fact that in the land that the game takes place, alchemy is a lost/forgotten art. But unlike the three leading ladies in the previous games, Ayesha is no newbie. She is in fact the local herbalist who makes different kinds of medicines using a wide range of herbs and flowers. With her being an herbalist give her a slight advantage on picking up alchemy quickly. But since there is no one that is an alchemist (not till later in the game at least) she’s left to figure the art herself which brings us to the next point.
Fresh character development- Ayesha live alone in her shop with her cow-yak thing as her only companion. The closest town to her shop is about a day or two ride away, so it’s clear to see that she is in the middle of nowhere. Her grandfather passed away a few years prior and her sister vanished in front of her a year later. Why does this matter? This matters because since the game takes place in a new area without the already established cast from previous games to influence Ayesha, her character development is fresh and new. Players get to see her grow from her shy clumsy shelf developed into an alchemist that’s still clumsy but now more open as she explores the world around her. This also lets her develop her own identity as an alchemist instead of latching on to previous characters’ identity.
Best art work/graphics in the series so far- I’ve mentioned before that when the Atelier series went 3D and the games made their way to the PS3, the graphics and art work made it look like a living fairy tale book. The color palette for the world was filled with bright and cheery colors. Character outlines were soft so that the color palette for the rest of their look would pop out with bright colors. For Atelier Ayesha, it still has that story book feel, but the use of cooler colors such greens, blues, brown, give it a more mature feeling.
Similar gameplay as previous games- Atelier Ayesha plays just like previous games in the Atelier series. Which isn’t saying much, since the gameplay for the Atelier games is pretty much the same: take requests from people, explore the area for ingredients, fight against monsters that might attack you during your search, mix ingredients, deliver finished item to requester, rinse and repeat. It’s simple enough so that those who have never played any of the previous Atelier games can get a hang of. But to be fair with Atelier Ayesha, the game does take place in a new land and Ayesha does travel from different towns from the start.
Time not as much as a hindrance- In the last three Atelier games for the PS3, players were always racing against time in some fashion: Atelier Rorona has players race to secure enough funds to keep the workshop open, Atelier Totori had players rush towards Totori to become an adventurer before she could journey away from home, and Atelier Meruru had players rushing to expand the kingdom as much as possible before Meruru’s 18th birthday. In Atelier Ayesha, her grandfather has been dead for a couple of years already and sister vanishes around a year later. You would think that this would cause her to panic and rush out right away, but she doesn’t. Her sister is there where she is, sort of. She’s just stuck in between dimensions, so to speak. So there isn’t a need to rush. But as she encounters Nio, an alchemist, she searches for him to learn alchemy and bring her sister back. Again she is no hurry because the sister is, as I mentioned, is stuck between worlds and can’t really go anywhere.
It may sound like a lame excuse to pad out the story, but if you consider Ayesha’s personality, it makes sense. Ayesha is a shy, lonely girl who only human contacts only come by once a month for supplies and a cow-yak thing. It makes sense for her to take things one step at a time slowly since she has never visited any of the nearby villages on her own before. We get to see her grow more as a character due to not having a time limit in place.
Transmutation gone wrong
Gameplay too similar to previous games- The only real fault I found with the game is that it plays way too similar to the previous three games. With a new heroine that is not influence by past characters and takes place in a new land, I would expect for the game to at least come up with something new for the alchemy gameplay. While it isn’t bad by all mean, I just expected maybe some new mechanics or a new system all together.
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk is a big improvement over the previous three Atelier PS3 games. It gives players a brand new character that has no ties to previous character so that she can develop her own personality and not be influenced by previous characters. We get to see her grow as her own character and as a new alchemist. The gameplay is similar to previous games, so players who have just played one game or none are able to play at ease. Which is great because time is no longer a hindrance, so players are able to explore as much of the world, learning new alchemist recipes and taking in the wonderful graphics the series has produced yet.
Since this is supposed to be a new entry into the Atelier series that has no ties to the Arland trilogy, I expected for gameplay to be a different, or at least some new mechanics introduced. There is none, but that does not change the experience.
In the first Atelier PS3 games, growth has been a common theme among them. Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk continues that theme as it matures with each entry. If you’re looking for a break from JRPGs/RPGs that have a heavy feel to them, Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk is just the thing.
