Atelier Series - a mysterious gust in a forum of tropes

Sooooooo...bought the Sophie/Nights of Azure bundle on Steam sales without checking that you can't rebind keyboard and I don't have a gamepad. What should I do? AutoHotkey?

Bump because I'm excited for Lydie and Suelle. Although at the same time I'm a bit worried since I've seen some things that seem to indicate that it might suffer from "Blind Idiot" Translation syndrome.

Anyway, is it just me, or does Escha and Logy have an intro song that's vastly superior to every other opening in the franchise?

I've always liked Rusty Sky the best out of the Atelier openings.

The fact that the latest isn't being dubbed is distressing. Along with Blue Reflection and Neptunia's ratio of dub to text, it's starting to have me worried that dubbed RPG games are getting scarce.

1) Consider the people that play these games. Most of them probably would just switch to the JP voice track immediately before starting the game, anyway (Exhibit A: the last page of this very thread). 2) You have to remember that these are niche games localized by relatively smaller companies. It's not unlikely they find it more economical to just translate the text rather than shell out the extra cash for a dub most of the player base isn't even going to hear. 3) In Neptunia's case, therefore, it's kind of a miracle the games are dubbed at all.

I think it's not as accurate to say "dubbed RPG are getting scarce" as "smaller localization companies are deciding that since the target demographic of these niche games generally doesn't like dubs anyway, it'd save them money to simply not bother with one". It sucks, yeah, but it's understandable.

edited 9th Mar '18 8:05:00 AM by PhysicalStamina

Personally, I prefer dubs for games and subs for anime, but a subs-only game is not a dealbreaker. I'm the one who added Tainted by the Preview to the YMMV page, but I don't actually agree with the people described in that example. Only playing dubbed games strikes me as being somewhere between petty and xenophobic.

I have to agree that it makes a lot of sense to not have a dub track if it's not an AAA franchise (which Atelier isn't in the West).

Of course, personally I read several times faster than the dub can talk, so I tend to favor subs in games regardless.

edited 9th Mar '18 12:28:10 PM by Ramidel

Going off of that logic, I could say that people that don't buy games just because they only contain the dub track are some kind of Boomerang Bigot. It'd make just as much sense.

I figured I'd poke my head in again and ask for an opinion: How are the Mysterious trio of games?

I played the original three PS 3 games some years back and loved them. A bit later I got the Ayesha one and played it to almost completion, but in the end burned out as the story and characters were pretty tripe, even for a series that likes its clichés.

They also fiddled with the alchemy system too much. Fiddling itself isn't that bad, but it felt both really easy and restrictive so it didn't have its usual draw.

Even now I don't feel like returning to finish it.

This all caused me to intentionally forget about the series for a good long while, so I haven't been following any of the games, but a Steam ad for the new ones caught my eye and I might be ready to get back into the series, if the new ones are good. A quick glance at the reviews don't indicate a notable change from Ayesha, but since these are always a bit niche, the reviews aren't always so reliable.

IMO: Sophie is shit^note Don't get me started. I'll leave it at this: There's a good reason why, unlike fellow trilogy-starters Rorona and Ayesha, most of the mechanics got thrown out completely for the following games instead of being built upon and improved. There's always some mechanics that are just too bad to salvage, but in Sophie's case that's most of them., Firis is very interesting but has flaws^note Open world is a refreshing difference from usual, as is the general format of the game, but there's one point where you're stuck in one place for way too long and the map design doesn't accommodate backtracking for materials very well. Interesting choice of "final boss"., Lydie is OK but reeks of corporate greed^note No dub, limited character selection with someone you'd expect to be in the party as DLC, etc.

I would suggest looking into the Dusk entries you missed.

edited 6th Apr '18 7:06:41 AM by burnpsy

Thanks. Unsure if I want to dig up my PS 3 for the Dusk ones. I'm also pretty allergic to continuing series when I never finish the first episode of it. But I'll consider it, see if I can find the games for cheap.

I'll note that, if you're just looking for an improved alchemy system, the Mysterious trilogy nailed it, with the last entry being especially good about explaining their new system.

But chances are you wouldn't get to Lydie if you end up finding yourself sharing my opinion on Sophie. Sophie isn't universally hated or anything, though, so you might end up liking it, IDK.

If you really don't want to pull out the PS 3, and don't want to play the Mysterious entries, then all that's left is trying the old ones (fan translation of the first 2 just came out) or waiting until next year for the new trilogy to come.

edited 8th Apr '18 12:58:43 AM by burnpsy

I'll chime in as someone who actually liked Sophie: It's not a bad game, but it's more of a traditional JRPG built around a crafting system than a "real" Atelier game.

It did go back to more the Iris games than the systems built by Rorona and Totori but the real lack of focus and time crunch hurt it pretty bad.

"A bit later I got the Ayesha one and played it to almost completion, but in the end burned out as the story and characters were pretty tripe, even for a series that likes its clichés."

lol wut? Ayesha is really original compared to other Ateliers and even compared to other JRP Gs and other post-apocalyptic stories.

"They also fiddled with the alchemy system too much. Fiddling itself isn't that bad, but it felt both really easy and restrictive so it didn't have its usual draw."

Eh, I liked it. I still prefer the Cost system from Arland, but it's not bad at all. It just requires somewhat of a different mindset, with how properties are carried over from item and item and with how traits could trigger and effect the synthesis.

I think I still prefer it over the Mysterious crafting system. I don't like puzzles like that.

"I've always liked Rusty Sky the best out of the Atelier openings."

It's either that or Ayesha's opening for me.

Edited by Lightdreamer on Jul 8th 2018 at 11:18:56 AM

Has any living being ever patched the stupid Game-Breaking Bug Atelier Iris 1 had? I didn't finish the game because of that bug.

NIS America. Fucking translations up since... When was Atelier Iris released here again?

Edited by ZeroDozer on Jul 8th 2018 at 3:24:30 PM

A new Atelier game has been announced.

It is titled Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland, and stars Rorona's daughter.

Edited by Zuxtron on Oct 25th 2018 at 10:30:47 AM

Lionela's back and also some of the new characters in Atelier Lulua are shown off.

Geez, welcome back Lionela, its only been three entries in your series since you last appeared.

So, I've been playing Atelier Escha and Logy for the past few days. I currently have over several hours so far. I chose to play Escha's route. I think it's an alright game so far. I like the combat system and the Alchemy process is kind of fun. I like mixing different items to make new things. While the character aren't deep, they're alright. I'll keep playing.

Edited by pointless233 on Jan 15th 2019 at 10:24:48 AM

A new "Atelier" game has been announced, titled "Atelier Ryzia"!

Here's some important tidbits;

• The game will release on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. PS4 and Switch versions will release in Fall of this year. A release date for the PC version hasn't been announced yet.
• It's a "coming of age story" written by Gust and Takahashi Yashichirou of Shakugan No Shana fame, with character designs by Toridamono.
• Battles now use a new turn-based command system, and are more tense and aggressive than before. They also have a new system involving bonds with other characters.
• Synthesis now utilizes an easier to understand and more responsive format, using a skill-tree system rather than the tile-based systems of current Atelier titles.
• "The concept itself was developed alongside Atelier Lulua. Full-blown development began around July 2018 at about the same time as Atelier Lulua."
• "For the concept, I wanted to depict a coming of age story of boys and girls. So the concept of this game is something like, 'summer memories.'"
• "There are character episode and side story-like elements, but there won’t be any individual endings."
• "The catch copy (Bye-bye, Atelier. I will never forget this adventure.) is a reference to the Atelier in which Ryza and her friends spend their days, not a goodbye to the Atelier series."
• "For players, the feelings of familiarity and relief [in games staying the same] have gradually become a groove that haven't been able to get out of, so this time there is big change at the core of the game."
• "Our goal is for Atelier Ryza to utilize all of our experience thus far, what makes our games interesting, and what we do best, while also challenging the game systems. Since we are evolving and revising various parts, I think it will be a game of considerable change."
• "Since both the story and systems are changing, some players might be dissatisfied, but we're prepared for that. But this is the first step towards a new Atelier, so we want people to experience it."
• "We want to release it before it gets cold out. Development is currently 45 percent complete."

EDIT: Here's some more info.

Edited by WolfThunder on May 28th 2019 at 7:33:49 AM

I still haven't beaten Lydie and Suelle but Ryza is cute. I don't think a simultaneous release is likely though since we seem to be getting a delay of about two months. That said, I'm looking forward to it.

Atelier Ryza introduces three new characters

Atelier Ryza: The Queen of Eternal Darkness and the Secret Hideout release date and preorder bonuses to be revealed June 6th, 2019

Edited by WolfThunder on Jun 5th 2019 at 7:45:06 AM

The Japanese Atelier Ryza Release Date Is September 26, 2019