I am a sucker for Atelier games. They are my ultimate favourite game series. The first Atelier game I ever played was Atelier Rorona. I've played every game since that one. M introduced me to the Atelier games, one of the many games he's recommended. However, I haven't played any of the ones that came out before it. So, when I heard they were remaking an older one (one I haven't played) I was quite excited!
Going into this I knew the basic premise of what to expect. Alchemy, gathering, combat. These things are always present in the Atelier games, so it was easy to expect them. However, I knew nothing of the story for this one, or the mechanics of the game. Given this is a remake of an older game, I wasn't anticipating that things would be as complicated as the newer ones.
Upon starting the game, I hoped to put in a good couple of hours before having to stop playing. This wasn't the case though. Other life stuff interfered and I only got to play for around an hour, maybe a bit longer. I will be going back to this game, once M can be present longer as he enjoys watching me play these 🤭.
The story for this game seemed a bit similar to Rorona. A struggling student alchemist, made to run their own Atelier, to help them pass their studies. One of the first things it told me was that once I left the Atelier, and then came back, a day would end. This meant I couldn't freely come and go without time passing. I had to be careful I got everything done that I wanted doing, before heading back. This is manageable though.
Before even leaving the Atelier, I had one thing to check. Something I check for in every Atelier game.
If the character reacts to barrels! I first discovered this in Rorona. When I interacted with a barrel outside her Atelier she proceeded to say "Barrel Barrel" In a cute voice. Not every game has the characters do this, but it was a pleasant surprise that this game also did it!
Once that had been checked and uncovered, I started to explore the world outside the Atelier. The main town was easy enough to navigate, with it denying you going into some points during the tutorial. There is the main plaza, and various paths leading away from the plaza. Meaning you can get to everywhere in town from the plaza. As with most Atelier games, there is a menu for the town so you can quick travel to various places. I visited every place it allowed me, did the tutorials, and moved on. I did buy some reference books, which are used to learn new alchemy recipes.
Before I travelled outside of town, I needed at least one other party member. Thankfully, as part of the tutorial a friend of the main character joins the party. Once I had that out of the way, I decided to see what the world map was like. To start with there is only one area available to visit. So I headed there. Travelling on the world map does take time, varying between a day to a few days, all depending on how far it is from the main area.
Upon entering the first area I was thrown into combat. Cue the tutorial! The first enemies I encountered were wolfs. Which are among the usual starting foes. Easy enough to deal with, and good for tutorial purposes. Combat is turn-based, with each character having a special ability. Sadly, it seems the characters only have one special ability. Whereas in other Atelier games there tend to be a couple of specials. Perhaps more will unlock, but at the time of playing, it seemed unlikely. As normal the main character can use items they have crafted. Things such as bombs, weapons, healing items, and items that give stat boosts (or stat decreases for enemies). There is also an option to auto-battle, which makes grinding the low-level enemies easy, or when you just want to do things quicker.
Then came the gathering. A simple aspect of the game, however, there was one thing I disliked about it. A day passes each time you gather. This is different from the other Atelier games I've played. Most of the time, time does pass but not a full day. Meaning you can gather a lot in one day, usually a full basket.
Gathering is fairly simple. There is an indicator pointing out where you can gather from, and if it is required for a quest it has a scroll-type symbol above it. The gathering areas are manageable and somewhat on the small side, at least compared to the latest Atelier games. Enemies wander around the area, to either fight or avoid, defeating them gives exp and gatherables. Gathering did have one aspect I don't remember seeing in other Atelier games. Auto-gathering. This mechanic auto-finds gatherables, however, what it picks up is random. So if you're looking for something specific, it is best to find it yourself. Auto-gathering also doesn't avoid enemies, so it is likely you will end up in a fight (or multiple) while auto-gathering. Combat is needed to level up or get certain items, so this isn't a problem. Unless you're trying to actively avoid enemies.
I'm not a massive fan of auto-systems on console games. It reminds me of mobile games. I also feel like it takes something away from it, as I like gathering and wandering around. I do see how it will be helpful in the later game when I'm just grinding for ingredients or exp. For now, I think I will try to avoid using the auto systems. Unless I'm feeling lazy 😂.
And I think that means I've covered everything I've experienced so far. As I said, I will be going back to this game, and hopefully completing it. I do try to complete every Atelier game I play. In my first Grotto's Gaming post, I posed a question to you all, however, I didn't get enough feedback. So, I'm going to ask again 😝. Would you like to see me stream games? (Whether that be on my discord, or on Twitch). Vote via the poll below!
Would you like to see me stream games? (Whether that be on my discord, or on twitch).
0%Yeah
0%Nah
All screenshots were taken by myself. All rights belong to Koei Tecmo. PS4/PS5 Game available here: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/games/atelier-marie-remake
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