Atelier Ayesha

[Cyril]

It's due out in Japan on June 26th. Now that we have some screens and information, I figured it deserved a thread.

http://www.siliconera.com/2012/04/01/first-screenshots-give-a-good-look-at-atelier-ayeshas-new-art-style/
http://andriasang.com/con0gd/atelier_ayesha_screens/

I really like the foggy, darker look the field environments have taken.

[Farron]

Good lord, amazing how a small developer goes from 2D sprites to the functional 3D of Rorona improving on each subsequent game and now it has come to this! The game looks really good, I certainly love what I'm seeing.

Like you said, I appreciate the fog and somewhat darker muddier tone, if anything just to make a contrast with the colorful Arland saga.
Now, about the release date, I've heard Meruru is coming to the west soon, so maybe they plan to make the gap between the releases a little shorter, which is good but if there's one thing I wouldn't like to see is another Atelier game getting a release date here on October/November. It's like unless you're expecting the game chances are you won't even hear about it.

This week I was playing Totori while connected to the PSN and a random guy on my friend's list came to ask me what is Totori about, if maybe he would like it. Turns out he's a fan of RPGs with exploration and synthesis but he haven't heard about, just was surprised to see I was playing a game with a different name.

Anyway, let's hope this one is not too far away!

[Dice]

I kinda realized I hate the pressure of maintaining time on the calendar to really bite into this game.  It can take days to pick fucking mushrooms off the road, and one play through can have a series of wasted events.  I kinda miss the Iris series for this.  I'll follow this game, see what it's like, but I'm probably gonna pass in the end.

[ZeronHitaro]

I kinda realized I hate the pressure of maintaining time on the calendar to really bite into this game.  It can take days to pick fucking mushrooms off the road, and one play through can have a series of wasted events.  I kinda miss the Iris series for this.  I'll follow this game, see what it's like, but I'm probably gonna pass in the end.

Ditto; it's too much 'Harvest Moon' in a bad way for my taste. You almost 'have' to have a guide if you care about getting any specific ending outside of blind freaking luck since there's never any indicator when/where events happen. Again it's a mindboggling downgrade from the Mana Khemia series. XP At least you always knew when there was an event, even if not always where (but the smaller size of the home base helped with that).

[Cyril]

Well to each their own. I felt the Iris series was best at 1, but went downhill from there because it had less focus on Alchemy and NPC character interaction, which is what makes the rest of the games so good.

Mana Khemia is just a different beast entirely.  They had a stroke of brilliance with the battle system.  They should make a sub series or an entirely new series with a similar battle system, because, admittedly, it's a huge departure from everything Atelier is about but is also too good to just throw away.  I was hoping this was what they would do with Ar tonelico, but. . .

That said, for the graphics, I think they need to start adding more physics to the clothes. Is that a big request? Perhaps.  They look beautiful in stills now, I think if they fine tuned the detail and the movement it would help considerably in motion.

[Logick]

Man I want more Mana Khemia, but this game looks good also!

[Dice]

http://atelier-ps3.jp/ayesha/
Best looking official website ever!!!

[Cyril]

That is nice.  Very elegant.

[Cyril]

Good news for those of you who dislike the Atelier time limits.

More details about Atelier Ayesha: Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk are coming out and the game won’t have a time limit like other Atelier titles.

http://www.siliconera.com/2012/04/02/atelier-ayesha-doesnt-put-you-on-the-clock-when-it-comes-to-finding-your-sister/

On another note, even the name seems to imply this game is somewhat darker in theme, even if the more subdued color palette didn't tip you off on that.

[Annubis]

http://atelier-ps3.jp/ayesha/
Best looking official website ever!!!

How I felt 10 seconds after opening the Flash website:

More details about Atelier Ayesha: Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk are coming out and the game won’t have a time limit like other Atelier titles.

This interests me very much.

[ZeronHitaro]

Liking the general aesthetic so far. The only major complaint I can ferret out is the costumes of the alchemists seem to indicate they're going to be pretty useless in combat...again. I know I keep harping on the MK comparison but damn I miss Jess. Sure she was ye-olden 'pink hair sick girl' but at least she was an alchemist who could fight without bombs and meat shields, despite all that. XP If they want to make another Ar Tonelico game just make one; stop forcing that series' mechanic into Atelier.

[Dice]

So long as alchemists keep using alchemy... they're sorta good.  Yeah, I see your beef with it. =/

[Kevadu]

Uh...the alchemists are extremely useful in combat.  I think they're some of the most powerful characters in battle.  Yeah they're useful because of their alchemy toys, but so what?  That's like criticizing a mage for only being useful for magic...

If they want to make another Ar Tonelico game just make one; stop forcing that series' mechanic into Atelier.

I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about there...

[Dice]

If they want to make another Ar Tonelico game just make one; stop forcing that series' mechanic into Atelier.

I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about there...

I think in the sense it's about protecting weak characters so they can do their "strong" thang.

[Kevadu]

If they want to make another Ar Tonelico game just make one; stop forcing that series' mechanic into Atelier.

I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about there...

I think in the sense it's about protecting weak characters so they can do their "strong" thang.

Eh?  But that's been part of RPGs since Dungeons and Dragons.  It's one of the most basic types of party dynamics.