Atelier Ayesha

[Dice]

I'm glad I bought the artbook then.  At least that's something.  I've heard good things about the OST as well. 

I can't believe it's coming out so soon either.  Yay?

[Cyril]

I have to admit, a lack of website entirely is bad, even for niche publisher standards.  I mean, Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsegumi was released last week, and how many of you knew about that?  But at least Aksys has a website and sends out promotional materials for it.

[Klyde Chroma]

golly i hate when new games come out I really want to play and while I already have enough gaming on my plate to "feed" me for quite awhile... I'm going to pick this up now since I had it pre-ordered and paid off but I really torn about starting it post Ni No Kuni (I should be done this week)....

I really want to start either Tales of Vesperia, Magna Carta 2 or Lost Odyssey.... and aside from those I also want to finish up Agarest War 2 and Wild Arms altar code F..... decisions... decisions....

This happens every year to me with the atelier games... they always come out at the worst times for me....

Here is the official trailer BTW.... Lovely little tune they have playing for it too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2qoD9t9GA_k

So is anyone else grabbing this gem today?

[Kevadu]

It's kind of ridiculous that they didn't release a single trailer until the game's release day (though I do love that song...).  And from what I've heard they didn't send out advance copies of the game to any reviewers, so don't expect reviews for a while.  True niche JRPGs often get low priority, but in this case it wasn't even possible for anyone to have a review ready.  Tecmo Koei is really not trying very hard to market this game...

But I'm still too upset over the lack of dual audio to buy it, anyway.  Let me know how it is.

[Starmongoose]

Yep, no review copies for us.

On the other hand I am happy with a release date in the EU that is only 3 days apart rather than 3 months.

[Embryon]

I got the game today and I'll have a review of it up... eventually. I really like it so far, though! It's quaint and a little less bubblegum-y. A refreshing change from the Arland series (which I also loved).

[Dice]

Can you turn voices 'off'? 
I don't have too much a problem with the voice-casts, but it sounds like they didn't really...rehearse... or everyone just seems to say their lines slowly.

[Annubis]

Can you turn voices 'off'? 
I don't have too much a problem with the voice-casts, but it sounds like they didn't really...rehearse... or everyone just seems to say their lines slowly.

Do you have a Youtube example of that? That sounds pretty bad =/

[Dice]

Can you turn voices 'off'? 
I don't have too much a problem with the voice-casts, but it sounds like they didn't really...rehearse... or everyone just seems to say their lines slowly.

Do you have a Youtube example of that? That sounds pretty bad =/

One scene i saw was between Ayesha and the Swiss-looking cow herder.  It wasn't *that* bad, but just...bland and a slow-moving scene.  I'd rather just turn voices off by that point and just scroll through on my own.

Ah well.  I downloaded the Japanese Guidebook off the PSN network.  I accidently bought a ton of JPN points a while back, I bought it for it's pretty snazzy custom theme for the game.
http://news.dengeki.com/elem/000/000/507/507004/ (scroll down)

[Cyril]

My copy just arrived and I've been playing it a bit.

Some very basic first impressions:
The atmosphere is beautiful.  I don't usually comment on atmosphere in Atelier games, but it's really noteworthy here.
I'm not sure how the lore will play out (the Arland series simply gave you "machines" and told you to live with it, while some of the older games were more developed), but it seems on the "more developed" side right from the start, giving you a background on the town you're in and the "land" of Dusk.
From a graphical perspective, it's a mixed bag.  Obviously the models are beautiful and well detailed, and the animations are smooth, but the backgrounds still need some work.  They're better looking than Rorona's, but they still feel low budget.
As stated above, it's not super sweet and sugary and takes a tone more similar to the older games.  This is very refreshing.
I think Ayesha as a main character has the best English voice of the female main characters, but really now.  She's 17. Does every 17 year-old girl you know have a high pitched voice like someone 5 years her junior? Actually, even my 12 year-old cousin has a deeper voice than she does (but she also has a deeper voice than I do, so I suppose that's not saying much).
I don't think I need to mention the music beyond "it's good."  It's GUST.

[Royal]

I can't wait for EU release. Probably it will take at least next full week. Time to finish my Agarest before then.

[Royal]

too bad I cannot buy Totori EU. e-shops wrote me that even distributor does not have it.

[Dice]

Can you turn voices 'off'? 
I don't have too much a problem with the voice-casts, but it sounds like they didn't really...rehearse... or everyone just seems to say their lines slowly.

Do you have a Youtube example of that? That sounds pretty bad =/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=5nGI4tFnT9k#t=27s

[Kevadu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=5nGI4tFnT9k#t=27s

Ugh, that's awful.  How can people defend the dubs in these games?

[Dice]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=5nGI4tFnT9k#t=27s

Ugh, that's awful.  How can people defend the dubs in these games?

What's funny is that the talent is there, but it just sounds unrehearsed[?] and the script is completely bland.  Damned shame