Tecmo Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky (PS3)

If Amazon allowed it, I would have given this game four stars and a half as I prefer Ayesha and Shallie to this one, but this is still a very solid entry into this series. This game keeps the formula of alchemy and material gathering and turn-based battle system but also for the first time on ps3, Gust adds the option of playing the game from the perspective of one of the two main characters, which happened later in Shallie and which increases the replayability factor of this game. Interestingly, Logy is the first male protagonist in the Atelier series on ps3.Concerning the alchemy system, whose mechanism normally changes in every installment, I normally don't bother reading lengthy tutorials and I try to figure it out on my own. For some reason, this has been the easiest and the most satisfying one do figure out and to practice for me.The battle system was also satisfying to me particularly when crafting super weapons and bombs to challenge and defeat the mega bosses in this game. I especially like unleashing the special attacks which have their slightly long beautiful and sometimes funny animcations; however, they are a bit tricky to pull off against weaker fores as they require filling up the special gauge.Music-wise, this is Gust's forte and strong point and they normally give the option of choosing your background music and battle music whether from this title or from some previous games.I found most characters interesting and likeable and the story, which is not normally the strong point in these games, was more interesting than I expected at least compared to previous ones except Ayesha story, which I like the most.Finally, if you like traditional Jrpg, this game is recommended; be aware that there is a digital-only plus version for vita, with worse graphics but with dlc and minor addition. But personally, I would physical copies to digital ones and the ps3 version has nicer graphics.

Dull but well executed.

Okay, so this is my first encounter with the Atelier series (which at this point has 15 games or something?) and I was completely unsure of whether I'd like it or hate it. Recently I've been trying out JRPGs which is a genre I'd previously been avoiding, but after titles like Fire Emblem and Bravely Default I've fallen in love with the genre. Anyway, on to the game.First of all, this game has a LOT of stuff for you to learn; I've been playing it for about 5 hours now and the tutorials are still coming. If it's your first time with the series, always select yes when the game asks if you want to hear a tutorial so you won't be completely lost. To be honest I still have no idea what any of the various stats do to an item (like seriously, what is an Earth point worth? I can use it to increase the "effect" of my item, but does spending it have any repercussions?) so it's probably worth looking at guides online or reading the game manual for a total understanding.The story from what I've been able to pick up is this: You are an alchemist working for a government agency in a small village with a partner. If you choose the male protagonist to play as, you're basically a city boy who's been transferred to the countryside and has to cope with using older methods for alchemy. It's your job to solve all the various problems that come up. At this point in the game I've yet to encounter any of kind of antagonist or bad person in general which is apparently something of a common trend for the series. Whether or not I find it to be a problem, I'd say the story hardly demands a villain so it's fine.The games central theme, if it can be called that, is alchemy/crafting. Before taking missions, you synthesise and create potions, bombs, food etc. and forge/imbue weapons. There's a lot of micro-management going on which at a lot of points seems arbitrary at best, but I like it since it has the potential to have you experimenting with various combinations and upgrades for hours. On saying that, you can't really mess around too much, since the game also makes a big deal of time management and alchemy takes a lot of time. There's also the combat, which is turn-based and pretty fun, but seems a little unbalanced since whenever I'm given the option to fight a special kind of enemy, I select the easiest one and still get my butt handed to me despite the fact that normal encounters are relatively unchallenging.The assignments in the game give you a time limit; 120 days to tackle the main assignment and any other optional assignments you have time for. Most actions in the game use up time; picking up items, traveling to new areas and alchemy all use up multiple days, so you have to plan well. Actually, it's not of the utmost importance if you take your time since passing the main assignment is all you need to do to advance in the game and that's easy. The main assignment is often easy to complete quickly and on the first assignment I'd completed the main goal in 20 of the 120 days. This leaves the remaining 100 days as "free time", where you can tackle all the various subquests and interact with the characters.You'd think that a game that relies so heavily on its crafting system, which is a minigame at best in most games, and time management wouldn't be very fun at all, and yet the crafting is so diverse and varied that the mere act of experimentation has such a large appeal and the time management is more than lenient, affording such large amounts of time for the simplest of tasks, and yet still preventing you from just breaking the game by gathering infinite amounts of ingredients.With everything considered, it's kept my attention much longer than any western releases as of late, games which I would usually have afforded 5 stars, so it hardly seems fair to give this any less than that. It's a pretty great experience that really shines if you have the patience to withstand the slow, tutorial-ridden first 1 or 2 hours.

I love me some Atelier! Love the games and their combat and synthesis system, love the design and loveable characters, love it all!This one is special, Gust used for the first time Tecmo Koei's Dinasty Warriors engine to make this game and you can tell that the character animations and lighting in this game is in a new level. The beautiful places you visit look more alive.Character designs is as always supperb and players who have had the pleasure of having played Atelier Ayesha will recognize some returning characters.The soundtrack is mindblowingly good and I was pleasently surprised by some Anime custscenes that look lovely and make me eager for the upcoming Anime series for this same title.A most enjoyable experience that you wont regret playing and replaying.

Another beautifully unique JRPG from Gust (the developer that brought you Atelier Iris, Ar Tonelico 1-3 and Mana Khemia). Once again they have created a unique steampunk-esque world, following on from the previous entry in the series, Atelier Ayesha.First of all if you haven't already - GO buy Atelier Ayesha, because it is possibly one of my favourite Atelier games, ever. For the 'Dusk' games, they really simplified the alchemy and made it a lot more accessible to newcomers, which I liked. The general tone and atmosphere in the games is also a lot darker - more dark/pastel colours and neutral landcapes, compared to the cutesy Atelier Rorona and Meruru.Oh and of course, you can play as a guy this time around, which is a FIRST in the Atelier series. Apparently this increased sales in Western regions, which sort of makes sense. If you're a fan of RPGs/anime/manga, or just want a game that will get you seriously addicted and immersed in the world, get this game! (or Atelier Ayesha - great starting point.)