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If you have played the previous series (Arland) and enjoyed them then this game will be a refreshing change in plot and characters and you won't regret adding this title to your collection. If you weren't thrilled with the previous series and hoped for lots of changes, then this might be a hit or miss for you.
Pros:
-Party and supporting characters are very likeable and interesting. Each one has their own traits and distinctive personality. I especially liked the fact that your party characters play a more active role when it comes to exploring.
-More towns to explore, with each town containing a place for you to practice your alchemy and get some rest.
-More save points.
-Lots of sidequests.
-Improved battle system.
-Better basket and container handling for you to view and gather your items.
-I actually liked the english voice actors.
-Improved goal system.
-Definitely pretty to look at. Each place you explore is very unique.
Cons:
-If you disliked the previous series because of the time limits and constant time tracking of gathering items, traveling, and synthesizing items, then you won't be thrilled with the changes. There is a little bit more freedom (you don't have to gather as many items and synthesis in terms of days needed is faster), but you still have limitations that greatly limit your first gameplay and will most likely continue to limit additional gameplays.
-Its obvious that the creators assumed those who were playing this game would have played the previous titles. There was a noticeable lack of explanation and tutorials. I also found myself constantly checking the help section and reading online even though I had played other titles.
-This last one is just a personal opinion and I am sure lots of people may disagree, which is fine. I have never been a fan of the main female leads for the previous series and wasn't a huge fan of Ayesha for the same reasons. She isn't terrible and I like her costume design, but she still lets all the other characters walk all over her and they treat her like a child. I could see the creators tried to make her seem a bit more mature, but I was looking for a female lead with just a little more of a backbone.
I was going to put the lack of story direction as a Con (even though the very end goal is quite obvious), but you get used to the new goal development system and I liked how it didn't force you in one direction. They might have purposely made it more open because it was the first of the new series.
Overall, its a great new title. While there is still a need for some improvements, I felt it got better and is headed in the right direction. I am looking forward to future titles and would definitely recommend that people support this series by buying this game.
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Ayesha is the start to a new trilogy of Atelier games. If you enjoyed the previous Arland trilogy, you will find many familiar things, as well as many new things.
Gameplay wise, the game is similar to the Arland games. Alchemy is back, of course. So is the usual time limit with time passing for various tasks like alchemy, traveling, fighting and gathering. The game also has an excellent sound track like previous games. Combat is turn based like before, but has a new positioning system that plays a big part.
There are a fair number of differences from the Arland games though. Most obviously, this is a brand new setting, so none of the Arland characters are there. Its an entirely different world after all. Secondly, the alchemy system has been changed up a bit. Furthermore, if you liked the kingdom building aspects of Meruru, those did not make a return in Ayesha.
Ayesha does have some downsides. The most common complaint is the sparse voice acting. All the major scenes and some minor scenes are voiced, but the majority of minor scenes are not. Furthermore, the game is a bit shorter than the previous games, though it has the same replayability as older games with new game plus and going for new endings. Also, a minor annoyance, there is little variety in enemies. There are about 10 different kinds of normal enemies, and maybe 6 or so different boss enemies, and you fight pallete swap versions of them throughout the game.
Overall, if you enjoyed the original trilogy, you should find plenty to love with this one. Its less meaty than Meruru, but it sets a firm foundation as the first game in a new trilogy and if you liked the previous games, you would be doing yourself a disservice not giving it a go. If you have been interested in the series but haven't played the earlier games for whatever reason, this isn't a bad starting point either.
Buy Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk Now
A fantastic, open-ended alchemy adventure with a sweet heroine and a slightly more somber tone than its predecessors. The character models are beautiful, the music is great, and the combat is much improved since the days of Atelier Rorona. The game gives you a tremendous amount of freedom in advancing the story your own way. The voice acting and script are fair-to-good, but everything else about the game is lovely.
Highly recommended to fans of the Arland trilogy and Japanese RPGs in general.
Read Best Reviews of Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk Here
Atelier Ayesha is the fourth installment in alchemist games for the PS3 and the first to be set outside Arland. It follows the story of a young herbalist/apothecary trying to save her little sister who has been "spirited away" by "flowers". The pacing has been increased from previous iterations, accelerating the rate of alchemical discovery and exploration compared to both Totori and Meruru.
PROS:
1. Gameplay-wise, a new positional element has been added that integrates into party-member assists. It adds a new element to the tried and true Atelier formula, but ultimately it only helps to boost battlefield prowess slightly without adding significant depth or differences to core gameplay.
2. Story. The plot is quite enjoyable and I'd rank it above Totori as the best of the 4 Atelier games for the PS3.
3. OST. The sometimes quirky, sometimes epic music returns with appropriate tracks for all situations and sets a good atmosphere.
CONS:
1. Not only is the Japanese VA missing due to a business decision by the new publisher, Tecmo Koei, but the English VA performance is not up to snuff compared to Atelier Meruru. At the very least, Ayesha's VA delivers a somewhat flat and bland performance for the lead character. Disappointing.
2. Graphical style took a step back with Atelier Ayesha. The characters look somewhat disproportionate and their design are slightly out of place. I feel like Meruru had a far superior visual representation.
Overall I think if you're a fan of the previous Arland games getting Atelier Ayesha is a no-brainer. Atelier games offer a more cerebral and time-management oriented style of JRPG with a significant emphasis on crafting compared to more action-oriented traditional fair like Tales of Graces or Final Fantasy XIII. I'd recommend Atlier Ayesha based on the sum of its parts.
Want Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk Discount?
I've been a long and avid fan of the Atelier franchise for a long time now. I got into them with Annie on the DS on it's early release at a convention and was hooked ever since, going back and playing earlier titles and, of course, keeping up with the new releases as well.
I've played Annie, Rorona, Totori, Meruru, Iris (all 3), some of Mana Khemia, and now Ayesha. Of all of them, Ayesha is by far the best.
I'll do this in a more organized list fashion to keep it shorter than it'd end up otherwise;
Overall Pros (in comparison to prior Atelier titles):
No Time Limit: There is a restriction in that you need to finish the game within 3 years, but there's nothing else no longer do you have to worry about turning in this side job in a few days or getting screwed for it. It's much more manageable and never gives you that feeling of being rushed as the past games have.
Graphically this is way more beautiful than the previous games. I loved Mel Kishida doing the designs for the last 3 titles, but this artwork by the new guy doing the designs for this trilogy fits much better with the 3D models and backgrounds than Kishida's did. It looks stunning.
The music is far superior to the previous games (aside Rorona's workshop tune, which I put on in this one in the workshops).
The story this time is actually a real story. Most Atelier games have a "story" but nothing very important or serious, a lightly tacked on point of progression, here though the story is actually very well written and after getting all the endings including the true one, you really see that this story is building up into something amazing. Hopefully KT brings over the sequel. You constantly feel a sense of foreboding and 'the end of the world' and the old ways of alchemy being so incredibly powerful all come up very often throughout the game. The setting, unlike in the past games, feels much darker and somber, but...
the lighthearted upbeat feeling is still here entirely! And, actually, this game is much more "just a girl living her life" than the previous ones wherein you were a princess trying to prove daddy wrong, or a girl forced to run the shop, and so on.
Cities and outside areas are all much more lively and big, no more five foot sized zones.
Gameplay Pros:
Battles have been drastically improved from the other games. They are much smoother, more fluid, and now a placement system has been put in that makes strategy actually relevant.
Synthesis is also handled way more fluidly and user-friendly, yet at the same time while it feels much simpler it's also much more complex, it's just laid out better so that it doesn't HAVE to be. You can synth stuff easily enough, but for those who want to go further the system now has much more depth to it and creating items is very fun and rewarding. You have (if you choose to care about it) entire control over the ingredients, what order you put them into the mix, traits, and so on.
Loading is not a problem anymore, everything is pretty instant.
The cast this time around is also probably the most well written and developed too of the series, with the exception of the Atelier Rorona cast.
The only cons for this game are ones that are a little exaggerated by some fans of the series who refuse(d) to buy this:
The game is dub-only. KT decided to not include the original JP audio on the discs for some reason. However, the dub is very good even by the standards of people who aren't usually open to English audio, so I wouldn't recommend letting this turn you off from it.
The dub is mostly complete, but some smaller less relevant scenes don't have audio because KT didn't want to spend the extra money. It sounds very bad but honestly after playing through three times now and 100%ing it each time, this is pretty much entirely unnoticeable.
Overall I'd definitely, 100%, no doubt, suggest this game to just about anybody. One thing I hear gamers complain about a lot is a lack of originality in gaming and this series is extremely original, with the entire focus being on item synthesis (which no other games aside those made inspired by this mostly just indie Japanese titles have done) and even smaller details like how combat works (using your own self-made weapons, healing items, and explosives to attack the enemy) and so on.
On top of that, these games are just outstanding and extremely fun. If you're someone looking for something original or unique, someone into anime, someone into JRPGs, or someone who is already a fan of this series I'd say for sure to get this game. Especially if you're a fan who is 'on the fence' due to the dub issue. This game is way too good to pass up for any reason.
