Koei Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea - PlayStation 3

I had played Atelier Shallie prior to purchasing. The reason I purchased is because Atelier Shallie is my current favorite Atelier game. I love the characters, story, and music. The gameplay is regular turn based, not heavily focused on strategy or the tactical type so it's a very easy game to pick up and play. Learning how to battle and synthesize items isn't challenging to learn though synthesizing is a little more complicated. I like that the enemies can be seen on screen and aren't random so you can easily find the monsters you need to fight for ingredients.

This game is a lot of pure fun!! A total departure from the timed themes of a few of the previous Atelier series and frankly that was one reason that I found it so enjoyable. If you're a fan you'll love it. If you've never played any Atelier games before, you'll love it. Well worth playing.

英語版なので、主にそれに特化したレビューをします。日本のPS３で普通に使用できます。このシャリーのアトリエに限らず、アトリエシリーズは、全体として会話イベントが豊富なのと会話はほぼフルボイスなのが特徴だと思います。英語版なので、ゲーム中はすべて英語表記になっていますが、会話は日本語で話すように設定できます。なので、少し難しい英語でも、日本語同時通訳のようなリアルタイムで意味がわかり、勉強にもなります。なお、イベント時に、英語で話すようにする設定も当然できますが、日本語と違いフルボイスではなく、主なイベントのみ英語ボイスが流れます。

Although I don't think much about long running ongoing game series, there are a few that continuously put out consistent quality products. The fee that come to mind are the "Tales of..." series, "Persona" series, and the "Atelier" series. There are others, of course, but these three are the best examples of different types of JRPG's. Tales of... features couch multiplayer in most titles, and leans towards classic turn based battle systems and item management. Persona is linear storytelling done right, again with turn based RPG gameplay but the story being the primary focus over treasure hunting or item creation.Atelier series games are less hectic. You aren't faced with an end of the world plot from the offset, instead, most times, you start off as a young girl about to begin studying alchemy and learn about their future hopes and dreams. Item creation is the main focus with battles being secondary to loot gathering, item creation, and the overall story. There is a lot of talking! So much of the talking is important to the overall game that if you don't find what is being talked about interesting, then you probably won't enjoy the game. What I have said so far applies to all Atelier series games, the entire series (so far) is somewhat laid back without a sense of urgency or demand to play longer than you have the time or effort for at the moment. Atelier series games always contain a well written story that is more innocent than other RPGs. You aren't going to be playing dating games or seeing catfights. Also, if you're looking for fan service, the best you're going to get is the very rare accidental bad camera angles.One last point, Atelier games are part of a number of overall trillogies. Usually, three games make up one series and then they move on to another trilogy. The main character(s) change between each game, sometimes with the main character of one game becoming a support character or an NPC in the following game. Although it is preferable to play through an entire series in order, it is not necessary. Nearly every Atelier game stands on its own as a complete contained adventure, the bonus of playing an entire trilogy is seeing your past characters make a dramatic return in the following game. I should say a few words about this game in particular. Atelier Shallie is part of the three game "Dusk" series. To say anymore plotwise would fall into spoiler territory. The gameplay is improved slightly over earlier Atelier games and takes advantage of the PS3 graphics capabilities. Earlier games, like Rorona, looked like enhanced PS2 games, Shallie is smooth in both gameplay and graphics. One day, we may see remastered PS4 (or PS5) versions of the Atelier games, the entire Dusk series would be an easy conversion, needing only a 4K image upgrade as the controls and gameplay are close to perfect.Although Shallie is not the most compelling chapter of the Dusk series, it is recommended that the entire trillogy be played through. I am not saying that Shallie is inferior to the rest of Dusk, rather it is one of the rare Atelier games that needs to be experienced with the other two games. In a time when most PS3 games have hit rock bottom prices, the Atelier games still hold their value among collectors and JRPG fans alike. That alone speaks volumes about how great they truly are. On a personal note, I am taking advantage of the low PS3 prices to rebuild my collection before the flippers make it financially impossible (or at least financially irresponsible!). I traded off too many great games to GameStop in the past, and I can only suggest that you go out and get as many of the games you missed out on or enjoyed and sold off while the prices are still low. The Atelier games were never easy to find before, and are rarely, if ever, seen in the shrinking GameStop PS3 section. They may never become incredibly valuble, but they will be a proud part of your collection once you have played through them. Score: 9.5/10.

Excellent!