Atelier Marie

At this point it was in due time for me to finally go back and start at the beginning of the Atelier series since it simply feels wrong and almost dishonest, despite having fallen in love with it, to merely have played some of the newest entries while barely having a full grasp of its history and the way things developed towards the point of the newer titles. Thus it felt like a good choice to spend a while with this game in an attempt to get more intimate with the whole series.

One of the first things to mention, I really dug the tone and vibe of it since I feel like it makes for such a uniquely comfy experience. Something like the time limit could potentially lead it to the game feeling more stressfull than that, but opposite to this, I believe like it works really well together with its systems, ultimately causing for a rather relaxing time in a sincerely positive way. Perhaps on top of this largely given credit is the quirky, relaxing atmosphere that doesn't kick your stress adrenaline negatively. If that makes sense to somewhat describe it.

A gameplay layer like the combat may be quite basic but since it's by no means the focus anyways, it works well enough in tandem with the other parts and doesn't take away from other highlights. If anything I feel like it could largely even work pretty well without combat at all. Still in its form a neat additional layer of depth. Alchemy is rather simple for the majority too yet does well what it sets out to do. Not too much to complain about there and I wouldn't say there are any major pitfalls that would warrant crazy criticism, although if there were one I think it'd be neat if there were a few more things to do in town for variety. Not too much of a complaint though.

Coupled with the different endings and variety that can be reached there's all the more some replay value and does convey the feeling of a rather comforting adventure confidently in knowing what it wants to be. 

Besides as for the setting of this title, I adore the way they portrayed this medieval German style they went for with the world. The naming scheme and everything together, it somewhat felt a bit at home as someone whose native language is German. Names of the characters on the other hand can sound quite silly as a result given how they can just be random ass German words like "Donnerstag" (=Thursday) or "Kugel" (=Ball), but I think it actually adds to the charm of it all and I certainly wouldn't want to have the series any other way. After all what would be the point of it if a substantial part of the script with its terminology and wording wouldn't basically just be in German (lol).

 

In later version added mini-games were a surprise as well which I wouldn't have expected, and while I am a bit mixed on a couple of them, on the whole I believe they make for a neat enough addition as a break between the usual gameplay. Even with some more annoying ones, the majority are fun enough to play. 

Yep, this was a sweet time and I can totally see what they were going for with this title. Having a game like this that may could be described as a blend of an adventure game with RPG elements and a heavy focus on alchemy makes for a neat mix that not only works pretty well but is also quite a bit of fun. Both in the speedrunning possibilities and crossing through a relaxing time.

Ghonf