AtelierShallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea DX by developerGustand publisher KoeiTecmo America—NintendoSwitch review written by Natashawith a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Alright, everyone! This is the last game in the trilogy. Whatcha'gunna throw at me that could possibly make this third entry betterthen the other two?
{Sees NO Calendar system}
Ahh… That could work.
Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea was released back in 2014for the PS3. Now with the Nintendo Switch released this year, it isthe third part to the Dusk trilogy and the 16th instalment of theAtelier series. This is also the first time I have come across anAtelier game with NO time management to push you along. I'm raring tosee how things turn out!
TheStory
Atelier Shallie takes place 10 years since the start of Ayesha and 6years since Escha & Logy. Once again another part of the land hasdried up. With little to no water left in her village, ShallisteraArgo travels with her childhood friend, to another city, in hopes tofind a way to replenish the town water with the only talent she has,Alchemy.
Across the ocean another young alchemist-in-training tries to improveher skills with daily routines. Unfortunately her routine isinterrupted when an unknown vessel crashes into the city port.Turning her skill into a necessity. Together with her friends,Shallotte Elminus helps the foreign Shallistera with their problems.Two Shallie's with one goal in mind to help each other, will theyprevail?
WorldMap And Travelling
I am happy to announce that you can use up as much time as you wantto go to and from different places. Hurray, for no more travellingcosting you days off of your calendar. A huge improvement in myopinion.
I've noticed that the game follows almost the same concept ofbranching out to new places as Ayesha did. When you arrive at alocation you'll be able to see all the ingredients and monsters inthe vicinity, which is helpful when looking for certain materials andenemies. You'll be able to progress into a new area if you gather anddefeat all of the monsters on site. Be warned though, that if youleave the area before completing it all the items and monsters willre-spawn.
The map also helps you in finding your 'Request' marks. Say you takeon a monster slaying job? Once you leave the city a 'Request' iconwill flash on top of the area where you can slay the enemies.Helpful, if you aren't good at remembering specific locations.
You might notice some dungeons or fields light up with a strangecolour underneath them. This indicates different bonuses for alimited amount of time if you visit those areas. These can includehigher quality ingredients, stronger enemies, bigger loot drops orbetter relics to discover. Best grab them before they swap locations.
RequestMissions
Can't buy new recipe books or materials without cold hard cash. Andwhat's the best way you could earn it you may ask? Well it's helpingout the people in town, of course. Other than your workshop, you willalways have to report to the Union Headquarters in town if you wishto pick up any type of monster slaying, gathering, or synthesizingquest.
These 'Requests' are divided into different categories and alsodisplay the reward for each one you choose to complete. The best partabout all of these requests is that you have all the time in theworld to finish them. I find the fastest way to earn money in thisgame is to take on any monster hunting job and, if you're lucky,you'll notice that you may be able to hand in some jobs that areready to report into. Kaching! Kaching!
Gatheringand Field Events
Gather as much as your little heart wants, because you have all thetime in the world to do so. Material continues to be found eitherthrough buying it or the majority is through harvesting them on theworld map. Any time you wander into an area you'll notice thesesparkly spots shining on the ground. These are your gathering pointsand are always random. Anytime you inspect these points you willalways pick up 1 new item, but there are other ways to collect thingson the field.
Like in Escha & Logy, Field Events have returned. These eventswill only trigger when you fill up the small gauge by gathering orfighting enemies, which is shown under your character's sprite, inthe top left corner of the screen. Once the gauge is full a smallerlist will appear just underneath. It is always random, but theseevents allow you to gather materials instantly, raise the rarity ofan item, find hidden relics, bring in strong monsters or change theenvironment. It was a neat little trinket in Escha & Logy and isstill nifty in Shallie.
Synthesizing
Another recipe, another cauldron. The Atelier series has always beenfaithful with its Alchemy. And with another title comes new and oldtricks. Surprisingly Shallie combines the gimmicks of Ayesha andEscha/Logy and blends both synthesizing techniques together.
Let's dive into the crafting of Uni, a classic Atelier item. You'llnotice that all your current recipes will showcase in one section,but if you find that you need a specific item for either combat orhealing you can switch between the other categories to simplify yoursearch. As you slide over the item in question you'll be given a nicedisplay of the required materials, level of the item and Effects itmay produce. Hop on over to the material screen and you'll be giventhe opportunity to choose which Metal, Gunpowder and Supplement you'dlike to use.
Now comes the exciting part of mixing everything together. The top ofthe screen will display your ingredients while you play around belowwith the possible elemental skills you can set into each material.You'll have your choice of Fire, Water, Earth or Wind based skills.You don't necessarily have to match up any of the same symbolelements, but there are those that are specific to that elementalcard so make sure to pay close attention. These skills are NOTrequired to make any of the items, but will increase the items valueand effectiveness if you equip them. Be careful though, if Shallieseems to think your skills aren't a good match she'll give you awarning, otherwise you'll fail the synthesis.
Once you're pleased with everything go ahead and combine everythingtogether. Hurray! We've made a functional Uni. Now, before you throwthat Uni into your Container you'll be given the chance to addproperties to your new item. These are handy little bonuses you getat the end of each synthesis. No more then 3, per item.
Lastly, with each item you create you'll be rewarded with someExperience Points (EXP) that'll go towards your Alchemy Level. Themore levels you gain the more skills you may unlock. So don't forgetto mix, mix, mix!
Combat
Better throw yourself together a nice party, because Shallie givesyou a handful of useful party members to use in battle. For startersyou'll encounter the enemies on the field. You'll either have theoption to run up and engage a preemptive strike by swinging at themonster or wait for it to attack you first. Once you've triggered thefight you'll be thrown into battle.
On screen you'll see your turn-based meter, character stats,standby's and your action wheel of options. Like with most Ateliergames before this one, Shallie, along with the other Alchemist, arethe only ones to uses battle or healing items from the basket. If youtend to make really strong items having a party with 3 or moreAlchemists is a death sentence to most creatures. Other options yourparty can choose from are Attack, Defend, Skills, Swap and Run.
You can only have a total of three characters at a time on the battlefield, but you're given an additional 3 on standby. These standbycharacters can jump in at anytime you might need a body shield or anextra attack. If you notice one of your characters looking a littletired from fighting, Swap them out with a fully healed character.This is quite handy since anytime a character is on standby theirdepleted Magic Points (MP) will slowly replenish.
At the top of the screen you'll notice a small gauge, that will growwith each attack you unleash. If you fill this gauge up you'll enterinto a Burst Mode. This mode doubles everyone's attack power alongwith a few fancy attack combos you can preform. If all your standbymembers are ready to go you'll be able to unleash a flurry of attacksand for those who are a higher level will be granted the use ofUltimate Finishers, that deal a heavy amount of damage. So don't beshy, fight and earn that EXP. The higher the level the stronger theskills.
LifeTasks
The Menu system in this game actually follows the same as Escha &Logy game, with the exception of Life Tasks. In Shallie your mainobjective is to follow the story-line, however there is a moment ofdiscovery/exploration that the game will make you complete before youcan progress onto the next chapter. During this time you mustcomplete a set of 'Life Tasks', that you can access at anytime duringyour play through. These tasks are divided into 5 categories. Main,Mind, Body, Person and Skill.
Skill are based on what you synthesize, while Person are personaltasks that Shallie must accomplish for her own self. Body focuses onwhat types of monsters you fight and Mind are life's little itcheslike how many chest you open or how many barrels were broken. Main ispretty straight forward with having you do basically all of the aboveand then some. Clearing map areas, finishing a number of request,etc.
For each tasks you finish Shallie will receive Progression Points.Which you can keep track of on the top left of the screen as watchyour protags head fill with red fruit punch. Once you earn enough PPyou'll be able to move onto the next chapter at your leisurely.
Musicand Visuals
Surprisingly I found that Shallie seems to have downgraded in itsvisual department. What I mean by that is that the game environmentscome off as dull. Now, I understand that the land is dying and issupposed to look miserable. However, Escha & Logy had the samething going for it, but it still found a way to bring in a bit morecolour to its surroundings.
The character design is splendid, with Shallotte sporting one of myfavourite looks in the series. But not just her, many othercharacters seem to shine with bright colour schemes. In fact, theystand out so much in the grey scale environment that it kinda seemsout of place. WillBell makes a fantastic return and graces us withher witch presence, along side with past protagonist Ayesha, Escha &Logy. Nothing makes me happier then a party full of alchemist.
The music continues to do a good job in pulling you into the rightmoments of emotion. Some of my favourite pieces are actually thebattle music in this game. Coming off with a more rock n' roll vibethat reminds me of the good old Mana Khemia soundtrack.
Prosand Cons
Like with Escha & Logy I love having a large party to swap andswitch around, giving me tons of combinations to play with. As wellas dual protagonists. Having the option to play through the gameagain through another perspective makes New Game+ far more exciting.
The biggest bonus was not having a time limit on playing through thestory. I felt I was able to take more time to enjoy and shape mycharacters into stronger individuals.
If I have to say anything negative about the game itself it wouldhave to be its bland colour scheme and sometimes I felt a little heldback with the 'Free Time' progression. I found that some of thoseLife Tasks tend to get extremely difficult or prolonged. Meaning Ihad to do a lot of running around before I could return to the mainstory.
TheDeluxe Experience
As this is an updated version of the game since its PS3 release,there are some added upgrades to this experience. Everything isbrought up to PS4 high definition graphics, making everything popwith colour. You are given the “Run” option to allow yourcharacter to move faster on the map. Along with chat speed and battlespeed increases. And finally we are gifted with a large amount of newDLC to explore until our hearts content.
To conclude, Atelier Shallie: Alchemist of the Dusk Sea was a nicecombination of both Ayesha and Escha/Logy. Having larger parties,dual main characters and infinite amount of time to play was a nicechange to the series. The story-line and visuals were a littletasteless compare to Escha and Logy, but overall the game wasfantastic. I'm giving this game a 8 out of 10.
Score: 8 / 10
