Atelier Ayesha Plus: Alchemist of Dusk Review (PS Vita)
I’m really excited to be able to review this because Atelier Ayesha: Alchemist of Dusk marks my first foray into the Atelier series, and so I think quite fondly of the PS3 iteration.
Ayesha isn’t the first Atelier title to receive the Plus treatment, nor the first to be on Vita with the Arland trilogy preceding it, but personally I’ve enjoyed the Dusk series due to its slightly darker overall tone and, well, Linca. Linca is the God damn best.
Ayesha’s adventure begins with her seeing a ghost-like vision of Nio, her sister who is believed to have been ‘spirited away’ 3 years prior, when researcher Keithgriff appears and tells her that there’s a way to bring Nio back to this world. Ayesha then sets off on a journey to improve her alchemy and widen her understanding of the subject, in the hopes that she’ll be able to bring her beloved sister back.
Ayesha is a mostly traditional JRPG with its turn-based battle system and emphasis on exploring and side-quests, but the synthesis system helps it to stand out amongst the other series’; not everybody knows of the Atelier series yet, but with each installment they’re reworking the formula and so one day it may be up there with the JRPG series’ that everyone knows of. There’s a lenient time-limit in Ayesha, but if you aimlessly wander around the map then you can very easily miss out on your chance to reach the end; I was two days out of getting one of the better endings on PS3, so I’m glad I could use that knowledge on my Vita playthrough.
You have your standard commands in battle such as attack, guard and use an item, but there are also follow up attacks your partners can use and they can also take damage for you; this is useful as they’ll take less damage than the person being protected would’ve. A lot of the gameplay comes from the alchemy though, as you’ll have to gather ingredients from areas all over the land, and from monsters – you’ll then have to use these to synthesise items for yourself and items requested from others for side-quests and main story missions. It’s quick and easy to do once you’ve got to grips with how it works, but it does eat up a lot of time so you might not want to frequently experiment.
There’s a wide range of varied characters who’ll join Ayesha on her journey, include long-time friend and ‘one of the guys’ Regina, the ecstatic witch-in-training Wilbell, and the stoic Juris. Some characters from the PS3 version who weren’t playable then (other than via DLC in some countries) are playable now, including Marion and Odelia, leaving you with multiple characters to form your perfect three person party. They all bring a unique flavour to the table and are easily loveable, and you’ll more than likely find yourself frequently switching up your team like I had been. There’s also a message log so you can re-read and listen, to an extent, to previous conversations, which I made good use of as there’s many optional conversations and vital information in them.
Japanese illustrator Hidari creates some of the most wonderful character designs I’ve had the pleasure to see, with the concept art and in-game illustrations being absolutely gorgeous; the outfits in particular are colourful and well-designed – just look at Ayesha’s fairytale-like dress! Environment and enemy design (with some new enemies exclusive to Plus) is also abundant with detail and unique creatures and areas, and some were unfortunately so cute that I felt bad beating them over the head with Ayesha’s staff, or worse, Linca’s massive blade.
The 3D models may be bursting with character, but they’re not the sharpest pixels around; they sometimes fall flat and expressionless, but overall they tend to do the job well – the extra outfits that were included were of the swimsuit variety, but I was pleased to see that they matched their characters and weren’t too gratuitous – although Linca’s bikini seemed a tad too tight. There’s slight slowdown and framedrops in bigger areas, but it doesn’t last long and didn’t ruin my immersion in the game. Whilst most of the visuals are 3D, the opening cutscene is in 2D and is a feast for the eyes, and makes great use of artistic imagery.
Koie Tecmo have made the effort of including both English and Japanese voice-overs, although I went with English as I thoroughly enjoyed it on PS3 and once again did on Vita. The OST was as charming as ever, with soft folk-like tunes that perfectly reflect how there’s a lack of much technology in Ayesha’s world; you won’t be hearing many guitars or rock instruments, with Gust having opted for wind instruments.
It goes without saying that Atelier Ayesha Plus: The Alchemist of Dust is the definitive version of the game with its new content and all DLC included, but it’s still one of the finest Atelier titles available. It’s great for on the go and looks fantastic on Vita, and if you’re looking for a solid JRPG then I fully recommend this, even if the time limit and synthesis system may initially turn you away; they’re worth learning and the time limit system is pretty lenient, and you can carry over plenty of things to your New Game + file if you want to try again. Koie Tecmo and Gust synthesised a beautiful JRPG, and it’s definitely something you want to own on Vita.
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