RurouniZel
Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
I was inspired to start this thread because I want to at least make some effort to clear up some misunderstandings many on GAF might have about people like me who have recently discovered and become quite fond of the Arland trilogy Atelier games from GUST Co., as happened last night chatting with some Gaffers on IRC who stated that the only reason anyone would ever play Atelier games is because theyre pedophiles. When I explained that I loved the Atelier series for its compelling gameplay, those statements were completely brushed aside as utter nonsense. To be honest, I was EXTREMELY offended by the sentiment, however IRC is a much better format for one-liner putdowns than it is for detailed explanations, and I was unable to put together a proper defense for my new favorite series of games. Sadly I am also aware that this is a very much a well-shared sentiment on GAF, and most people will leave this thread with their opinions unchanged. But despite this, I feel the need to create this thread so that I can explain the reasons for loving this series now, and also to reference for future discussion. I will preface that while I love the games, theyre hardly perfect and the first game in particular had some interface issues that the sequels fixed and an occasional error with crashing behind a loading screen which again, the sequels fixed.
So without further ado, lets talk about what I and many others feel makes Atelier so compelling.
Story, Characters and Aesthetic
You know how JRPGs are typically lambasted for always being about spiky-haired teenagers and their cookie-cutter friends who must save the world from ultimate evil because its their chosen destiny or some other bullshit? Thats exactly what the Arland trilogy of Atelier games is not. The first game, Atelier Rorona, is about a young apprentice trying to keep her shop open so she and her master arent exiled from the kingdom. The second game, Atelier Totori, is about a young woman searching for her missing (and presumed dead) mother. The last game, Atelier Meruru, is about a young princess trying to develop her small kingdom into a thriving place so it can merge with a neighboring republic. Theyre not out to save the world from an ultimate evil or overthrow an evil empire by forming a small resistance group etc. Alchemic-premise aside, each of the protagonists in these games have extremely down-to-earth goals and motivations, none of which I might add involve contrived, forced romantic plots.
On that point, despite one or two unfortunate CGs in each game that do NOT reflect the vast majority of the games content, the games treat their female cast respectably overall. If you were ever looking for a series of games that pass the Bechdel Test, these games pass with flying colors. Romance is basically non-existent, 99% of the female cast arent obsessed with becoming a bride as if that were their ultimate goal in life or sole purpose of existing. But most importantly theyre not dependant on men to achieve their goals. There are men in the cast, and you can enlist their support should you chose to do so, but its not required. The women in this game are willing to accept help when necessary, but are ultimately portrayed as being self-sufficient and self-motivated.
While Im not going to change anyones mind about the anime aesthetic here (and I wont even try to defend Merurus ridiculous skirt/bloomer combo), the graphics are quite colorful and run smoothly, usually at 60 fps with 4xMSAA. Additionally, the music is quite unique and charming compared to the standard JRPG flare, giving the Arland universe a rather unique feel of its own. Atelier Totori in particular runs beautifully and the character models do an incredible job of reflecting Mel Kishidas designs.
Unique Gameplay
What initially struck me about the Atelier series when I played Atelier Rorona is how different the games priorities were, and in a way I found extremely compelling. Most JRPGs focus on telling a story and fighting monsters to level up so you can defeat the final boss at the end. While Atelier does have a strong story focus (just not an epic one), the combat is basic because its most definitely not the focus of the game. Battle is merely there to add a small modicum of challenge while gathering ingredients to synthesize new items (as dying causes you to lose precious Days, which Ill get into in a just a bit).
Battle may not be the focus of the game, but creating items and completing missions and requests most certainly is. What made this extremely compelling in Rorona and Totori (though slight less-so in Meruru) is the unique time mechanic. Everything in the Atelier universe (outside of running around in a town) requires a certain number of Days. Making an item, going to gathering sites, and certain story events all take a certain number of days off the calendar. In Totori and Meruru, gathering items and fighting monsters also take a certain portion of days. In addition, there are story-based deadlines you have to meet to proceed in the game (with Rorona being the harshest of the three in this regard) and in Rorona and Totori, requests also have deadlines of their own. So for example, in the first game Rorona will have three months to complete a certain task from the kingdom. But in addition she also needs to make time to complete requests from the townsfolk in order to improve the reputation of her shop (in Totori this is just for money purposes). But as these deadlines keep piling up, it becomes quite clear that as the player, you cant possibly meet all of the deadlines the game has put before you. If you take all of the missions, you will fail some of them, and in Rorona this also carries a penalty.
What this created as I played the game was a strong sense of choice. The game industry is always touting about how they give the player the opportunity to make meaningful choices, but these are usually moral choices that are so cartoonishly binary theyre hardly meaningful. With Atelier Rorona and Totori I found that the choices I was making made a real difference. Not with the story, but with the game and what rewards I got, or how much income I earned. I had to carefully look at each mission, its corresponding deadline, and compare with the other available requests and ask myself several questions.
Can I resolve this mission with the materials I have on-hand?
If I dont have the materials, how long will it take me to gather/make them?
How many days will this request take me to complete?
Does this requests deadline run counter or otherwise interfere with my current story deadline, or the deadlines of other requests/events?
Do I have to travel to an area Im not high-enough level for to gather the necessary ingredients?
Do I even have the recipe necessary to make the item being requested?
Should I take this time-wise higher risk quest with the higher payout, or focus on these two smaller quests with less payout, but will give me no foreseeable trouble?
"Should I turn in the items I have right now to complete this request, or should I save them in case they're an ingredient I will need to create a new, better item later on?"
To me, these are REAL choices, and it was these choices that made the game so compelling. The real game for me was trying to map out how I was going to complete the maximum number of requests, at the highest quality possible, in the shortest amount of time. The first time I played Atelier Rorona, I lost and got a bad ending (and saved myself into a trap of being unable to fix this outcome) so I had to start over. And I was pretty far along too (I was in the final year). But I could see my errors, and what I needed to do to be more efficient on the next playthrough. Instead of frustrating me and making me want to throw the controller to the ground in fury, I just loaded up a new game and this time planned all of my moves far more carefully.
You see, the Arland trilogy of Atelier games is really about learning the ins and outs of its systems, not so much to topple world-ending monstrosities, but in order to increase your efficiency. As you proceed in the game, new tools become available to help you increase what you can achieve, such as the Homs and Registering items with other shopkeepers. New areas are unlocked with better quality items and new traits, along with brand new items. But even here, you have to be careful as you can only carry a certain number of items with you at a time in the beginning.
Thats not to say there arent a number of optional and very tough bosses in the games, its just that theyre optional. You can chose to develop a powerhouse party with awesome equipment (that you have to make yourself, obviously) and take these baddies on if you wish. But like everything, its a choice. Also, Atelier Meruru focuses on kingdom development and lets the player decide which areas they want to develop in the game and in what order in order to earn Development Points which the player can use to build structures that have added benefits like more EXP or synthesis bonuses. Decisions decisions. And if all that weren't compelling enough, the games have a high replay value as each of the games in the Arland trilogy have multiple endings to explore on repeat-playthroughs.
Conclusion
Now, obviously the Atelier series brand of gameplay is an acquired taste. Its the kind of game that you either really love or really hate. Again, the purpose of this thread isnt to sell others on the experience. All I wanted to achieve in this thread is clear the air a bit about why people like me love this series, and that liking these games neither means were pedophiles nor will make us such. Its such an offensive knee-jerk reaction to me. You know how the news media often likes to emphasis how a certain criminal plays lots of Modern Warfare games, trying to paint a picture that anyone who plays these games are either murderers, soon-to-be murderers, or people who get off on others getting murdered? Thats pretty offensive to paint all Modern Warfare players that way, isnt it? When fans of the Atelier series are labeled as pedos from a lot of GAF, I find that insulting and offensive. I play Atelier games because I think theyre great games, and I feel confident in stating that the majority of people who play them share my sentiment. We have different tastes in games, thats all.
Thank you for reading.
So without further ado, lets talk about what I and many others feel makes Atelier so compelling.
Story, Characters and Aesthetic
You know how JRPGs are typically lambasted for always being about spiky-haired teenagers and their cookie-cutter friends who must save the world from ultimate evil because its their chosen destiny or some other bullshit? Thats exactly what the Arland trilogy of Atelier games is not. The first game, Atelier Rorona, is about a young apprentice trying to keep her shop open so she and her master arent exiled from the kingdom. The second game, Atelier Totori, is about a young woman searching for her missing (and presumed dead) mother. The last game, Atelier Meruru, is about a young princess trying to develop her small kingdom into a thriving place so it can merge with a neighboring republic. Theyre not out to save the world from an ultimate evil or overthrow an evil empire by forming a small resistance group etc. Alchemic-premise aside, each of the protagonists in these games have extremely down-to-earth goals and motivations, none of which I might add involve contrived, forced romantic plots.
On that point, despite one or two unfortunate CGs in each game that do NOT reflect the vast majority of the games content, the games treat their female cast respectably overall. If you were ever looking for a series of games that pass the Bechdel Test, these games pass with flying colors. Romance is basically non-existent, 99% of the female cast arent obsessed with becoming a bride as if that were their ultimate goal in life or sole purpose of existing. But most importantly theyre not dependant on men to achieve their goals. There are men in the cast, and you can enlist their support should you chose to do so, but its not required. The women in this game are willing to accept help when necessary, but are ultimately portrayed as being self-sufficient and self-motivated.
While Im not going to change anyones mind about the anime aesthetic here (and I wont even try to defend Merurus ridiculous skirt/bloomer combo), the graphics are quite colorful and run smoothly, usually at 60 fps with 4xMSAA. Additionally, the music is quite unique and charming compared to the standard JRPG flare, giving the Arland universe a rather unique feel of its own. Atelier Totori in particular runs beautifully and the character models do an incredible job of reflecting Mel Kishidas designs.
Unique Gameplay
What initially struck me about the Atelier series when I played Atelier Rorona is how different the games priorities were, and in a way I found extremely compelling. Most JRPGs focus on telling a story and fighting monsters to level up so you can defeat the final boss at the end. While Atelier does have a strong story focus (just not an epic one), the combat is basic because its most definitely not the focus of the game. Battle is merely there to add a small modicum of challenge while gathering ingredients to synthesize new items (as dying causes you to lose precious Days, which Ill get into in a just a bit).
Battle may not be the focus of the game, but creating items and completing missions and requests most certainly is. What made this extremely compelling in Rorona and Totori (though slight less-so in Meruru) is the unique time mechanic. Everything in the Atelier universe (outside of running around in a town) requires a certain number of Days. Making an item, going to gathering sites, and certain story events all take a certain number of days off the calendar. In Totori and Meruru, gathering items and fighting monsters also take a certain portion of days. In addition, there are story-based deadlines you have to meet to proceed in the game (with Rorona being the harshest of the three in this regard) and in Rorona and Totori, requests also have deadlines of their own. So for example, in the first game Rorona will have three months to complete a certain task from the kingdom. But in addition she also needs to make time to complete requests from the townsfolk in order to improve the reputation of her shop (in Totori this is just for money purposes). But as these deadlines keep piling up, it becomes quite clear that as the player, you cant possibly meet all of the deadlines the game has put before you. If you take all of the missions, you will fail some of them, and in Rorona this also carries a penalty.
What this created as I played the game was a strong sense of choice. The game industry is always touting about how they give the player the opportunity to make meaningful choices, but these are usually moral choices that are so cartoonishly binary theyre hardly meaningful. With Atelier Rorona and Totori I found that the choices I was making made a real difference. Not with the story, but with the game and what rewards I got, or how much income I earned. I had to carefully look at each mission, its corresponding deadline, and compare with the other available requests and ask myself several questions.
Can I resolve this mission with the materials I have on-hand?
If I dont have the materials, how long will it take me to gather/make them?
How many days will this request take me to complete?
Does this requests deadline run counter or otherwise interfere with my current story deadline, or the deadlines of other requests/events?
Do I have to travel to an area Im not high-enough level for to gather the necessary ingredients?
Do I even have the recipe necessary to make the item being requested?
Should I take this time-wise higher risk quest with the higher payout, or focus on these two smaller quests with less payout, but will give me no foreseeable trouble?
"Should I turn in the items I have right now to complete this request, or should I save them in case they're an ingredient I will need to create a new, better item later on?"
To me, these are REAL choices, and it was these choices that made the game so compelling. The real game for me was trying to map out how I was going to complete the maximum number of requests, at the highest quality possible, in the shortest amount of time. The first time I played Atelier Rorona, I lost and got a bad ending (and saved myself into a trap of being unable to fix this outcome) so I had to start over. And I was pretty far along too (I was in the final year). But I could see my errors, and what I needed to do to be more efficient on the next playthrough. Instead of frustrating me and making me want to throw the controller to the ground in fury, I just loaded up a new game and this time planned all of my moves far more carefully.
You see, the Arland trilogy of Atelier games is really about learning the ins and outs of its systems, not so much to topple world-ending monstrosities, but in order to increase your efficiency. As you proceed in the game, new tools become available to help you increase what you can achieve, such as the Homs and Registering items with other shopkeepers. New areas are unlocked with better quality items and new traits, along with brand new items. But even here, you have to be careful as you can only carry a certain number of items with you at a time in the beginning.
Thats not to say there arent a number of optional and very tough bosses in the games, its just that theyre optional. You can chose to develop a powerhouse party with awesome equipment (that you have to make yourself, obviously) and take these baddies on if you wish. But like everything, its a choice. Also, Atelier Meruru focuses on kingdom development and lets the player decide which areas they want to develop in the game and in what order in order to earn Development Points which the player can use to build structures that have added benefits like more EXP or synthesis bonuses. Decisions decisions. And if all that weren't compelling enough, the games have a high replay value as each of the games in the Arland trilogy have multiple endings to explore on repeat-playthroughs.
Conclusion
Now, obviously the Atelier series brand of gameplay is an acquired taste. Its the kind of game that you either really love or really hate. Again, the purpose of this thread isnt to sell others on the experience. All I wanted to achieve in this thread is clear the air a bit about why people like me love this series, and that liking these games neither means were pedophiles nor will make us such. Its such an offensive knee-jerk reaction to me. You know how the news media often likes to emphasis how a certain criminal plays lots of Modern Warfare games, trying to paint a picture that anyone who plays these games are either murderers, soon-to-be murderers, or people who get off on others getting murdered? Thats pretty offensive to paint all Modern Warfare players that way, isnt it? When fans of the Atelier series are labeled as pedos from a lot of GAF, I find that insulting and offensive. I play Atelier games because I think theyre great games, and I feel confident in stating that the majority of people who play them share my sentiment. We have different tastes in games, thats all.
Thank you for reading.
