Atelier - A Diary

  After "inheriting" my mother's Atelier, I felt pressured. But also I was short of cash so I did a few quests on the side. Then I decided to focus on inventing a stronger bomb to blow a big door. To a point I was left to my own devices, and had to figure it out on my own... almost. I'm not going to tell you what we found behind the door. Never mind that, I'm off to just battling more monsters and crafting more stuff. Nearing 20 hours play, Atelier Lulua got into its own. It is signposted, but also, Lulua has friends everywhere and much stuff to do. Then the signposting suddenly arrows back to the core loop. Unsubtle, perhaps. As an exploration device the Alchemyriddle has not grown on me. As a narrative device, it partakes building a ghost plot where the main character are guided by an invisible hand. The joke is always on Lulua, and that's okay. Unsure whether the game is approaching its mid-way milestone (was that it? If so the Galaxens have been very sile...

After some mandatory preparation (fluff about unlocking effects during synthesis) Lulua finally decided she was ready to confront the red dragon with supposedly much higher quality Craft (non elemental bombs).  I was not convinced.  We gave it a shot and got him/her down to 1000/2500 HP before getting barbecued. Time to think more strategically. We put Lulu and Piana in support, and traded offensives for heals in their "infinity slots". But Lulu decided to start at the front anyway, cause Tri-Bloom (some defense buff + slow MP regen; likely 3 turns worth). Although that could have been a react, we got a rough opening with Eva going down in the first round. Initially I replaced her with Piana. Piana functioned as the team's pillar, mainly used to apply a single target defense buff over and over on a rota; after exhausting MP she just replenished (barely) from some orange potion. After a couple of turns noticed physicals did trigger a react, so I just put Aurel a...

 A lot happened. I visited Arland again, raised my rank to Iron and visited Rorona's Atelier. I met a blacksmith and a cook. Both are familiar with Sensei. There is also a shy girl who handle requests in Arland. So I decided to stick around, improve my alchemy chops, and get battle proven. Yes! I really got fired up, defeated the Griffon at Traveler's Path (x2) and learned how to make ice bombs.  Raised my rank again (now Bronze) in no time! Did get our asses handsomely handed back to ourselves, which prompted a trip back home (cause I needed some medicinal root, not that there's another way to heal except staying in bed). Siss appears lonely; it's true that I don't come back so often. Am I becoming more like Mama? Indeed one kink is bothering me, and my license card echoes the unease: I have been so busy becoming an adventurer, that I spent literally no time looking for Mama. The license points are distributed between 4 categories - exploring, battling, re...

Spoilers? Totori When the map exploded with new locations. Then, when Totori said "I should go back to Arland" and I indulged in journeying on foot (and the game let me, even though they'd just gallantly restored the carriage feature) so I could (well earned privilege) explore more of the new locations. Shallie - the music, whereupon an itch set in that eventually got me to purchase the game. Sophie   When I realized that things were happening to other characters in the story world, without the PC being the primary agent of change. When I stumbled on a scripted event in a gathering area (just like any other, not marked with a star) When a humble request unlocked a key character. When I got to do whatever I wanted, while waiting for all my craft-pals to ready Plachta's parts. Firis When I almost felt the bivouac mechanic was almost working, and realized I could go anywhere and challenge any boss almost from the get go (although, the game really gives a reason not to, b...

After a comical episode involving the Puni Rangers, Lulua's crew have arrived in Arland. Time to renew Rorona's license. Atelier Lulua is definitely in the sweet spot in lots of ways. Playing hard mode (not even sure how I switched... just kind of happened) it quickly consolidated as a laid back journey with as much back and forth as I wish (cause no time limits, and quest boards in every town). So, wait... is it a journey? Or darting around? Lulua occasionally locks in: once in Arland, apparently we have to stay in Arland until we're done with it. In all, I started Atelier Lulua and Atelier Totori almost at the same time. I spent twice as much time with Lulua but, frankly speaking, it is simply a prettier, better produced game. Spending more time with Lulua , I also found time to get bored. In Totori, game time however weightless is such as scarce resource that there is literally no time for that (The thumb sized area maps also don't consistently register bad, because ...

Picking up wherever I left it, I found myself with a few requests to fulfill and a month to go. I looked up the map. Gathering locations, monsters... taking note of everything, we set out adventuring. Our party got badly mauled by Audras. Back in town, while nobility was recovering, I got back to my cauldron and carefully crafted some items. Items to fulfill requests. Items for battles; healing salves. Also... I nearly got trampled by a giant Audra. Then we set out again. We ventured three maps away from town! Almost a first. With a few days to spare I carefully picked a few more ingredients. Then, back to Gerhart and time to report. At Pamela, I reinvested hard earned Cole into recipe books. In Totori (similar to most Atelier games) requests are somewhat optional and the main reason to bother is Cole. There almost isn't another way to get rich (or, as it stands, eke a meager living and purchase text books. One key difference between Atelier Totori and oth...

Reaching AS2's turning point - how it went down, what I think. So far. In passing: Atelier often is (or seems to be: haven't finished any just yet) disarmingly and somehow delightfully evasive about its main story/plot.   I think some of the criticism inevitably sources this. There is wit in carefully eliding plot points from conversations, and yet... I imagine some players would feel gratified if they then could unravel the plot through careful detective work  (I personally don't care) . AS2 reaches its part-way milestone (a staple... I think) somewhat gracefully.  The story has been coherent so far, and the game is served by quality character design and an engaging world. Meanwhile I am essentially hovering between, "oh this is charming" and "how trite" - Unsure to what extent this reflects personal taste, but I do feel AS2 in many areas would have benefited a light touch. The game is doing a good job at letting me know hey   this isn't over .  (1)...

After backtracking from Ryza to  Mysterious to Arland, Atelier Lulua  caught my attention as a missing link. How did  Atelier  devolve into  Ryza's  signposted slice of life antics? Past an awkward grayscale moment from CG hell, the setting and characters are revealed. The colors are bright and engaging. Lulu and Eva look cooked, overcooked (respectively) (but that's okay... I think?). Lulu is running like a guy, which is a little crass considering the pair (along with Eva) come off as dolled up bitches. Oops. Two horses straight off uncanny zone. A phong shaded puni is beaming joyfully at us . The menu looks clean and springy with a touch of sophistication. Fonts hard to read. Genki summarizes Lulu. The annoying dude is not super -annoying/downright off putting. One point. Visually (also, map design)   Atelier Lulua is in a bright spot overall . Every frame looks a beautiful anime style render, retaining (to a point) the graceful palettes and visual...

 As with Atelier Ryza it took a boss battle for me to even get the battle system. Until the Elvira encounter I went through the motions with enjoyment but without excitement. I adjusted the game to hard, very hard, back-tracked to hard (cause Admiral Puni et al). The Elvira encounter helped me appreciate battle mechanics. Conceptually Sophie 2 is reminiscent of Blue Reflection Second Light. Strong bosses summon side-kicks, and activate barriers.  A barrier is not a shield: Barrier points (10, 20) A normal, non resisted attack will take down one point. A resisted attack may trigger a powerful react. Attacking a weakness may scrape 2-3 points off a barrier. I went in unprepared (regular field trip). A win took me 3 to 5 tries. What I learned: Take sidekicks down . Worth using swap (double attack with one party entering, another leaving). On a takedown you earn 1 TP (needed for both defensive and offensive swaps). At my level this meant taking down the sidekicks on my turn, witho...

 I am right in the middle of... making something super important (no spoilers this time!) so I enlisted the help of practically everybody. Now all I have to do is wait for them to deliver the parts. Sophie achieves a lived in feel and conveys its story using T+/L triggers. Raising a flag sets a trigger at a later date (or later, hence T+), and at a location where you can't avoid going. Such as your atelier, obviously. A small activity hub (Sophie's Kirchenbell) does compliment the idea ( Firis put the hub on wheels, and it also works)  Atelier doesn't always tell you that you've raised these flags. But right now I've got a week to kill and essentially feeling like I just went on an online shopping spree and readying to hug the postman. Sophie went to visit the watchmaker. Check the noob gamer react of "oh, he won't help, so I'll just have to ask again". But you know what? Guy didn't ask me to pluck underarm feathers from arctic emperor pengu...

 Right after getting my adventurer license, I returned to find some requests expiring. Time to get to work! Dropped a request. Moved out without on-boarding pals and got a good beating (but made out safely). Then completed 3 or 4 quests within an hour. The map expanded tremendously but didn't find time to explore (also, weary of encounters). Visiting the shop, realized I didn't have to drop the rock salt quest after all. Oh, and Rorona visited while I was away, and dropped me a recipe book. Bombs! Bombs are the frontier. Being busy, and having no need for one, I did not make a bomb. Time management is  not doing Just an hour on the clock but this fourth session (3 hours in at the start) has been eventful with 3-5 cut-scenes filling about 50% of play time. Definitely checking my schedule now, because: Aside from requests, need to up adventuring rank.  A larger map means both longer travel (2 days to nearest) and opportunities for optimizing. Overall "actual play" has ...