Ashley_Rose
2015
its good, you dont need me to tell you that, there are no more interesting things to say about this one.
2018
it's really neat but I feel like I can't really pass judgement on this one until we get more, that'd be like giving an impression of Undertale right after you finish Snowden.
2017
Anyone who looks at my games played will notice I like niche stuff made by aeutors and boy howdy, this is the best of the best. Like any of those games you need to be down for 'one of those' but this game did something no other like it had, it completely enraptured me and then ended in such a way where I felt like it was definitively over and I felt no need to come back. No stringing me along with the promise of unending content or microtransactions, it said what it wanted to say and definitively gave you a point to stop.
Delightful game with that patented Earthbound 'Looming Darkness' ready to pop out at all times. The music hits that exact mix of quirky and and catchy that you want in this genre. F R E S H
2015
Easily one of my favorite visual novels, full of haunting words, delightfully moody atmosphere and incredible music. The metaphors can be dense but that is part of what I love about it.
2020
Had quite a bit of fun until I finished exploring and the game really tried to get me to spend more money, just fundamentally become a different (and worse) game. The story is incredibly hit or miss with some super questionable clothing choices.
Gameplay
First time with an Atelier game, was pleasantly surprised. The core loop of gathering and crafting is very satisfying, as is making upgrades to your gear. Each new tool in your arsenal feels like you just broke the difficulty of the game in half, which can be very satisfying, but I wish they let you play the harder difficulties before clearing the game. Even on Hard the game never really challenged me except when I accidentally stumbled into a post-game boss.
Story
The story was very charming, and it struck me how grounded it stayed. Sure, you are eventually saving thousands of people with your actions, but the focus is squarely on the personal growth of your characters and a well crafted coming-of-age story.
Anime Bullshit:
The game is thankfully light on typical nonsense, baring some over-sized and gravity defying boobs, as well as the main character's absurd outfit. Outside of the visual presentation, the story does not overly sexualize it's women and lets them be full people, even sidestepping what I thought was surely going an out-of-nowhere romantic development.
In Conclusion
A nice, warm, and ultimately bitter-sweet coming-of-age story with a compelling crafting system, main thing holding it back is an ok combat system and an aversion to doing anything too terribly different or out there. It is an excellent "one of those" but there are a lot of them out there.
First time with an Atelier game, was pleasantly surprised. The core loop of gathering and crafting is very satisfying, as is making upgrades to your gear. Each new tool in your arsenal feels like you just broke the difficulty of the game in half, which can be very satisfying, but I wish they let you play the harder difficulties before clearing the game. Even on Hard the game never really challenged me except when I accidentally stumbled into a post-game boss.
Story
The story was very charming, and it struck me how grounded it stayed. Sure, you are eventually saving thousands of people with your actions, but the focus is squarely on the personal growth of your characters and a well crafted coming-of-age story.
Anime Bullshit:
The game is thankfully light on typical nonsense, baring some over-sized and gravity defying boobs, as well as the main character's absurd outfit. Outside of the visual presentation, the story does not overly sexualize it's women and lets them be full people, even sidestepping what I thought was surely going an out-of-nowhere romantic development.
In Conclusion
A nice, warm, and ultimately bitter-sweet coming-of-age story with a compelling crafting system, main thing holding it back is an ok combat system and an aversion to doing anything too terribly different or out there. It is an excellent "one of those" but there are a lot of them out there.
2018
Incredibly tight platformer with tons of depth to what seems like an incredibly simple set of controls. And a touching story about dealing with depression and anxiety. Very challenging but endlessly encouraging to it's players.
Desperately wanted to love this one but the many ways this game is monetized creep into all aspects of play, making the various hooks and designed FoMO impossible to ignore. It's fun to play dress-up in space with your buddies, but it's hard to recommend this one to anyone but a die-hard PSO fan.
What could have been a neat story about struggling to throw off the chains of colonial power is swept to the side for a royal manchild's quest to fit as much scenery as possible into his mouth. plenty of likeable characters but some just bizarre story decisions.
2019
Very charming exploration of characters both examined and un-examined by Homestuck proper. Had an absolute blast but your mileage may vary depending on your interpretation of the characters, which Pesterquest draws into sharper focus in a way that necessitates making some decisions about who these characters are. James brings some excellent tunes both from Friendsim and entirely new.
Some of it is undoubtable inertia but damn, I went from dreading cutscenes in A Realm Reborn to really enjoying the story in this one.
Something so warm and fuzzy about playing this one, easily my favorite run-based game.
2008
One of the most broken messes I have ever played, music that does not loop correctly, barely though-out mechanics, one of the worst cameras in recent memory, and a story full of some the most embarrassing chest-thumping nonsense I have witnessed
( I am only judging this on story as I played through this long after it was relevant content) A very safe traditional fantasy story that shines with likable characters and excellent music. Manages to avoid my most constant frustration with FF14's writing, which is threatening to do something interesting but then deciding not to. Mind you, it does this by never taking any big swings, but a simple story told well is fine thing in my book.