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Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World

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Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World
Developer(s)Gust
Publisher(s)Koei Tecmo
Director(s)Hiroshi Kataoka
Producer(s)Keisuke Kikuchi
Junzo Hosoi
Designer(s)Azusa Takahashi
Artist(s)Noco
Writer(s)Tetsu Shirakawa
Akira Tsuchiya
Composer(s)Kazuki Yanagawa
Daisuke Achiwa
Ken Nakagawa
Tatsuya Yano
SeriesAtelier
Platform(s)PlayStation 4
PlayStation Vita
Nintendo Switch
Windows
ReleaseVita
  • JP: January 31, 2019
PS4, Switch
  • JP: January 31, 2019
  • NA: March 26, 2019
  • EU: March 29, 2019
Windows
  • NA: March 26, 2019
  • JP: March 27, 2019
  • EU: March 29, 2019
Genre(s)Role-playing, city-building
Mode(s)Single-player

Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World[a] is a 2019 video game developed by Gust and published by Koei Tecmo for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Windows, and PlayStation Vita only in Japan. A title within the Atelier series, the gameplay combines a city-building simulation with role-playing elements. The storyline follows Nelke von Lestamm as she attempts to build her own city while seeking a magical tree, employing legendary alchemists from the Atelier franchise to aid her.

Beginning production in 2017 as a series celebration title, the team included multiple veterans including co-producer Junzo Hosoi, artist Noco, scenario designer Akira Tsuchiya, and composers Kazuki Yanagawa, Daisuke Achiwa, and Ken Nakagawa, and Tatsuya Yano. The gameplay was based on the original Atelier trilogy with added social and city building elements. Reception of the game was mixed. Praise was given to the music and gameplay mechanics, but its story, graphics and slow pace saw frequent criticism.

Gameplay

Nelke acts during a battle in Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists

Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World is a video game that combines a city-building simulation with role-playing elements. The game follows Nelke von Lestamm as she both investigates the location of a magical tree, and builds up the town of Westwald with the help of characters from across the Atelier series.[1][2] The game is split into two gameplay sections, a five day week dedicated to town maintenance, and a weekend where other activities can be done.[3]

During the working week, Nelke can create new stores and shops to support the town's economy and produce products based on raw materials provided during the weekend period, with money and items being produced as a result. The shop's produce and quality varies depending on who is put in charge, with only alchemists able to work at ateliers. Building up the town encourages new people to move in, which further allows the town to expand.[1][4][5] During the game, Nelke must complete assigned tasks sent to test her ability to grow and manage the town, ranging from getting a certain number of citizens to move in to fulfilling certain item or material requirements. If this task is failed or uncompleted, the player reaches a game over.[3][5]

During the weekend period, Nelke can engage in social events with different characters to raise her relationships status with them, and embark on "Investigations". These actions are limited by a gauge which is depleted with each option, with the weekend ended either manually by the player or by the gauge running out.[3][2] Investigations have Nelke and a party explore different dungeon environments to gather materials. Material gathering and movement happens automatically, with both materials gathered, chests found and battles triggered being randomised. Battles have a party of five, with only the game's original characters being player-controlled. Actions include basic attacks, special moves activated by gaining points from attacks and other actions, and using items. Investigations end if either the action gauge runs out, or the player party is defeated.[3][5]

Synopsis

The game follows Nelke von Lestamm, an aristocrat investigating the location of the Granzweit Tree, a plant-like Sage Relic which links to multiple parallel worlds. In exchange for being allowed to continue her research, Nelke's father puts her in charge with managing and growing the town of Westwald, which is said to be near the Granzweit Tree. Soon after arriving, Nelke encounters alchemists from other worlds pulled into her own by the influence of the Granzweit Tree. With help from both the alchemists, and her own servants and allies, Nelke builds up and protects Westwalk into becoming a bustling town. Nelke learns that the Granzweit Tree is imprisoning a monster called Siegel, with its distortion causing the alchemists to appear. Depending on her in-game actions, Nelke either fails to uncover the truth, or destroys Siegel in a final battle which allows the Granzweit Tree to grant its blessing to the land and let the alchemists return home.

Development

Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists was developed by the Kyoto Development Department of Gust.[6] The concept was created by co-producers Keisuke Kikuchi and Junzo Hosoi, who were working out concepts to celebrate the series' anniversary following the release of Atelier Lydie & Suelle in 2017.[7] Among the concepts raised were a party game and a "love simulation" title.[8] The concept they settled on was a city building design that would have Atelier protagonists from across the series with a standalone protagonist.[7] The game was directed by Hiroshi Kataoka, and the design team was led by Azusa Takahashi.[9] In contrast to the growing RPG focus of the main series, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists was designed to return to the simulation style of the first Atelier games.[10] Based on this gameplay concept, the team created the weekday and weekend structure, with an emphasis on social interaction and automated exploration similar to the Salburg trilogy.[7] Hosoi and series creator Shinichi Yoshiike did not describe the game as a spin-off, with the aim being to create a potential alternative gameplay style for the series as a whole.[10]

The world design was created by Akira Tsuchiya, who had worked on the scenarios of early Atelier titles.[11] The scenario and script were written by Tetsu Shirakawa.[9] It was decided from the outset that the lead Nelke would not be an alchemist, which helped inform the gameplay and world. Despite this change, the theme of a young girl achieving her dreams was kept through Nelke's custodianship of the village.[7] The idea of characters being drawn in from alternate dimensions allowed the team to unify some of the disparate tones and designs, as different Atelier subseries had sometimes starkly different artistic and tonal styles. A common underlying theme was kindness, demonstrated by the alchemists pitching in to help Nelke grow her town. While the game featured cameos from alchemist characters across the series with their own episodic interactions, they were not intended to have starring roles.[12]

The characters were designed by Noco, an artist who had collaborated on the character design of the Mysterious series.[13] When she was offered the role of sole character artist, Noco was initially shocked and thought it was a joke.[14] Nelke was created around the concept of an aristocrat, with her standing out while not being an alchemist.[7] Noco created twelve different drafts of Nelke, designing a thirteenth at Hosoi's insistence.[13] Due to not being an alchemist, Nelke's design had fewer restrictions for Noco, who had fun with the design and added "sparkle" to emphasise her aristocratic background. Nelke's blue hair was chosen so it did not overlap with other Atelier protagonists.[14] The animated opening was created by LandQ Studios, who had worked on other mainline entries.[15]

Music

The music of Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists was co-composed by Kazuki Yanagawa, Daisuke Achiwa, Ken Nakagawa, and Tatsuya Yano.[16] All were series veterans;[16] Achiwa had composed since the beginning of the series,[17] Yanagawa had first composed for the Arland series,[18] Nakagawa had been a composer since the Gramnad series,[19] and Yano had co-composed for the Mysterious series.[20] Yanagawa described the soundtrack as inspired by and based around Nelke as a character. The soundtrack included a lot of older track arrangements, with the priority being to make them work within the game's world rather than radically changing them.[18]

The opening theme "Alchemia" was composed by Achiwa and performed by Nakae Mitsuki. Achiwa described the song as a "festival-like theme". The title was chosen based on the game's status as a celebratory title, being a direct thematic reference considered unsuitable for the main series. The chorus incorporated words referencing all nineteen Atelier titles up to that point, with Achiwa having trouble incorporating references to the earlier Salburg and Gramnad titles.[17] The ending theme "Birth" was written and composed by Yanagawa, and sung by Haruka Shimotsuki. Yanagawa created the theme without the need to emphasise the series' anniversary, which was being done with the opening theme. Shimotsuki had sung for several earlier Atelier titles, and described the song as initially simple but having a number of cord and key changes.[18] A soundtrack album for the game was released on March 26, 2019[21]

Release

Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists was first announced in June 2018 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo Switch.[8] Originally scheduled for release on December 13 of that year,[22] the game was delayed in Japan to January 31, 2019 to allow more development time.[23] It was supplemented with promotional merchandise.[21] In the West, the game was released for PS4, Switch and Windows through Steam on March 26 in North America, and March 29 in Europe.[24] The Steam version released in Japan on March 27.[25] Koei Tecmo acted as publisher in all regions.[23][24] Downloadable content was released, covering new music and playable characters, and side stories.[26][27] Nelke was included as a side character in a 2021 expanded release of Atelier Lydie & Suelle.[28]

Reception

During its first week on sale, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists sold over 31,000 units across its three platforms. The PS4 version reached sixth place in the charts.[33] The game received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Metacritic gave a score of 70 out of 100 for the Switch version based on 22 reviews,[30] and 67 out of 100 for the PS4 version based on 10 reviews.[29]

Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu noted the inclusion of characters across the series, though one reviewer found the dialogue lacked depth.[34] Daan Koopman of Nintendo World Report enjoyed the story and characters,[1] while RPGamer's Sam Watcher enjoyed the character interactions during social events.[4] Nathan Lee of RPGFan noted the story's focus on character interactions between the alchemists over the overarching narrative, enjoying those and Nelke's personality.[5] Elizabeth Henges described the story as "nothing particularly special" and was unimpressed by the character cameos,[2] while Pocket Gamer's Dave Aubrey simply called it "bland".[32]

Koopman praised the music and graphics, though he noted some poor textures and frame rate issues.[1] Lee enjoyed the animations, but found character model movements stiff, and praised the music and voice acting.[5] Watcher disliked the graphics as cheap-looking and lacking due to minimal animations and low-resolution textures, while he lauded the music for both its original and arranged tracks.[4]

Famitsu praised the gameplay loop, though there were comments that it could be overly varied and feel grindy.[34] Koopman enjoyed the gameplay overall, finding it an interesting alternative to the mainline Atelier series, but disliked the slow opening and investigation sections.[1] Watcher praised the town building mechanics, but disliked the shallow combat and lack of character control,[4] opinions echoed by Lee.[5] Henges noted the enjoyment that was possible in the different systems, but grew bored with the gameplay due to a lack of progression for hours of game time.[2] Aubrey noted an appeal for completionists, but was overall disappointed in its gameplay design, feeling it was an underwhelming low-budgeted title more suited to mobile phones than home consoles.[32]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち ～新たな大地のアトリエ～, Hepburn: Neruke to Densetsu no Renkinjutsushi-tachi ~Aratana Daichi no Atorie~

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Koopman, Daan (April 30, 2019). "Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Henges, Elizabeth (April 9, 2019). "Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists Review". RPG Site. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World Web Manual". Koei Tecmo. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e Watcher, Sam (April 28, 2019). "Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World Review". RPGamer. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Lee, Nathan (July 23, 2019). "Review - Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World". RPGFan. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  6. ^ 「ライザのアトリエ ～常闇の女王と秘密の隠れ家～」開発者インタビュー。シリーズのノウハウを結集し，新たな技術へと挑戦. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). June 26, 2019. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e ［TGS 2018］「ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち」は歴代の錬金術士たちと理想の街を作り上げる新たなアトリエ作品に。2人のプロデューサーに本作の気になる点を聞いた. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). September 21, 2018. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Romano, Sal (June 13, 2018). "Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Atelier of a New Land announced for PS4, Switch, and PS Vita [Update]". Gematsu. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Gust (March 26, 2019). Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World (PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Windows). Koei Tecmo. Scene: Credits.
  10. ^ a b 「アトリエ」シリーズ，20周年の新たなチャレンジ。新作「ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち」＆「ルルアのアトリエ」インタビュー. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). October 29, 2018. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  11. ^ 『ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち』の発売を記念してショートストーリーを土屋暁氏らが特別寄稿!【電撃PS】. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). February 1, 2019. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  12. ^ "On making the game to celebrate 20 years of Atelier". Digitally Downloaded. October 4, 2018. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Wong, Alistair (May 18, 2020). "Atelier Series Legacy Artists Discuss Behind-the-Scenes Details Over the Years". Siliconera. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  14. ^ a b 『ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち』岸田メル＆NOCO特別インタビューと本作のバトル画面を公開. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). July 18, 2018. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  15. ^ Works (in Japanese). LandQ Studios. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  16. ^ a b ミュージック フロム ゲームワールド：Track 171 「ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち ～新たな大地のアトリエ～」「ファイアーエムブレム 封印の剣 / 烈火の剣」. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). January 30, 2019. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  17. ^ a b 『ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち』作曲家・阿知波大輔＆歌手・中恵光城にインタビュー。『アトリエ』の歴史を詰め込んだサントラは必聴【プレゼントあり】. Famitsu (in Japanese). December 7, 2018. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  18. ^ a b c 『ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち』のサントラ発売を記念して柳川さん＆霜月さんにインタビュー【電撃PS】. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). December 7, 2018. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  19. ^ 未クリアでも必見！ 『ルルアのアトリエ』のエンディングテーマ制作秘話を特別インタビュー【電撃PS】. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). March 29, 2019. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  20. ^ 矢野達也 (in Japanese). Love Annex. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Products (in Japanese). Koei Tecmo. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  22. ^ アトリエシリーズ20周年記念作品「ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち」は12月13日発売へ。特典を満載した2つの特別ボックスも登場. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). August 31, 2018. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  23. ^ a b 「ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち ～新たな大地のアトリエ～」の発売日が2019年1月31日に延期. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). November 7, 2018. Archived from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  24. ^ a b Vitale, Adam (November 27, 2018). "Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists set to release on March 26 in North America, March 29 in Europe". RPG Site. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  25. ^ Steam版『ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち』が配信開始。4月1日までは10％オフで購入できる. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). March 27, 2019. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  26. ^ Stenbuck, Kite (January 19, 2019). "Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists post-game content and season pass DLC revealed". RPG Site. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  27. ^ 「ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち」の追加DLC第4弾「エクストラストーリー」が配信開始。リーズやダグラスら20名の新キャラクターが登場. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). May 23, 2022. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  28. ^ Polis, Annette (May 16, 2021). "Nelke's Painting Provides a New End-Game Challenge in Atelier Lydie & Suelle DX". Siliconera. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  29. ^ a b "Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World for PlayStation 4". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  30. ^ a b "Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World for Nintendo Switch". Metacritic. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  31. ^ Romano, Sal (January 23, 2019). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1573". Gematsu. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  32. ^ a b c Aubrey, Dave (March 30, 2019). "Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists review - "Stripped back Atelier"". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  33. ^ Romano, Sal (February 6, 2019). "Media Create Sales: 1/28/19 – 2/3/19". Gematsu. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  34. ^ a b ネルケと伝説の錬金術士たち ～新たな大地のアトリエ～(PS Vita)のレビュー・評価・感想情報 (in Japanese). Famitsu. Archived from the original on December 17, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
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