Review for Nelke And The Legendary Alchemists: Atelier Of The New World. Game for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, the video game was released on 31/01/2019 The version for PC came out on 26/03/2019 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 29/03/2019 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 29/03/2019
Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World, a spin-off in the most literal sense of the term, is the new video game from the Atelier brand. This new chapter, of the famous series by Gust Co. Ltd. and Koei Tecmo, distances itself from the canonical titles. The exploratory and alchemical side is almost totally abandoned to give space to the construction and development of the village. If with the Ateliers we got used to a JRPG style, with this transposition we pass from a role-playing video game to a management software.
Nelke von Lestamm is a young aristocrat, fascinated by the ancient legend of the Sage of Granzweit: a tale about the Granzweit Tree and which is said to confer great power on those who discover it. According to legend, one of these relics is located near the village of Westbald and in this village - and its surroundings - the story will develop. The main objective of Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World is precisely to make the village of Westbald grow and prosper.
By constructing buildings, arable fields, orchards, various objects and decorations, some old characters from the Atelier series will decide to stop in the village and make their knowledge available to help Nelke make this small natural village prosper. As you may have guessed, we are not talking about one of the most original textures in the Atelier series.
What remains unchanged from the other chapters is the passage of time that marks the game turns: in Nelke, the structure is divided into Weekday and Holiday. In the first phase, we will have to commit to the development of Westbald. Although with many limitations, we will have a sort of small economy, made up of expenses and revenues. Cultivating, producing and selling will be the actions that will mark most of the time.
The production cycle becomes banal in the long run: we will send the inhabitants to explore the paths already unlocked around Westbald to collect elements, these will be grown or synthesized in the Ateliers and then sold in the shops. To encourage the production of new items, the villagers will occasionally give us quests which, once completed, will increase Nelke's popularity and the size of the village. In the second phase, a wheel of time will mark our activities, which will be divided between visits to the inhabitants (to reinforce the bonds of friendship and level up the characters) and short explorations.
If with the latest mystery trilogy, Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist Of The Mysterious Book, Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey and Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists Of The Mysterious Paintings, we had to explore far and wide, then Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World the exploration is reduced to a simple walk, moreover automatic, around the village. Once our party has been composed, Nelke will venture into the surrounding lands of Westwald: in these short explorations we can decide to walk or run at our discretion. By choosing the first option we will be able to both collect raw materials and run into enemies; choosing the second option we will not find objects but only opponents to face. Once the short path has been completed, which can be consulted on the HUB's Action Gauge, we will find a treasure chest full of raw materials to be used and synthesized in the Ateliers.
The combat system, decidedly simplified and with the possibility of automating or semi-automating attacks, does not differ much from the other chapters: each party member has an offensive or support role. Each turn is marked by the order of attack of the characters, available on the Turn Gauge. Each attack fills the Action Gauge bar and, once completed, we can activate the Burst Gauge which gives a boost to the party's stats. In addition, each character also has a Drive Gauge that fills up for each successful attack. Once filled, it allows you to perform special actions, such as enhancement spells or combo attacks.
If technically we are not at the canonical levels of the series, where Nelke is appreciated is in the characters and in the environments, always very inspired and colorful. The graphics are accompanied by a remarkable soundtrack, with catchy and decidedly captivating music and a dubbing entirely in Japanese, which must be associated with English subtitles.
Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World is a management software with JRPG elements different from the canonical chapters of the series. With eye-catching graphics and solid yet streamlined gameplay, we consider this new chapter one of the funniest in the series. In summary, if you are looking for a canonical JRPG you can also do without buying this chapter. If you are looking for a management software with some JRPG elements, then this is the video game to buy.
► Nelke And The Legendary Alchemists: Atelier Of The New World is a Management-JRPG game developed by Gust Co. Ltd. and published by Koei Tecmo for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, the game was released on 31/01/2019 The version for PC came out on 26/03/2019 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 29/03/2019 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 29/03/2019
