05/12/2017

Atelier Ayesha Plus: I like it, yet not quite


I started Atelier Totori Plus a couple of days ago, got unsufferably bored with it, stopped playing it and erased it from my Vita's memory card. I then started Atelier Meruru Plus, got unsufferably bored with it, stopped playing it and erased it from my Vita's memory card. Then, because I'm totally a stubborn masochist that doesn't learn, I started Atelier Ayesha Plus... and fell in love with it on the spot.

That sure was a nice and unexpected change. Right from the introduction scene, I was swept away by the beauty of the game world, its sheer scope, its solemn and mysterious atmosphere, its lovely pastel colours, its everything — so much so that I developed yet another full-blown case of gaming fernweh: give me Ayesha's remote hut with its breathtaking vistas and I won't need anything more for the rest of my life. Then the gameplay came in and worked its magic on me, as I became instantly smitten with a bunch of features I'll list down there for your convenience:

  • The new fighting system: More varied that ever, with support moves, effects added to attacks depending on the character and foe's respective positions and the possibility to move around and hit enemies from the back for extra damage, all enhanced by kickass battle animations. Battling was often a dreadful chore in Atelier Rorona Plus, but not so in Ayesha. Plus, we get a brand-new cast of foes to fight: goodbye boring Punis and Rabbits and hello more outlandish and graceful creatures that really look like RPG fauna.
  • The new rules for synthesizing: Gone is the quality system, which made half of your items worthless; now you can keep and use everything you harvest. Gone are also the requirements for specific traits rather than items in recipes, which confused me to no end in Rorona: now you deal with items categories, which is much more simple and straightforward. All this is nicely completed by a new choice of items — I was getting so sick of seeing constantly the same old Eiches and Puniballs in the Arland games, I swear.  
  • The new harvesting mechanics: So much more efficient! Just press the X button when standing on a gathering spot and voilĂ ! Everything is in your basket, and gone is the annoying and time-consuming obligation to review items and select the ones you want to keep/ditch like in the Arland games. Oh, and items stack up in the basket, which means longer harvesting sessions and no worries about the basket getting untimely full. 
  • The new 'Memory Point' system: By synthesizing, fighting foes, harvesting, fulfilling quests and talking to everybody in sight, you gain so-called 'memory points' that can be converted into neat benefits such as stat increases, skills and the like. It's a really lovely and darn efficient incentive to explore, roam, poke your nose everywhere and basically do things and get involved in the game world. 

So there I was, having fun and enjoying the ride; but then, something sneaked in and spoiled my fun. And lo and behold, that something is the exact same thing that cramped my style in Rorona, i.e. the bloody time management. Did I mention that I absolutely loathe time management? I suck hard at it, and having to pull it off in a video game is not my idea of a good time. At all. As a result, my playthrough of Ayesha is slowly losing its shine and charm as my preoccupation with the calendar and its ever-flying days increases. There's not a single action in that game that doesn't consume precious time — heck, I'm sure a day elapses when Ayesha yawns or releases a fart. I have three years to reach my goal, and I have no idea how stringent the game is when it comes to its deadline: do I have a bit of leeway to experiment, or do I have to make every day and every move count? And why isn't there an instant save feature to spare me the hassle of going back to town and losing precious time just to save?

On top of the time management hassle, the game's lack of guidance and focus is making me seriously antsy. While Rorona offers the player a series of clear-cut assignments, Ayesha gives you this general goal and lets you figure out by yourself how to reach it. Mind you, I would absolutely lap up that concept in any other circumstances; but given that I must figure things out in a bloody limited time lest I get slapped in the face by a Game Over, I'm finding a teensy bit hard to experiment and get lost in the flow of the gameplay. I have to find a way out of that predicament: either I stop playing the darn game, or I just forget about the deadline and follow my every whim without worrying about the outcome. I'm strongly leaning towards the latter right now: I love the game too much to give it up so soon, and I'll certainly learn plenty of interesting stuff in the process; stuff that can be put to good use in subsequent playthroughs of Ayesha in case I fail my current one — not to mention in the two other Dusk games. I'll mull over the matter and come back at you soon with fresh Ayesha tidings, dear fellow gamers. Until then, thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!

2 comments:

  1. IIRC, only Totori and Meruru had some serious time constrains in terms of completing everything (the Plus games on the Vita fixed that somewhat). You can easily finish Ayesha Plus, or any of the subsequent Ateliers (specially Shallie and Sophie since they have NO time limits whatsoever), without any worries about failing the time limits.

    Just for reference: I completed Ayesha (PS3) without a guide and generally wasting time with harvesting materials and whatnot and I still had about 9 months until the time limit.

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    1. I'd like to believe those reassuring words, my friend; but alas, things are getting pretty hairy in my playthrough right now, and I think I'm very much heading towards a big fat Game Over. :P But hey, if it comes to that, I'll just dust myself off and start over again. ^^

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