Atelier Elie (エリーのアトリエ〜ザールブルグの錬金術士2〜), launched 12/17/1998, developed and revealed by Gust
That is truly on the finish of 1998, however I made a decision to do a primary run-through of the sport now, after which I’ll return to it later. After the sudden success of Atelier Marie, Gust appears to have instantly began creating a sequel. It got here out a few 12 months and a half after Marie, so it’s no shock that the sport may be very related. It takes place in the identical city as Marie, with most of the similar locations and characters. The primary character Elie, like Marie, is a struggling scholar hoping to graduate the alchemy academy.
The brand new gameplay parts are minor. That is the primary sport to permit you to have an effect on the standard of an merchandise (this time by altering the method), though the standard has comparatively little impact on the sport compared to later entries. You too can do “unique” crafts the place you’ll be able to select any objects you need to mix, though you need to get moderately near pre-set formulation to have the ability to get objects. Elie’s ranges at the moment are cut up into an Alchemy stage and an Adventurer stage.
What’s totally different is the scope of the sport, which is bigger than Marie. Marie’s seven endings might be gotten in a single playthrough pretty simply (perhaps with a little bit of backtracking to outdated saves). Elie has 12 endings, and they’re totally different sufficient that it will be laborious to do them in a single playthrough. There are extra objects, and extra occasions. On the entire it’s nonetheless pretty easy in comparison with the later entries however it’s extra sturdy than the primary sport.
The primary character Elfill (Elie) is from a rural village. She had her life saved by an alchemist (Marlone/Marie) and now her aim is to turn out to be an alchemist herself and reunite with Marie. The essential gameplay is similar as Marie — exit and collect elements, make objects, and get cash by fulfilling requests within the bar. As you stage your alchemy you get entry to the academy library and you may make extra objects, and by listening to rumors within the bar you’ll be able to entry extra gathering areas. There are a variety of occasions that both activate at sure dates or seasons, or whenever you get somebody’s friendship stage up excessive sufficient.
Yearly on 8/1 there’s a contest on the academy, the place you need to craft an merchandise, reply quiz questions, after which attempt to break a barrel with out damaging the contents inside. After the competition you’ll be able to verify the following day to see how effectively you probably did. To get the very best endings you need to do fairly effectively within the contests. Past that I’m not solely sure what the impact is — in my expertise it looks like for those who skip a contest solely you get a foul ending no matter your different situations, and that doing poorly within the contests doesn’t have an effect on the sport except you’re going for one of many high endings. However I’m not sure about both of this stuff.
One of many early occasions I noticed was Shia’s marriage ceremony (she is Marie’s good friend from the primary sport; the “finest” ending of that sport has you crafting a drugs to remedy her sickness).
One of many rivals of Elie within the academy college is Aizel, who I acknowledge from Atelier Viorate (one of many high Viorate endings entails her). Right here she’s only a scholar, although, below the tutelage of Helmina, who I collect additionally reveals up in another Atelier video games.
I performed and not using a walkthrough for some time; the “common” ending is as simple to get as in Marie. All you need to do is make a stage 4 merchandise, which I had already completed by about midway by way of the second 12 months. After which you can simply relaxation till annually’s 8/1, do the competition, after which Elie will graduate and arrange her alchemy store the place Marie’s was.
At this level I checked out a information to see what endings there have been. I hoped I might get what appears to be the “finest” ending, however I had already tousled some flags that may make it very laborious — ultimately I used to be not in a position to activate an occasion and I couldn’t get the very best ending.
The battle system is almost the identical as Marie — there’s some form of climate impact however it hardly ever appeared to do something.
To search out Marie, you need to increase the friendship of one of many companions (a dancer, who I didn’t get any screenshot of apparently). In case you have activated a couple of of the Marie-related flags, she’s going to finally inform you a few coastal city you’ll be able to go to, though it takes a month to journey there.
When you get right here, it opens up a bunch of latest gathering areas, and you may pay 100 cash to have the objects despatched again to your own home city. You possibly can’t do any crafting right here, although. Plainly Marie has left right here to go throughout the ocean to a unique city, however no ships are going proper now due to a sea monster.
By seeing some occasions associated to a lady on this city, she’s going to finally comply with allow you to use her ship for those who can beat the monster.
The monster is highly effective however for those who use a sleep medication on it, it gained’t get up in any respect and you may defeat it with a couple of pictures of the ship cannon.
Elie then reunites with Marie within the city there, and you may rent her in your celebration. Nonetheless, to really get the ending related to this, you want 8 out of the 11 attainable “marie factors” from varied issues all through the sport. I had already tousled 3 of the factors, so theoretically I might nonetheless do it, however there’s an occasion that can provide you a degree that I used to be by no means in a position to get to activate accurately.
So I went forward and stopped with the “Maister Rank” ending, which you may get by fulfilling some not-so-difficult situations. This offers you an extension of two extra years and permits for the three “high” endings, of which one is simply getting the Maister Rank and doing not one of the different situations. Elie graduates the academy with this high honor and decides to return to her hometown to start out a brand new life there.
I managed to get three of the 12 endings (a foul ending, the “regular” ending, and the Maister Rank ending). I don’t know if I’m going to play this sport to get all twelve of the endings, however I might a minimum of prefer to retry to get the Marie-related ending that I didn’t efficiently do that time. Alongside the best way I’ll see if there are different endings I can choose up, though as I mentioned, it’s not as simple because it was in Marie to do that.
One different factor that’s within the sport are love occasions that may set Elie up with a number of the characters; I didn’t actually do that in any respect. That is partially as a result of a whole lot of the love-related flags battle with the Marie flags.
I’m planning on making one other publish to simply record the endings and situations, partially for my very own profit (though I suppose since there’s a translation patch for the PS2 model this might assist somebody). I’ll in all probability then return to the sport as soon as I truly attain December 1998 within the SRPGs and provides it one other attempt. Different objectives i’d attempt are crafting all 200 objects, and getting all of the occasion photos.
(Truly I’ll not want the publish with the endings…)
