Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea (Vita Edition) Reviews
From personal experience, it can be said that Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea is the perfect place for series newcomers to start.
Atelier Shallie Plus is a great way to end the Dusk trilogy in the Atelier franchise and suffers from the usual Atelier on Vita problems while still charming me over.
Atelier Shallie Plus may close the curtains of the Dusk trilogy, but it is a good place to start for those new to the Atelier games and can even be a good way to ease into the series. The story doesn’t get overly serious while maintaining a lighter tone than your typical JRPG. Being on a portable like the Vita, this entry makes it easy to pick up and play where you can get things accomplished in short sessions. Atelier Shallie Plus is perfect for anyone ever interested in trying out an Atelier game.
Atelier Shallie is a great entry in the series. I really enjoyed all of the characters, and the Life Task system is a fun take on quests and story progression. In those ways, I even like it more than Atelier Sophie. Unfortunately, so much of my love for this game is ruined by its choppy frame rate on PS Vita. If this were simply on PS3 or PS4, it would be a nearly flawless experience. As it stands, Atelier Shallie is the best version of the game available in terms of content, but having to suffer through a poorly optimised experience for those benefits is too steep a cost.
If not for the rather terrible framerates and muddy visuals, Atelier Shallie Plus could have proven a true redemption for what I consider to be the worst game in the series. Still, it is a notable improvement in terms of content, with many more events and playable characters. If you have a high tolerance for poor performing games and feel the need to see everything that transpires in the last episode of the dusk trilogy, do so with a Vita instead of your PS3.
The game is beautifully set up, assuming you’re into the zen level of work it has in store for you.
Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea is great way to wrap up the trilogy. This is a perfect choice for someone looking to try their hand at a JRPG, but still offers enough meaty battle challenges and huge crafting possibilities for devout fans of the series. This Plus version is one of the best entries in the series to date, and while Atelier as a whole may not quite measure up to the genre's classics, this is still a very enjoyable handheld adventure that will keep you coming back for more.
Atelier Shallie Plus features a rich extra content and a more complete storyline, however it also presents various flaws, even severe ones, that were not present in its original PS3 version, leading this PS Vita port far from being perfect.
Review in Italian | Read full review
All in all, though, Atelier Shallie Plus is a fantastic package that fans of the series definitely shouldn’t miss out on. If you were sorely disappointed with the main story in the original PS3 release, Atelier Shallie Plus is a good attempt at making amends and closing things out in the Dusk trilogy.
Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea makes up for a lack of challenge by oozing charm through its beautiful characters, fun combat, and big crafting list. It successfully manages to both patch up problems from the original, while providing newcomers with an endearing entryway into the franchise.
Technical issues aside, this is clearly the best version of the game that does a lot to improve the main complaints of the original release.
Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea is a remake of the PlayStation 3 exclusive, and finds a fantastic landing spot on the PlayStation Vita with all new secrets and content to explore. The game is easy to learn, fun and well paced, and provides a nice mix of JRPG exploration and battles with an item creation system that serves as the series signature. Colorful, well designed, and only slightly stilted, Atelier Shallie Plus is another great title in the Atelier line.
A technically inferior version of the original Atelier Shallie, but its narrative additions are worth seeking out for hardcore fans.
Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea makes amends for the mistakes of the original by wrapping up the Dusk trilogy nicely. The addition of Ayesha and Logy to the mix is not only fun for combat but vital to the entire narrative. Longtime fans will find plenty to love here while newcomers will find the item synthesis engaging and the combat dynamic.
Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea is a pretty shoddy port, but the game itself is a charming, arresting adventure with loads of content and depth.
Two all-new ambitious and focused girls in another Atelier game. Nothing innovative, but it’s still solid entry from PlayStation 3, now in comfortable handheld version.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Atelier Shallie Plus has its ups and downs. As a newcomer, I wasn't necessarily disappointed, but I definitely would not say I was too impressed either.
Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea brings the marvellous personalities of the duo Shallies to a handheld, allowing people to take the relaxing Japanese RPG on the go – a perfect fit for turning that frown into a smile after a hard days work.
The truth of the matter is that this game is a great look into the concept of relationships, sure there are some bizarre annoyances here and there but ultimately this is a great RPG and something every Vita owner should play at least once.
I love any excuse to step back into an Atelier game, and the Dusk trilogy is an especially heartfelt and wonderful series. I’m glad Koei Tecmo got around to localising the Vita version of this game. It’s more a concession to the fans who bought the first two on the Vita than anything else, I suspect, and I’d be surprised if Koei expected this to make any kind of money, but it is a good gesture by the company to allow us to finish our collection for Atelier games on the go.