Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World Reviews

Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World is ranked in the 44th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10.0
Mar 28, 2019

Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists ~Ateliers of the New World~ is the perfect 20th anniversary special for the Atelier franchise. Despite the game simplifying the combat and almost eliminating the exploration segments, the strategic and puzzle-like city building mechanics more than satisfied my enjoyment of this new take on the series. If you didn't particularly like the city building aspect of Atelier Meruru ~The Apprentice of Arland~, you most likely won't enjoy this game either as it's more of the same only more advanced, deeper, and the focus is now set on the building aspect first.

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8 / 10
Apr 6, 2019

Addictive, lengthy, and true to the original spirit of the series, this spin-off boasts more than enough depth to make up for its dull combat.

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7 / 10
Apr 1, 2019

Considering that I’m limited in my exposure to this franchise as a whole, I found myself engrossed in what this game has to offer. This is a decently crafted side game with enough heart to make it competent enough to play, but a tasty side of fanservice for those who’ve been really digging alchemists and absurdly long game titles for 20 years.

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7 / 10.0
Jun 20, 2019

Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the World is a unique look at the Atelier franchise’s worl outside of the mainstream titles. Lighthearted as it may be, it still feels shallow, though well-designed and full of things do to on a casual level. While fun, interest easily wanes after an hour or two, though its art, voice acting, and overall scope should not be taken lightly. Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the World is a niche title best suited to those that are deep in the fandom of the Atelier Franchise.

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6.3 / 10.0
Apr 13, 2019

This game is addictive as hell and although it gets repetitive at times I found myself blowing away a large part of my weekend

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2 / 5.0
Apr 27, 2019

What Nelke presents is an embarrassing attempt to shoehorn battle sections in that bore the player to tears.

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Apr 30, 2019

I won’t say Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists ~Ateliers of the New World~ is a bad game; it’s just not a very exciting one. The game looks good and has a wonderful soundtrack, but the gameplay is just kinda boring. After around 25 hours of playtime I was totally burned out on the city building. The lack of exploration, way dumbed down alchemy and combat really hurt this one. It is wonderful to see all your favorite alchemists from previous games hanging out and having fun together. These interactions are pretty much the highlight of this game, and everything else is lacking. At $59.99 I would only pick this up if you are hardcore fan of the Atelier series. For everyone else I’d recommend you hold off for the upcoming Atelier Lulua ~The Scion of Arland~ to get that alchemy fix.

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7.5 / 10.0
Apr 6, 2019

Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World is a unique crossover that tells a great story that fans of the series will love while trying something a bit different from the norm gameplay wise and only partially succeeded in this regard as the lack of real challenge from the JRPG side of things drags down the solid city management mechanics.

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7.4 / 10.0
Mar 26, 2019

As an Atelier fan, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World.

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Rice Digital
Top Critic
Mar 28, 2019

I found it to be a joyful blend of simulation and JRPG that at once will please Atelier fans looking to extend their time in this universe and for series newcomers who fancy a JRPG that offers a genuinely different and challenging adventure.

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GameSpew
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Mar 27, 2019

long as you can get past the frustrating first hour, Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World opens itself up to be a rewarding and engaging experience that’s surprisingly hard to put down.

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Mar 27, 2019

The bright, charming, and community-focused story, in a world without a great evil or catastrophe to reveal the ugliness of humanity, means that Nelke, like every other Atelier title, is the perfect foil to the unrelenting angst and anger of so many other games out there.

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7 / 10.0
Apr 30, 2019

Not everything works about the title, like the investigations and opening portions of the adventure. Particularly the latter could've been so much better by not throwing me into an unskippable tutorial. Once you get handed the reigns over the journey, it is a surprisingly fun town management game I couldn't stop playing.

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75 / 100
Apr 12, 2019

Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists is a title that celebrates the Atelier series and, at the same time, brings a new experience to its players. Administrating a city and watching it slowly growing and developing was a pleasant experience which I hope Gust keeps improving in the future.

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8 / 10.0
Apr 10, 2019

But in the end, if all you're interested in is the crafting system and making in-game profit, those aspects are so well-developed that even the most avid fans of the city-builder genre will feel satisfied.

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7 / 10.0
Apr 9, 2019

Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists is a completely different experience to a traditional Atelier game. It focuses more on building and establishing a successful town than doubling down on the mix of alchemy and turn-based battles. It is essentially offering fresh gameplay opportunities with cameos from familiar faces.

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7.5 / 10.0
Aug 16, 2019

The name of the game is simplicity. Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World offers an experience that takes aspects of many genres and boils them down to the basics, for better and for worse.

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Scarlet Bell
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Mar 30, 2019

Nelke and The Legendary Alchemists is a celebration of the Atelier series in the truest sense. Putting forward an experience both accessible to series newcomers and engaging for veterans, it does a brilliant job of captivating players despite its relatively easy to grasp gameplay loop. Though slightly let down by its RPG elements, it's a game I can recommend for anybody who enjoys careful planning and watching their efforts slowly come to fruition; your ideal town is right at your fingertips.

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3.5 / 5.0
Mar 29, 2019

Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World is not the most complex city management game ever devised, but it is quite enjoyable.

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8.5 / 10.0
Apr 12, 2019

Whether you are a true fan of the Atelier franchise, or just like RPG's and town simulation games, this will surely satisfy your thirst. It has enough gameplay elements, with depth, to make any gamer have enough content to last them for a while. The story and voice acting made the already in depth gameplay systems even better. This game is a must buy for any RPG or town simulator fan, especially as the Nintendo Switch lacks in town simulation games.

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