Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World Reviews
As a first attempt at a new genre, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists is not a complete failure. Everything functions as it should, and outside of the time limits it's not an overly complicated game. However, it ultimately fails as a celebration of Atelier's 20th anniversary. The hallmarks of the series such as exploration and synthesis have been simplified drastically, and the characters taken from previous games are underutilised by both the story and gameplay. This might not be the worst way to introduce someone to town building and simulation games, though it will likely fall short of Atelier fans' expectations.
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.
Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists adds a city simulation component to the Atelier series and brings a wealth of interaction between the series' characters, which will be thoroughly enjoyed by Atelier fans. It doesn't break any significant grounds and some of its goals feel repetitive in a short time but its mechanics are simple to learn and the game's wide variety of characters will be certainly welcomed by anyone who enjoys the series.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists is a decent crossover game for the Atelier franchise, linking 20 years of the series together.
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.
Instead of a glorious celebration of all things Atelier, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists comes off more like a misguided attempt at creating a spinoff by toning down all the elements that makes Atelier games enjoyable in the first place.
Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World is an interesting take on the Atelier franchise but one that lacks most of what makes the series fun in the first place.
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.
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.
What Nelke presents is an embarrassing attempt to shoehorn battle sections in that bore the player to tears.
This game is addictive as hell and although it gets repetitive at times I found myself blowing away a large part of my weekend
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.
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.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
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.
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.
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.
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.
A spin-off title of the niche Atelier series, Nelke may provide some neat cameos for long-time fans, but otherwise isn't a very interesting game to play.
Although basic in parts, it's so easy to get addicted to Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World. Alchemy gives a wonderful twist to the city management gameplay, and everything is so charming that it's easy to get lost in building up the town and watching it grow.
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.