We analyze the compilation that includes the three deliveries of the Dusk trilogy remastered in high definition and including the complete DLC content.
After a year 2019 that has packed the fans of the series with the release of several titles of the franchise such as the spin off with management mechanics titled Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World, the fourth installment of the Arland saga with Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland and finally the, so far, last installment of the series with the launch last November of Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout, arrives to start the new year the remastering of the three deliveries of the Dusk trilogy.
Launched after the end of the Arland trilogy, firstly on PlayStation 3 and later adapted to PlayStation Vita, this new series of games would mean a third change in both the technical level and the game mechanics and the context of the plot, offering each of them important developments in the development of adventures and in the combat system, in addition to offering a different approach to alchemy and its main characters.
The history of this trilogy focuses on the adventures of each of the protagonists throughout the different locations of a world in a state of decline. In the first place we have Ayesha Altugle, a girl who works as an apothecary making medicines that she subsequently sells to the different cities in the surrounding area. In her visit to the monument that marks the grave of her missing sister, Nio, Ayesha is called by her while she appears spectrally before her which leads her to try to investigate how to find her again, thus undertaking a A journey that will take her through different cities while learning the basics of alchemy. Secondly, we have Escha Malier and Logix "Logy" Fischario, apprentices of alchemists in the city of Colseit who will work side by side for the general affairs office using their knowledge in the subject and investigating different areas to solve the different tasks they will expose you and at the same time find the means to investigate the unexplored ruins. Finally there are Shallistera Argo and Shallote Elminus, abbreviated both as Shallie, who are also learners of the knowledge of alchemy. The first one travels from her hometown, the town of Lugion, to Stellard in the hope of getting help with which to solve the situation that plagues her due to the shortage of water while the second resides in the city hoping to find a goal in your life and earn money. Together they will work to find a way to stop the Twilight advance, which threatens to turn the remaining populations into part of a vast and vast desert that covers everything.
Among the new features added to the games in this compilation, it is worth highlighting the inclusion of DLC content for each of them, including costumes, accessories, recruitable characters and music tracks with which to configure the soundtrack during the game. These contents can be added to customize the game either through the Dressing Room option of the main menu or from the save menu, located on the desk of each of the Ateliers of each game, which in turn will include the option Custom BGM for the soundtrack. Other novel aspects are the inclusion of accelerated movement of the character by pressing L3 on the control, in addition to the obvious graphic conversion to high definition, although not exempt from some details that denote the passage of time of these titles.
Regarding the playable features, it can be said that each of the games included in this remastering offers different variants. Ayesha offers an alchemy system similar to what has been previously seen in the games of the Arland trilogy, with the difference that it has a development system of its protagonist through the events collected in the diaro, which are unlocked through of points that accumulate when talking with characters, fulfilling tasks, etc., and that give as a reward parameter improvements and to use alchemy. The exploration is carried out through the discovery of new areas and ruins throughout the game world in which materials can be collected and fight against the various monsters that populate them through a turn-based combat system in which highlights the possibility of winning the back of the enemies to do more damage when making attacks, having to do so to load a special bar of. On the other hand, the cast of secondary characters that will be presented during the adventure are varied and their background can be seen through different events, some of them including visiting their respective stores to sell objects or performing explorations in different areas, which will serve to improve his affinity with Ayesha.
Escha & Logy, meanwhile, first offers the control of two characters to choose from, although it is not something new since it was already a mechanic that was used long ago in Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny with the difference that in This case does not alternate control between one and the other as in that game but in following the story of one or the other when it comes to start playing, which means seeing the story from two different perspectives. The game system in this case is based on the fulfillment of main tasks in a given time, measured in days in this delivery, determined by a series of additional requirements to successfully complete the required quota. As for the alchemy system, it still retains its main core but having the difference that the main protagonists specialize in a specific subject, Escha being responsible for synthesizing objects and Logy to manufacture weapons and armor, both systems can be used independently of the character chosen at the beginning. On the other hand, a new mechanics is introduced, disassembly (dissasembling), with which you can analyze and disassemble objects with which to get new materials, properties and recipes.
Finally Shallie is probably the most affordable title, in playable terms, of the three games in this compilation, since it is the only one that does not have a time limit in its development. For its part, the game system in this case is based on the fulfillment of life tasks (Life Tasks) that each protagonist, of the two selectable when starting the game, must complete to advance in the plot of the game along several episodes, fulfilling, in turn, other additional requirements to strengthen them. The story for each of the protagonists will begin independently and from their own perspective, until finally their paths end up meeting. Regarding the exploration, in the beginning there is access to limited areas that will expand as the exploration is carried out, in addition to the fact that, through the development of the plot, the ecosystem of each zone will vary by performing different actions such as defeating a certain number of monsters or collect certain materials.
In playable matter each of these games supposes a different experience both in its development and in the mechanics of games, being Ayesha much closer to what the Arland games were while Escha & Logy and Shallie try to uncheck them to offer different styles of game much more affordable, which distances it to some extent from what was seen in the games of the trilogy of Arland and that served to lay the foundations of the later games that made up the trilogy of the Mystery. The content offered by each of these games is quite extensive both to explore the different areas of each game and to manufacture the different objects, see events, meet the different characters recruitable or that transcend within the plot as well as see the different endings What are they made of?
Graphically the quality shown in these games is acceptable. The scenarios are simple, especially with regard to the collection locations, without much room for interaction, apart from the fighting and getting materials, as well as showing some details, such as low quality textures, which slightly affect the whole. Cities try to offer some life by introducing some NPCs to talk to and some locations to access, but they also don't offer something more detailed. For its part, the design of the characters, stylized and with a more refined style compared to previous games in the series.
Regarding the sound section, a wide variety of musical compositions are offered with rhythms ranging from melodies evoking classical rhythms played to flute to others with a more rocker style, others with a touch that evokes jazz rhythms or even more casual cut that liven up Each of the moments of the game. In this sense, the Gust Sound Team looks through a soundtrack that stands out in each of these games, to which we must add the opening melodies of each of them with very different styles from each other and calling attention to their audiovisual set, which in a way reminds of those seen in the Ar Tonelico series. It should be noted, in turn, that the tracks included to customize the soundtrack include themes not only from all of the Atelier series games appeared to date, but also versions included in different musical compilations and other games of the study, including crossovers like Cross Edge and Trinity Universe. No less important in this section is the inclusion of English-Japanese voice selector for each of the titles that will allow fans of the series to customize this aspect when starting to play.
CONCLUSION
In general, this compilation is a good opportunity to play one of the most interesting trilogies in the Atelier series, standing out not only for the inclusion of the DLC content that each of these games has but also for appreciating the development of the story and the evolution of the world that leads each of the protagonists of these deliveries. You could ask for something more in terms of quality, especially in graphics and additional languages for text, but for what it offers it is not bad.
THE BEST
- Three games with different styles and mechanics in a single pack.
- The inclusion of DLC content.
- Varied and high quality soundtrack.
- The character design.
WORST
- Texts only in English.
- Some low quality graphic details that impoverish the whole a bit.
Very good
Remarkable game that we will enjoy and remember. A good purchase, highly recommended for lovers of the genre. It is well taken care of at all levels.
