Shilly Shallie

If you follow niche Japanese game news, you don’t need me to tell you a new Atelier game is coming. Gust makes a habit out of consistently releasing one title in the series each year, and 2014 is no exception. The company confirmed the existence of a new Atelier game at a special event hosted by Dengeki Playstation, though at the time it was only known as “A16,” enough to signify that it was the 16th game in the Atelier franchise. They also provided a teaser video briefly showing the protagonist. They’re usually revealed in late-March, and this year was, well, no exception. Man, these guys sure are predictable, huh?

But it’s the good kind of predictable, at least for the series’ fanbase. The game is officially called Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea, the third and final game in the Dusk trilogy. Naturally, there are complaints about it being on Playstation 3 despite the Playstation 4 being available on shelves in the biggest territories worldwide, but it would make no sense for Gust to release it on PS4 for two reasons. They started the Dusk series on PS3 with Atelier Ayesha, and continued it with Atelier Escha & Logy (which just released in western territories a few weeks ago, by the way), and they want to finish it on that system. Also, not all niche game developers are ready to move to a powerful system like the PS4 just yet. Any of you waiting for a new gen installment will have to wait until 2015.

Note the “Alchemists” in the subtitle. Like Escha & Logy, Shallie will once again star two protagonists, but there’s a small twist: they’re both girls this time. If there’s anything I’ve seen after browsing a few discussions in comment sections and on message boards, it’s that Atelier fans really don’t like playing dudes.

The girl you saw in the trailer is Shallistera, a skilled 16-year-old alchemist from a family of ship leaders. She’s searching for a way to save a disaster-laden village in place of her sick and bedridden father, seeking support in a distant oasis town. Her design is typical for the franchise, meaning it’s far better than the borderline-illegal outfits the underage protagonists from the Arland series wore. She peculiarly lacks a last name, which could be a plot point.

Meanwhile, there’s Shallote Elminus, with her out-of-place schoolgirl skirt. She’s an 18-year-old wannabe alchemist who runs a family studio after her father suddenly passed. Due to her lack of skill, she’s only been able to obtain subcontracting jobs, which don’t make much money for the studio. She desires to rid herself of the incompetence that plagues her, and become a bigger sensation. I just hope they won’t have too many jokers featuring her tripping, because she’s so clumsy. Needless to say, I’m not clinging too hard to that.

With the protagonists sharing similar first names, you can understand why the game is called “Atelier Shallie.” You can choose the protagonist you want at the game’s outset. They’re two different characters with different personalities, meaning you’ll see different cutscenes depending on who you’re playing. Shallistera quest focuses on themes of wonder and tragedy, as she discovers the mysteries of the world around her. Shallote’s story runs contrary to that, and contains a more comedic tone.

The Dusk games haven’t relied on the player having acute knowledge of the previous game as much as the Arland trilogy, but they still exist in the same universe. There will be cameos, but not enough that you’ll be lost if you haven’t played the previous titles.

Regardless of which character you pick, don’t expect any major differences in gameplay and game flow. But Shallie (the game, not the characters) will have some differences compared to the previous games. Fields will be larger this time around, allowing for the discovery of more items for alchemic purposes. Atelier games have a focus on finding new alchemic recipes to create new items, accessories, and weapons, and that won’t change here.

Another constant for Atelier? Each game is visually superior to the last, and Shallie continues that trend. With Escha & Logy, Gust left the Phyreengine behind and moved on to Tecmo Koei’s Warriors engine, and now they clearly know how to use it. To see how much they nailed the look they wanted, compare Hidari’s artwork with the character models for Shallistera and Shallote on the official website, and you’ll barely tell the difference between them.

In fact, it actually looks better than Bandai Namco’s upcoming Tales of Zestiria in certain places. That’s mind-boggling, considering which company has more money and larger resources. It’s difficult to tell whether that’s the fault of the development team, or the graphics engine the Tales team is using.

Atelier Shallie releases in Japan on June 26. We’ll see if Tecmo Koei America doesn’t give up on the series and releases this in the west next year; if they don’t, they’ll release it at around this time. If they don’t, no one would mind if they handed the franchise back to NIS America. At least the localization wouldn’t be as sloppy as Escha & Logy’s.

Honestly, maybe we should be asking what Tecmo Koei will do with the franchise in Japan if this game doesn’t light the charts up a little. The Arland games performed well sales-wise in their home country, but the Dusk games haven’t done quite as nicely. Apparently they received their just desserts after toning down the fanservice, and that’s just disappointing. Fanservice is still present in the Dusk games, which you can see after seeing Shallote’s character model. These games are inexpensive to make, so hopefully they’re still meeting expectations.