Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk (アーシャのアトリエ～黄昏の大地の錬金術士～, Aasha no Atorie ~Tasogare no Daichi no Renkinjutsushi~) is a 2012 role-playing video game developed by Gust.
Atelier Ayesha is the fourteenth installment of the main Atelier series. It is the fourth game released on the Playstation 3, although it is in an entire new universe from the Arland Series. It is the first game in the Twilight Series, and the prequel to Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky.
Hidari, also known as Left Side, is the new main character designer. Animal and monster designs were made by Ryota Murayama and the background concept art was made by Aquamary Images. The game was directed by Yoshito Okamura.
An updated port, Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk Plus, was released on the Playstation Vita on March 27 2014 in Japan, January 13, 2015 in the US, and February 11, 2015 in PAL territories. This version was later re-released again under the title Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk DX. It was released in Japan for the Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch on December 25, 2019, and the US and European releases on January 14, 2020 alongside the global release of the Microsoft Windows version on the Steam storefront.
Entries
You can find other entries of the game here: Atelier Ayesha
Plot
The story revolves around the main protagonist Ayesha's search for a way to save her younger sister, Nio. The game has ten possible endings that become available depending on the players actions and choices but the game will immediately end if the player isn't able to find Nio in three years.
The story takes place in a remote land (usually referred to as Ground/Land of Dusk, as in the game's Japanese title). The land that doesn't have one shared government, but yet it is united. This area was once home to an advanced civilization, and the world prospered exceedingly with the art of alchemy. But as time passed, the art of alchemy was forgotten and the civilization declined. However, the land is still full of ruins from the civilization[1].
See Character Events (Atelier Ayesha) for in-game events with each character.
The story begins with an unknown man inspecting the ruins. A merchant who passes by offers to give him a ride and they travel together for a bit before parting ways when approaching a workshop. There, the apothecary Ayesha Altugle is preparing medicine when the merchant arrives and scolds her for being too focused on her work and not enough on herself. It is revealed that the merchant's name is Ernie Lyttleton and he has been working with Ayesha for a long time by selling her medicine in town and also by taking care of her as the only adult figure in her life since her grandfather passed out and her younger sister Nio disappeared. Ayesha goes to her garden to pick up some materials to prepare more medicine and Ernie gives her candies, as he often does, to thank her. Before leaving, he tells her about the stranger he met on the way.
After his departure, Ayesha goes to the ruins behind her workshop to visit Nio's grave which lies in the depths. As she is about to leave, Nio suddenly appears in a ghost-like form. Ayesha tries to talk to her but she cannot hear her voice and disappears immediately. The unknown man then appears and introduces himself as Keithgriff Hazeldine, he seems to be aware of the phenomenon which caused Nio's disappearance but he refuses to tell Ayesha because he judges that she should seek the truth herself if she truly wants to know more, yet he still advises her to research the glowing flowers as a starting point.
Now convinced that Nio is still alive, Ayesha is determined to find her and sets on a journey with her cow Pana. Her first destination is the village of Riesengang where she reunites with her childhood friend Regina Kurtis, who offers her to stay at her house as long as she needs it. She also becomes Ayesha's first companion on her journey after hearing about Ayesha's story. While strolling around the village plaza, she falls upon an argument between the village chief and a young woman, because he refuses her access to the ruins on the basis that it is too dangerous for women.
Ayesha and Regina set Vierzeberg as their next destination as the latter believes that someone might know about the glowing flowers. Once arrived at the city, they split up and agree to meet later at the top of the Hill Plaza. Ayesha meets Wilbell Voll-Ersleid on the way, who mistakes her as a witch due to the smell of herbs on her. After getting lost for a bit, Ayesha finds Regina and they go to the Black Cat's Path. They fall upon the shopkeeper Marietta Muir but the person they're seeking is the owner Harry Olson. Unfortunately, the results after talking to him aren't fruitful. To apologize for not being able to help her, Harry offers Ayesha an available room behind his shop for free, to thank her for always providing his shop with high-quality medicine.
Gameplay
Synthesizing
The synthesis system is a key function in the game. With the synthesis system, the player can combine different items to create a new item(s). Several times in the game, a specific item must be synthesized to progress in the game. Synthesis can be performed in the workshops.
Synthesizing will consume days. The synthesis time differs depending on the choosen item and quantity. Often there are several different ingredients that can be choosen to be used for the same item. The effects and traits of ingredients of different kinds might vary.
Putting in ingredients will cost CP, different ingredients have different costs. It's possible to continue adding in ingredients in a synthesis even if the player runs out of CP, but the ingredient wont be able to affect the item's traits or effects. While synthesizing, special skills can be used to affect the synthesis and the items traits and effects. Most such skills will consume CP as well.
Workshops
In workshops, it's possible to save, load, change music, sleep, perform synthesis, access the container, and write diary entries. Many events also take place in the workshops. There are four places the player can use as workshops and they will all share the same functions, except that certain events might only occur in certain workshops.
Battle
A new battle system lets players move the characters around the battlefield. Distance and position plays a key role in battle, characters in the same area can assist each other and attacking enemies from the backside will deal a more powerful attack.
Battles are turn based, and the player can use up to three characters in battle, with two of them being optional and changable. As the "AC (Active Command)" gauge fills up, the characters gain use to special assist actions, such as protecting another character, follow-up "pursuit" attacks, and special AC skills unique to the character.
A battle can occur through events or when coming in contact with an enemy in a gathering area.
Exploration
Gathering
In gathering areas there are glowing spots the player can obtain items from. These items can mainly be used as synthesis ingredients. The player can also obtain different liquids from wells in city areas. Gathering in a gathering area will consume time (indicated by a gauge), obtaining items from city areas will not.
World Map
The player will mainly travel to destinations through the world map. All locations that can be visited appears as points at the world map. To be able to travel to a point, it must be connected with a line to a point the player can already travel to. Traveling between points will consume days. There are 71 points at the world map.
On the world map, the player can also run into several characters that appear on the world map, which can trigger an event. After certain points it's also possible to buy, sell, and sometimes register items from the characters appearing on the world map.
UI Design
Memory Diary
In Atelier Ayesha, the Memory Diary feature was introduced to the series. After certain events, the player can choose to unlock a diary entry of an event with obtained memory points for bonuses such as recipies or status changes. Memory points can be obtained from finishing quests, events, talking to people and finding flyers.
Notebook
The Notebook lists all active tasks and completed tasks.
Characters
Playable Characters
- Main article: List of Characters in Atelier Ayesha
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An apothecary who works out of a secluded workshop, but decided to go on a journey to save her little sister Nio, whom she recently learned is out in the world somewhere. | |
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Ayesha's sister who disappeared. | |
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A prospector Ayesha met from Riesengang. She's very nice and dependable, like a big sister. They always have fun when they hang out together. | |
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A witch-in-training that Ayesha became great friends with after meeting her in town. She's really smart, and her dream is to become a great witch, but she's still young and can act a bit reckless. | |
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Nanaca's older brother who had been a huntsman for a long time. He looks intimidating, but he's very sweet and dependable. Still, it's hard to get used to that scary poker face of his... | |
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A very pretty swordswoman who serves as Marion's bodyguard. She knows how to handle her big two-handed sword. She loves to fight...a bit too much, sometimes. | |
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A mysterious alchemist and wanted criminal. | |
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She came from a faraway town, along Linca, to research the ruins in this area. She's always thinking about her work and Linca. (DLC exclusive in original version) | |
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A high-performance automaton created in ancient times. (DLC exclusive in original version) |
Non Playable Characters
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Music
The music is composed by Daisuke Achiwa, Kazuki Yanagawa, and Yu Shimoda. The theme song Hanashirube is sung by Mutsumi Nomiyama, who also performed the Atelier Meruru in-game song "Little Crown".
Atelier Ayesha Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk Original Soundtrack
- See Atelier Ayesha Original Soundtrack for main article and a complete listing of tracks.
Twilight Hour Atelier Ayesha - Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk - Vocal Album
- See Twilight Hour - Atelier Ayesha: Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk (Vocal Album) for main article and a complete listing of tracks.
Atelier Ayesha Recollection Archives
Atelier Ayesha Recollection Archives is an album that was exclusively available from Gust Shop. The album includes unused music made for Atelier Ayesha, as well as music used in downloadable content for Atelier Meruru.
Reception
Atelier Ayesha received generally positive reviews, receiving a score of 9/8/9/8 for a total of 34 out of 40 in the Famitsu magazine and a score of 90/95/95/85 in the Dengeki PlayStation magazine.[2]
In Japan, the game was thebest second best-selling title on its release week and sold 60,548 copies between June 25th and July 1st, 2012, selling more than Atelier Totori but less than Atelier Meruru.[3]
Editions
The game was released as a "standard edition" release, and a "Premium Box" limited edition release in Japan and Taiwan. First-print copies of both editions in Japan and Taiwan came with a CD called "World Guide CD". It contains several stories and introductions to places of the game narrated by Ayesha's voice actress, Marina Inoue and Nio's voice actress, Mariya Ise. Several stores in Japan also offered exclusive bonuses with purchase of the game, such as telephone cards.
In North America and Europe the game can be bought in downloadable form, as well as on disc. Buyers who pre-ordered the downloadable version from the US Playstation Store between February 26, 2013 to March 5, 2013 recieved an exclusive Atelier Ayesha themed theme for Playstation 3 for free. GAME in United Kingdom offered a "limited edition art book" with pre-orders of the game.
In May 23, 2013 the game was re-released with a lower price than the original release under the "Gust Best Price" label in Japan.
Updated Versions
Atelier Ayesha Plus
Atelier Ayesha Plus is an updated port for the PS Vita system. It includes new content as well as all the DLC released for the PS3 version (with the exception of the music DLC, which is instead downloadable for free). It was released both physically and digitally in Japan, while it is an digital-only title in the west. The Western version includes a dual audio option as free DLC, as the PS3 version only included the English dub.
Atelier Ayesha Plus added new costumes and accessories, new bosses, as well as several new features. There is also a new mode with higher difficulty. A new mechanic, the Album, allows the player to unlock new art, costumes, the ability to speed up battle animations and change party members from the menu, as well as a new "Free Battle" feature where the player can challenge various enemies and gain a rating based on performance. Another change that has been made to the game is that items that has been registered in a shop will stay purchasable on a second playthrough.
Atelier Ayesha DX
Atelier Ayesha DX is a port of Atelier Ayesha Plus for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows.
It is part of the Atelier Dusk Trilogy Deluxe pack which is similar to the Atelier Arland Trilogy Deluxe pack that was released a year before. This version was released in Japan for the Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch on December 25, 2019, and the US and European releases on January 14, 2020 alongside the global release of the Microsoft Windows version on the Steam storefront. The DX version added a sprint feature to the overworld, a fast forward to the battle system, included costumes only available as pre-order bonuses in the previous two versions, and also included the previously separate music DLC in the base game. The global versions also include dual audio in the base game instead of requiring a separate DLC as in Plus.
Other Media
Atelier Ayesha: From a Certain Alchemist's Travel Diary
A novel written by Toru Shizuki featuring eight side stories for the game was published by Koei Tecmo Games under the name Atelier Ayesha: From a certain Alchemist's Travel Diary(アーシャのアトリエ ~ある錬金術士の旅の日記より~ ). It featured new illustrations made for the novel by Hiroki Haruse, as well as the character illustrations made by Hidari.
It's the second part of the "Gust Official Novels" line, with the first being Atelier Meruru: The Three Alchemists(メルルのアトリエ ~3人の錬金術士~), released only a few days earlier.
Atelier Ayesha ~Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk~ Official Visual Book
Atelier Ayesha ~Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk~ Official Visual Book is a book published by Ascii Media Works, originally released in December 14, 2012. The book features promotional artwork, character and monster artwork, concept art, event artwork, and other artwork and information related to the game. It also features an interview with the game's character designer and illustrator Hidari, and all parts of the short story series Nio's Diary.
Atelier Ayesha ~Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk~ The Complete Guide
Atelier Ayesha ~Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk~ The Complete Guide(アーシャのアトリエ ～黄昏の大地の錬金術士～ ザ・コンプリートガイド) is a strategy guide to the game, published by Ascii Media Works on August 3, 2012.
Explosive! Ayesha-chan Next Doors Atelier Ayesha Play Diary Comic
A "play diary comic" called "Explosive! Ayesha-chan Next Doors Atelier Ayesha Play Diary Comic(爆発! となりのアーシャちゃん アーシャのアトリエプレイ日記マンガ)" of the game by Yunomi Hisamatsu ran on Famitsu.com, and was later published as a book by Enterbrain.
The comic usually consists of Yunomi Hisamatsu herself interacting with various characters of the game, introducing the game's system and features, as well as showing several events and the characters of the game in a more comedic way.
Atelier Ayesha Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk Scenario Collection
Nio's Diary
Nio's Diary is a series of short stories that ran in Dengeki Playstation (電撃PlayStation, dengeki playstation), from issue 515 to 521. The story of Nio's Diary is told through diary entries, written by Nio before her disappearance. The whole series was later collected in Atelier Ayesha ~Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk~ Official Visual Book.
Trivia
- Atelier Ayesha illustrations was at the cover of vol. 515, and 522 of the magazine Dengeki Playstation (電撃PlayStation).
- The theme of the work is "The promise begins (約束が、はじまる)"[4].
- The "Gust Calendar" for 2013 was Atelier Ayesha themed[5].
- Several official works translated the title to "Atelier Ayesha ~Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk~".
Gallery
- See CG Set (Atelier Ayesha) for in-game illustrations.
- See Dressing Room (Atelier Ayesha) for in-game costumes and accessories.
Promotional Art
Promotional Art
Official Web Manual Homepage
World Map Interface
Main Menu
Synthesis Screen
Synthesis Result
References
- ↑ Atelier Ayesha ~Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk~ The Complete Guide
- ↑ Famitsu Magazine 06/21/12
- ↑ "This Week In Sales: Fatal Frame Poses For The Camera, .hack Gets Infected". Silconera.com.
- ↑ [1]Gamer.ne.jp
- ↑ [2]Shop.salburg.com/product/calendar2013
External links
- Official Site(Japanese)
- Official site(North America)
- Official site(Europe)
- Official site(Taiwan)
- Official "Atelier Dusk Trilogy Deluxe Pack" Sites: Japan, North America, Europe.
- Dengekionline's "Dusk Portal"
- Gamer's special "Twilight Series" installation site