Magical- Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island Review

As an aficionado of Gust’s alchemical titles (which include both the Atelier and Mana Khemia series), I was expecting to be immediately absorbed by Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island. The concept of carefully crafting weapons, rations, and quest items out of everyday objects has consistently fascinated my inner MacGyver. My first hour or so with Annie proved to be disappointingly wearisome- the game’s dialog was unnecessarily long-winded, and interactivity was minimal. Then quite unexpectedly, Sera Island blossomed, and relinquished its stifling tutorial to reveal a title that more of a sim that a conventional role-playing game.

Of course, RPG tradionalists may scoff at the game’s plotline. Protagonist Annie Eilenberg isn’t concerned with altruistic tasks like saving the world, or even a financially unstable academy. Instead, Sera Island’s plotline begins as the indolent young woman is sent to the atoll by her grandparents, who grew tired of Annie’s languid behavior. The young woman’s solution to the problem is to ‘marry up’, and win the security of young suitor. Serendipitously for Annie, the island is holding a redevelopment contest for young alchemists, which allows for the attention of influential young men. More importantly, the competition is the impetus Annie needs to develop her own potent potential.

Those expecting a reliance on combat to keep the proceedings moving along might be surprised. Annie’s resource collecting expeditions contain the sporadic group of random monster encounters, but battling and level grinding is not Sera Island’s focus. Instead players advance through the game by completing quests offer by NPCs and subsequently raising Annie’s fame quotient. Characters may ask the young alchemist to create a handful of specific weapons. By exploring locales on the outskirts of the island, Annie gathers the raw materials used to craft the hardware, and heads to the game’s workshop to manufacture the specific item. Most of these errands have an expiration date, so she also has to carefully manage her time. The title’s forgoing of requisite RPG trappings is welcome, and contributes to the game’s sense of individuality; Annie feels deftly dissimilar from her Atelier brethren.

Additionally, Annie is responsible for urban development on the island. Apparently, alchemy is engineering’s close cousin, as the young woman is tasked with zoning for theatres, museums, and theme parks. Once these locales are built, a selection of simple mini-games becomes available. In one, Annie was asked to promote a park; requiring players to tap on the screen as a meter rose on on-screen. By stopping the gauge near its peak, the alchemist’s voice was loud enough to attract a throng of people to the recreational area. While the game’s improvement and storekeeping components are enjoyable, I did long for a greater amount of control over the managerial intricacies- apparently, Annie doesn’t like to get too bogged down in the details.

Atelier Annie’s one significant misstep is the game’s redundant humor. When Pepe, Annie’s dimulative trainer gets called “tiny”, and she reacts raucously, the joke is funny once. By the fifth time this happens, players will be tempted with skipping the conversation completely. While NIS’s translation of the title is undoubtedly competent, the source material wasn’t sharp to begin with. Another small problem hails from conversations within the game’s combat system, where players will see the same monotonous phrase for each character’s attack, recalling the obsolete technology of eight-bit role-playing.