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Atelier Annie: Alchemist of Sera Island: Reviews

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Game Score: 7/10

Ok...

First comes the graphics...It's a WOW...Characters were really illustrated well. Costumes were really nice though they don't change it. A special mention of Kilbert's really nice heavy armor and big sword would be really nice. Hans was cute, Annie's outfit was charming, Pepe's large hat/cap was cute, and all the rest of the gang's outfits were classical.

The different character expressions were well delivered. Bravo...
It's pretty shoujouish in a sense... Bishounens, shota...and the like. Well, they're undeniably charming for most who play games like these.

Settings...hmm...The settings were pretty nice but really limited. Here's the scenario: You get out the house to go somewhere else and all you have to do is to choose formally written buttons of locations. Handy...yes but quite boring. This illustrates the SIM side of the game. Press x button to the max. RPG illustration is quite typical though managing the controls would make people opt to click. It's quite confusing at times...really.

Sounds SFX, BGM... Not too topnotch but considerably A-OK... Japanese voices were still on the run. Players have the option to remove the voices probably due to redundancy as most actions in the game ,the most frequently done and simultaneous loops of action, have one and only one SFX track assigned to it. For example, the player would like to go somewhere else and as Annie exits any building/location she says Doko ni ikou ka na? then she lands in the desired location and thinks she might as well go somewhere else and voila, the question pops out just like the sentence she uttered a while ago... Doko ni ikou ka na? Seriously, it sounds pretty redundant. Good thing they thought of leaving the option of removing the voice to the players. Hurrah...

BGM...not much variance in genre but pretty catchy for some reason. I remember Jungle wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu! when I here the tropical BGM and tracks...I've no complaints whatsoever about the voice acting. Fitz's voice, in my opinion, was quite a squeal. Like she says, Annie oneechan, homette? That was squealy... Mah, it's typical for a little girl.

Hmmm...what else..Oh yeah~...
The small space in every location was irritating but easy. It's like they only allotted one screen per location. I'd prefer Rune Factory's format for an area...yes, it takes a lot of running around but it was exciting. As I'm not a fan of formal RPG fighting scenes where the player gets to just push a button to inflict damage on the enemy, I'd say, it was a good idea to provide a skip button...at last, I can just leave my characters attack until it is done. No more decision-making 101. Just attack like crazy until one side faints.

I love the fact that Annie doesn't die no matter what she does in the gathering point. She just returns to her workshop and says she's not gonna give up! Wow...that's the spirit, Annie!!!

Though I hate to say it, there are a lot of cliche's in the plot like Annie gets mistaken for a boy and Hans gets mistaken for a girl, Hans isn't really comfy about negotiating with girls his age, adorable Fitz gets praise for being cute, yada yada... I love the hints of romance between Hans and Annie though...hehe. People say there are no romantic endings whatsoever... geez. I love that cliche scene of Hans and Annie where Annie falls from a tree, sprains her ankle, and gets carried by Hans on his back...cheesy but cute..It kind of reminds me of Harvest Moon 64 where bachelorettes sprain their ankles and get carried by the main character. WOW~...nostalgia. Poor main character...mind doing a job in the pier?

Hans...why don't you take a good look at Annie...I'm sure he feels something about Annie... yeah, Annie may not be a bijin or she may not even look like a girl herself (relatively...) but she's unbelievably unique and charming. Seriously, Hans and Annie make a good pair. Who cares about the ending!! It's just an official announcement! HAHAHA...I still love the cut scenes between Annie and Hans. tsk tsk tsk

Ok, well, let's see, the game was too fast. The time-allotting scheme was pretty hard. Compared to rune factory where requests can be done any time and any duration, the concept of utilizing deadlines and days of constructing a single item is quite a hassle. Pain in the neck, actually.

Taking jobs and completing them is the most boring part of the game. Perhaps the x button of the controls might get dislodged soon..or now, if you're busy pushing it to the limits while playing the game. HAHA...don't worry, it won't get removed that easily. Completing a request is like a memory game. It gets annoying every time you get to the point where you forget what you were supposed to make as the list of requests is, surprisingly, not that connected to the "window"/screen which allows you to construct the item itself. I SERIOUSLY HATED THAT. I hated the fact that I needed to exit the synthesis screen to get to the jobs list and again, browse through the pages of requests...weapons and accessories are also a pain in the butt to synthesize.

Scenario: Me: Ok, now I have to complete the Adventurer's Guild's request! Let's see...oh, it's a red short sword! Got it~!

Me: let's see how I am supposed to come up with it...red supplement...NO~! I need to synthesize a supplement for the red trait to come to existence!

Me: ok, I'm done with the red supplement synthesis. Geez, it took a day. What was I making in the first place? @.0"???*checks the job list* It's supposed to be something red I think...Oh dear, there's a request for a red spear, red orde uniform, red short sword...I'M ,BASICALLY, LOST in my own mind.

Me: Oh, I was actually aiming for a red short sword. Synthesis...synthesis. Oh no, I lack all three ingredients!!! No short sword...no yada yada. *goes to general shop then forgets why she's there then goes back to the jobs list...sees a lot of requests and forgets which quest she was actually doing...and finally gives up and turns the ds off*

THAT'S THE POINT I'D REALLY WANT to EMPHASIZE. It's a toll for the memory of the player. I hope players can access the jobs list easily and select the job they want to complete like marking the specific job in the list so players can look them up easily. Synthesis takes days...it's a waste of revenue.

As I'd also wanted to emphasize, they shouldn't be too deadline-oriented in the game. That's the challenge I suppose...or is it a serious toll?

Triggering the events shows tons of text but they also placed a skip button if you don't want to see the event or even read what the characters are saying...imagine pressing x like crazy while reading the thick blocks of text. It takes forever to finish a scene. It's good if the player would want to lavish the scene.

Endings...yes, it's a short way to the ending. Replay value is average. Who would want to repeat all those button-smashing? I'm too lazy myself...hehe. PLUS my memory's bad so this game is a hassle for me. I like the cut scene triggering parts though!!! Graphics? Fantastic... Platform? Average... Sounds? Hmm...rating it seriously won't really matter but I think it's beyond satisfactory but limited. Mind you guys, it's my first game from the series so don't ask me about the previous games in the series. EHEHE.I can't possibly identify improvements throughout the series or rather things gone bad compared to the previous games in the Atelier <put the name of the female protagonist here> series.