I want to try this series out since I've been reading some interesting stuff in threads about it whenever people weren't salivating over the girls.
The question is which one will be the best introduction to the series. They're all 25-30€ and I have a vita and PS4. I don't particularly enjoy time limits but I can stomach them when they're done well.
Help me out here, weebs.
Shin Rorona Plus on the PS3 is the best start, has all the content of the vita version but none of the frame drops. It's the best place to start unless you know Japanese, then play Judie and Violet on the psp and never play another Atelier game because you already played the 2 best games in the series and the rest of the series is just a down hill slope.
Absolutely Atelier Sophie. The game was made for people starting out and it allows people to slowly pick up on game mechanics at their own pace.
The Atelier Rorona+ as your first game meme is just that. There are still far too many unexplained things for new players. So much so that in the three years since release, nobody has made an official walkthrough for it. That should give new players an idea that it's not that easy to pick up and play.
Don't listen to the retard, I've played every Atelier and Sophie is by far the worst game in the series. Including the ps1 games. If you are looking for an easy plat, Atelier is not for you, these games are meant to be played blind.
How does that even matter? Why would I want to play a game based on the number of guides written for it?
>asking Sup Forums for advice on atelier
Might as well just punch yourself in the head and be done with it.
A lot of Atelier fans are plat hunters that just want to say they platted the game because it takes 60+ hours. You don't even need to see 50% of the events to enjoy the game, all the optional events are NOT story related just character building stuff like sharing food. If you like a character, keep them in your party and you will get all their events, keep more than 1 save file is the advice I'd give you.
There are several sub-mechanics which can ruin your experience. Without knowing about the difference between cost and quality and the sacrifices that have to be made to choose the better of the two, you will find yourself with weak post-game weapons and items. Also ALWAYS learn the trait combinations for any game in the series, since they constantly change. A high cost bomb/level down with multiple trait combinations can balance out even the toughest enemies.
Arland is the best series. Rorona+ -> Totori -> Meruru
If you don't want time limits, play Mana Khemia on PS2, which is also the best atelier overall.
Sophie and Ayesha. Rorona is shit.
The funny thing is those people that follow the guides and get ultimate armor and weapons 5 hours into the game then turn around and complain the games are too easy. The game is easily breakable, like Final Fantasy 8, if you know what you are doing. Avoid guides at all cost and learn alchemy, it's the whole point of the game. Half the fun of the games is figuring out how the alchemy works, which is why it changes so often. Have multiple save files, use all the characters, don't let any of them fall behind in levels and you will get 90% of the events.
Sophie is garbage, don't even bother playing it.
>Gustshit
You're better off playing something else
>If you don't want time limits, play Mana Khemia on PS2, which is also the best atelier overall.
Excuse me?
>get ultimate armor and weapons 5 hours into the game
In what world? You won't have neither traits nor recipies for ingots.
Dear god, you mean he might actually need to learn to play the game? How horrifying!
I get what he is saying, but in all honesty, that is the ultimate goal, so making a beeline to it doesn't hurt.
Even when someone does stumble across endgame traits, they need to know the difference between weapons, armor, and accessories and which traits cross over, before even considering making materials.
It's one thing playing the game with end game in mind, it's another thing to blindly follow a guide just to get the events. You might as well just watch a youtube video with all the events at that point.
So the series is an impenetrable clusterfuck?
The basegame is easy enough, the postgame can be brutal since it basically requires you to know the game mechanics which you should know by that point.
Stay the fuck away from nu-Atelier that lacks the time limit. Resource management is the sole point and challenge of these games.
With this said, the only relevant games are the Arland trilogy. Just start with Rorona Plus (skip the postgame if you feel like it's a chore since it kind of sucks). I then heartily recommend you get a PSTV and get Totori Plus and Meruru Plus. Meruru is a great fucking game but you'll want to get to know the setting and characters.
It's one of the most causal games you will ever play, but some autistic min/maxers like to pretend it's hardcore. You could beat this game with shit amour and weapons. You also have new game plus where you take all your items and gear with you so you start the game with everything you need the second run. Plus by that time you already know the game mechanics. Don't listen to the retards that say you need a guide, they probably didn't even play the game blind.
You will die before you even reach the second phase of any machina domain boss in atelier meruru if you go in with "shit armour and weapons". Those bosses don't fuck around, they push your turns back into oblivion and heal for several thousands if they ever hit you.
ass
Are any old Ateliers translated yet?
Only Maria or Ellis. One of them got a fan TL, I don't keep up with them. Just learn Japanese imo.
>Mana Khemia on PS2
What makes the ps2 version superior? I'd rather use ppsspp over pcsx2 if they're the same.
PSP was a shitty port with lots of issues, not sure if emulating fixes them or makes them worse.
>PSTV
Why a pstv specifically?
I don't have any sony consoles other than a ps2 and I was thinking of getting a vita so I could play these games (and for emulation), what's the difference?
I would say play the ps2 version because the psp version has visual issues like cropped art and bad font size for the screen. I love my psp but this is one of the Atelier games better on the ps2.
Okay check this out. The plus version have more content, except for Shin Rorona plus on the ps3 which is the same as the vita. However, Totori on the vita run like 100% pure dogshit, and crashes a lot, it was the first game to be ported to the vita and it shows. My suggestion is play Totori on the vita but be prepared for dogshit frame rates and visuals. Meruru and Rorona run fine on the vita but you might as well play Rorona on the ps3 as it has no extra content on the vita. Meruru is a must play on the vita. The ps3 versions are all outdated except for Shin Rorona plus.
Get a new vita tv for 20-30 burgers and hack it, then play the games for free.
He's asking you why the PSTV version and not the regular vita version. You completely ignored his questions. They are identical. PSTV and Vita play the same games, PSTV is just a vita that you hook to your TV or monitor. That's the only difference.
Play Dusk trilogy at some point. It got me hooked.
Why do people ask for advice when getting into game series instead of just picking the game that looks most interesting to them?
Because they often appear on different platforms and have different revisions where some are more preferable than others, like in this case.
Also, with the Atelier series consisting of several 'trilogies', it's not easy to tell which is the start of each of them since they aren't numbered.
Sophie > Rorona > Ayesha.
Just play the new ones on PC, they have the most features and are generally considered the best everywhere outside of this contrarian shithole.
Rorona Plus and Ayesha Plus are the best games in the series, but if you don't like time limits I'd say to start with Ayesha Plus. It still has a time limit but it's more lenient than Rorona is.