Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg

Atelier Marie Remake is a charming game that has cross appeal with both RPG fans and fans of cozy games. The game follows Marlone, who goes by Marie, and her simple task to graduate from alchemy college in five years. The game does adhere to that strict five year timeline, but is short enough to be infinitely replayable to chase different objectives and accommodate different playstyles. I have gone through it twice and gotten different endings at the time of this review. The main goal of the Atelier games is to craft items using alchemy to further the story and help your leading lady become stronger/a better alchemist. Atelier Marie, being a remake of a PS1 cult classic, holds true to the "less is more" approach that the original had. There are a few maps to gather materials for alchemy, and one main hub town, but within those confines are a plethora of secrets to discover and friends to meet; each with their own character development and backstory to learn as you grow closer with them. This was the standout for me, as being about as big of a reader as I am a gamer, getting to know more about each character through their dialog was a treat. Characters like Mu, Hallesch and Kirie…

It's quite a short game. It took me about 7 hours to finish it. I wouldn't recommend buying it for the full price, however it's a very cute and lovely game. Grab it on sale.

This is my first Atelier game, and yeah, it really is short, at least just getting the normal ending isn't going to take long at all! I was a bit nervous just with the time limit, but they give you WAAAAY more time than you need just to see the first ending! I would honestly recommend Unlimited mode since you basically get all the time in the world to fight all the bosses and obtain everything needed for the other endings. That being said, I really do absolutely LOVE this game!! Such a surprise to find a JRPG that really made me want to play JRPGs again! The synthesis features are very basic but honestly so much fun, then building a party with awesome characters and learning their stories make this game all the more worth playing through!

Story: 4/5 Gameplay: 4/5 An Atelier game at its core. Even after 25 years, the characters, story, and overall identity remain true to what makes an Atelier game.

A cute, chill game. It's fun to see where Atelier started. Despite the time limit, it's very easy to do just about everything in a single run, minus a few events.

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