Time, and Money~

Bombs? Check. Healing items? Check. Accessories for support? Checkeroo~

I was about to leave my workshop when I heard a familiar cry.

"Sis!"

Nio? I turned around and sure enough, my little sister came running towards me, thankfully in one piece.

"Nio!" Oh my! After four years of searching and Synthesising, my lost little sister was finally home! How did she escape unscathed?

It was only then I noticed a tall, rugged-looking man walking with Nio. "Mr. Keith?" Is he the one who found my sister? Wait, after all that hard work, shouldn't I be the one finding my sister?

Mr. Keith then explained how he found Nio in some ruins by accident and brought her back home to me. Nio cried about how dark and scary it was in there, and it was because of Keithgriff's voice was she able to come back to her senses and walked out. I thought I couldn't find my little sister again, but he told me that actually, given the chance, I could. It's just that I lacked...something. Of course, not my talent for alchemy, but...something.

Yeah. Time management :P

Confused? OK, OK, I'll restart.

I was playing Atelier Ayesha again today, and the game was about an apothecary called Ayesha Altugle, who has a talent for alchemy and has lost her little sister Nio for three years in some ruins near her family's herb garden. After encountering her little sister's avatar by the grave that marked Nio's disappearance, a mysterious and yet powerful man (I once battled him and it did not go well TT TT) named Keithgriff then gave me, er, I mean Ayesha, a head start in her journey to find her sister. Mr. Keith doesn't exactly give all the answers to Ayesha, because Ayesha has a brain, so why not put it to use? He does at least give her some clues to figure out.

What makes these Atelier games so special is that they require you to manage your time well, because these games are just filled with places to explore, assignments to complete, events to attend,and people to meet and improve your relationships on. Like most assignments, they have deadlines QmQ I got the hang of managing my time in Atelier Escha & Logy, because they're government officials and the tasks are mostly straightforward and easy to complete if you know your stuff. It also helps that when I lost in my first attempt of the game, I'm still able to carry my items and money over to a new route in the game. That makes defeating the low-level monsters and leveling up much easier. It also enables me to cover my shopping expenses. Goodness knows how many Meat Buns and Baguettes and Danishes I have bought. They're just too cute to resist! I mean, they're food! And they provide healing, too.

Atelier Ayesha is a little different. Atelier Ayesha and Atelier Escha & Logy are like the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and the Elder Scrolls VL Skyrim, because both Atelier Ayesha and Oblivion have more variety of items and quests and places, whereas Atelier Escha& Logy and Skyrim are more like simplified versions, but at least their combat system improved immensely.

For those of you who wants to try out the Atelier series, I recommend playing Atelier Escha & Logy first, because they have less and simplified stuff, so you'll be able to manage your time well and complete most of the tasks before the deadline. Plus you can even make your own armour and weapons, unlike in Atelier Ayesha, where you have to buy them or pick them up after defeating monsters. The combat is so much more fun and colourful, too, with the multicoloured flashes and and sparkles~ Also, you can have 6 members in your team. Atelier Ayesha only limits you to three. 

While Atelier Ayesha as like 50% English dub and no Japanese dub, Atelier Escha & Logy has the choice of both! :D I'm not saying that I don't like Atelier Ayesha though, I do. I enjoy the game as much as its sequel, maybe even more, because there're more places to explore, it's just that I find its sequel better as a starting point. Oooo, I can't wait for Atelier Shallie!!! ((again???

If there was anything that both games have which I can enjoy on both sides, with no setbacks, that would be the game art and their original soundtracks. I just fall straight in love. They're all so brilliant! The music, the cutscenes, everything! Each character is so unique in his/her own ways. Linca is a strong swordswoman, but is rather awkward when it comes to normal socialising and is terrible at cooking. Harry Olsen is a rich eccentric treasure collector who seems to have his own theories on the past civilization which makes no sense (I mean, seriously, a golden staff as a giant toothpick?). Ayesha is lovely and kind but can be rather naive. There's still many characters I'd like to list, but that'd take forever!   

It was such a surprising bad ending in Atelier Ayesha. They didn't specify how I have to find Nio in 4 years time or something, not like its sequel, where your assignments are categorised into terms and your time was displayed in a countdown as well, like how many days you have left in a term. Like, Goddangit, I still have to find 2 other flowers. I don't even know how much of the storyline I have left to play in order to get a good ending and find Nio. BY MYSELF. THANKS A LOT, KEITHGRIFF >:P

Oh, well, I shall move on to a new game. At least I know what to do now. Maybe I should try baking those cute buns they have in Fred's Bakery in Atelier Ayesha...