Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea DX

Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea DX is the strongest entry in the Dusk trilogy.

Replaying Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea only reaffirmed it as one of my favorite games in the Atelier series. Not that it's "the best" in the sub-series it's set in, but there are things about it that make the experience memorable and welcoming for me: be it its engaging combat, the fun interaction between the characters, its art direction, and even its soundtrack.

Atelier Shallie may not be the pinnacle of the Dusk subseries, but it helped pave the way for the modern Atelier experience many know and love today.

Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea DX on the Nintendo Switch brings the Dusk Trilogy to an end and it's easily the best and most accessible game of the trio. Even though it requires the players to be familiar with the story of its predecessors, Atelier Shallie's improvements, gameplay mechanics and conclusion to the story help make this a fine ending and a work that will delight its players.

You could say that this third game of the Dusk series is the best one, with the movable camera and so many familiar faces that you already know from past games. I however would be hard pressed to choose the one I love most. It would feel like pointing out my favourite child! Maybe I should conclude that Atelier Shallie offers the most for your buck, as the storylines of the two heroines differ enough for you to play the game twice. If you like turnbased RPG with crafting included, and aren’t afraid of lots of texts, these three games are great ones to find out if you are an Atelier fan yourself.

To conclude, Atelier Shallie: Alchemist of the Dusk Sea was a nice combination of both Ayesha and Escha/Logy. Having larger parties, dual main characters and infinite amount of time to play was a nice change to the series. The story-line and visuals were a little tasteless compare to Escha and Logy, but overall the game was fantastic. I'm giving this game a 8 out of 10.

Meters are constantly filling; new crafting recipes are always becoming available. Whichever Shallie you choose, she is continually becoming a stronger and more capable alchemist. It just would have been nice to see the conclusion of the trilogy grow in the same way its heroines do.

Though Atelier Shallie falls short in some ways, the entire Atelier Dusk Trilogy is a solid package with compelling crafting and combat systems.