This month, there are two games in particular that I want to highlight. There’s also one that was supposed to be released last month, but had its European release delayed for some reason or other.The first honourable mention goes to Dragon Marked for Death, which I thought would get a physical release in Europe at the end of last month. Nope, that wasn’t the case at all. and the game should be released towards the end of this month. Fingers crossed.
The next honourable mention goes to Super Dragon Ball Heroes World Mission, which brings the Dragon Ball Heroes trading card arcade game to the Nintendo Switch and PC. Quite notably, it is also the first time that a Dragon Ball Heroes game has been released outside of Japan.
Super Dragon Ball Heroes has an immense collection of content; over 1000 different cards, featuring 350 different characters from the entire Dragon Ball franchise. Some people seem to think that the RRP is too high, but considering the content: I’d say it is well worth it.
For April 2019, Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists ~Ateliers of the New World~ is my pick for my game of the month.
It is part of the long-running Atelier series, but the main character – Nelke von Lustern – is not an alchemist. She is a noblewoman who oversees the development of a town called Westwald. Nelke is accompanied by her loyal maid, Misty Ellude.
It’s not too long before several alchemists – all from the previous Atelier games – show up as if out of nowhere and start contributing towards developing Westwald as well.
Nelke has two goals in this game: develop Westwald, and research the Granzweit Tree. Developing the town can be done by gathering materials and having the alchemists synthesize them. The end products can be sold for a profit, which in turn allows Nelke to order the construction of more buildings and such.
The research of the Granzweit Tree is a more personal goal for Nelke; the order to develop Westwald comes down from her father.
Distilled to its most basic essence, Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists is essentially little more than navigating menus. However, it sure is satisfying to see all the people of Westwald take to their jobs and start bringing in those profits, as well as learning more about the various alchemists by chatting to them during Nelke’s holidays.
Whilst I’m not too familiar with the entire Atelier series, I was definitely happy to see Lydie and Suelle Malen show up – since Atelier Lydie & Suelle is the only other Atelier title I have played. At the moment, any way.
Citizen requests give you various goals to work towards; it might be something like producing or selling a certain number of a specific item, or defeating a few monsters. The combat in the game is pretty simple, and you don’t have to worry too much about the number of battle items – once an alchemist has produced a battle item once, Nelke and her allies are free to use it during battle as much as they like afterwards.
I almost passed up on buying Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists ~Ateliers of the New World~, because I thought I would be getting Dragon Marked for Death on the day it came out.
Turned out not to be the case, so I figured why not take a chance on Nelke – and I am very happy that I did. I’ve been enjoying developing Westwald and meeting all sorts of characters a whole bunch. Overall, I’d say that I have been having a very satisfying experience with the game.
Rory Muses 