Gaming News So Small It Gets A Third Thread

[Wools]

I keep hearing more about the Atelier series even if it is about how thick a lead characters thighs are. I checked Wiki and there's been around 80 titles released, it says it's sold around 7.5m copies across the franchise which works out as around 94,000 copies per release avg - is it actually good or fairly budget shovelware for people who like oogling waif's?

I picked up Atelier Ryza 3 on Switch after the guys from ConsoleVania were very kind to it. Played a few hours and it wasn't for me. I liked the cosy feel of the world and the thick thighs of the main character (Maybe that's why it felt cosy) but as a Japanese RPG, Dragon Quest XI for Switch is a far better experience.

If you adore Japanese RPG's, maybe you can appreciate the subtle differences between them, enjoying them all on their own merits. But the gulf between the 2 was so huge for me, thick thighs or not, I didn't enjoy it enough.

[briareos_kerensky]

I keep hearing more about the Atelier series even if it is about how thick a lead characters thighs are.

That's a Ryza thing, the protagonist of what I think is the most successful subseries of all.

The quality of Atelier titles is all over the place, as is the playstyle. It started as a sort of time management/item creation series crossed with standard JRPG combat with Atelier Marie. At the time (1997, IIRC) this was a novel approach, as there was a story but it was nowhere near the usual JRPG fare of slaying god and saving the universe, it was about a girl trying to keep a roof over her head by creating stuff with alchemy. The series continued along these lines for a number of entries. The remake of Atelier Marie published for basically all formats in 2023 is well made, with many QoL updates, and a great way to be introduced to the series.

The series switched to a more typical approach with the Iris trilogy on PS2, the first titles to also be published in the west. And to cater for this market, the main protagonist was male, and the structure was basically like any other JRPG with the addition of alchemy to create your own items instead of buying them at a shop. Iris 2 and 3 mixed the formula a bit, but in this period only the portable entries kept the original formula. The Iris titles are OK, nothing more, with Iris 1 and 2 being the best. Iris 3 is more of a grindathon than anything.
There's also the Mana Khemia spin-off, but this is really a standard JRPG with item creation; for fans only, and among Gust's output during this time, I would say to go for the two Ar Tonelico games.

It wasn't until Rorona and the following titles that the series went back to its roots, with the focus being more about time and finance management than saving the world from the evil diety of the day. Rorona, Totori, and Meruru are fun games that are even better in their DX form. They aren't masterpieces or anything, but they are one of the high points in the series, a good balance between story-driven JRPG, item management, and combat.

After that the series did once more stray towards the JRPG side of things again, and this is also when quality started to slip quite heavily, with Gust going for an almost yearly release. There were some highlights, like Escha games, but most games of this era are quite forgettable.

Then Ryza came, and the series found widespread commercial success. The three Ryza games don't go back to the original formula of time management and they are still more of standard JRPGs with item creation. The first Ryza is a rather simple yet fun game; Ryza 2 builds on top of that and adds a lot, and for me it's the highlight of the trilogy. Ryza 3 goes open world (because it was the style at the time) and I couldn't really get completely invoveld into it, despite liking all characters and the various additions and refinements do make the game better...but, I don't know, the open world formula doesn't quite work with Atelier games.

I won't get the new Atelier for quite some time. If I do, I'll get it on PC, and Gust/Koei Tecmo's PC ports are usually mediocre at launch.

[Neon Ignition]

I'm so out of the loop with JRPG's. I definitely lean hard toward ARPG's with more traditional turn based etc stuff an infrequent thing, the Aterlier series is like a wall so that breakdown makes a lot of sense of how it's broken down. I hadn't even looked at DQXI ever because I had it in my head that it was that one that was the online one when it was actually DQX

[Neon Ignition]

[QualityChimp]

Brand new Portal game! I'm not even joking!

->Open Spoiler<-

[QualityChimp]

Evil Dead pinball:

[Neon Ignition]

I forgot about the mod for Yakuza 7 and with the reveal that the mod is now out for Yakuza 8 I can finally stop putting off playing these entries

[briareos_kerensky]

I mean, yeah, sure...

https://www.gematsu.com/2025/03/fatal-fury-city-of-the-wolves-adds-cristiano-ronaldo-as-playable-fighter

[Neon Ignition]

At the bare minimum... we can punch him in the face

[endo]

****ing hell, is that really necessary?

[egparadigm]

At the bare minimum... we can punch him in the face

Is there a more violent option? Does this game have weapons?

[Neon Ignition]

As he's fighting as a footballer, technically we can kick him in the balls too

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.eurogamer.net/ubisoft-launches-new-business-for-assassins-creed-and-other-big-ips-with-116bn-tencent-investment

Ubisoft puts a cherry on its turd and calls it a chocolate pie in the hopes people will still bite

[Yakumo]

To be fair, the new Asassin's Creed is pretty good. UBI Soft business practice though isn't far behind EA 😭

[QualityChimp]

Portuguese professional footballer Cristiano Ronaldo will be a playable fighter in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

https://www.gematsu.com/2025/03/fata...ayable-fighter

I don't really follow football, so misread this that Ronaldo is going to be a player for Wolverhampton Wanderers.