9.2 /10 1 Votes9.2
Artist(s) Kohime Ohse Initial release date 23 May 1997 Developer Gust Co. Ltd. Genre Role-playing video game | 4.6/5 Emuparadise Series Atelier Publisher Gust Co. Ltd. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Composer(s) Daisuke AchiwaToshiharu YamanishiAkira Tsuchiya Release date(s) PlayStationJP: May 23, 1997JP: June 4, 1998 (Plus)Sega SaturnJP: December 11, 1997Microsoft WindowsJP: April 28, 2000DreamcastJP: November 15, 2001PlayStation 2JP: April 27, 2005 Similar Atelier games, Gust Co Ltd games, Role-playing video games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg (マリーのアトリエ ～ザールブルグの錬金術士～, Marī no Atorie ~Zāruburugu no Renkinjutsushi~) is a role-playing video game developed by Gust Co. Ltd., and the first title within the Atelier game series. It was first released on the PlayStation and, soon after, ported to the Sega Saturn and Microsoft Windows, eventually being bundled alongside Atelier Elie for the Sega Dreamcast and later PlayStation 2. It has not been released outside Japan.
Contents
Plot
Marie is a 19-year-old student in Salburg, a make-believe medieval-style city. She is the worst student in her entire class, and is at the risk of expulsion. However, her teacher offers her a chance at salvation; Marie is given her own workshop (Atelier) in which she is given five years to produce something outstanding.
Characters
Gameplay
The game is centered around collecting ingredients, usually outside of town, creating items, and using the items for various quests or for use in battle. In battle, the player can have a maximum of two allies. Like Marie, these allies can attack, defend, use a strong attack, use items, or flee.
Music
The music was composed by the "G.S.T. Gust Sound Team Atelier So-La" consisting of Akira Tsuchiya, Daisuke Achiwa, and Toshiharu Yamanishi. Tsuchiya went on to contribute towards all the Atelier titles up to Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana along with Gust's other prominent franchise, Ar tonelico. Yamanishi contributed to Atelier Elie as well, and Achiwa has contributed to most of the titles in the series since then.
Development and release
Atelier Marie was released on various different platforms, with each succeeding port presenting additional feature updates. The Sega Saturn port, known as Atelier Marie version 1.3, added internal clock functionality which allowed specific messages to be played at certain times, such as during late nights, on holidays, or on Marlone's birthday. In addition, a number of additional events and a mini-game are also added. An enhanced edition titled Atelier Marie Plus was released on PlayStation on June 4, 1998. This version featured the additions from the Sega Saturn version with the exception of the internal clock (which was not supported by PlayStation), with the only new addition being DualShock rumble functionality support.
The game was bundled alongside Atelier Elie on the Sega Dreamcast and released on November 15, 2001. The first-print copies of the Dreamcast game were infected with the Kriz computer virus, which infected Microsoft Windows-based computers when the game disc was inserted and had no effect on the Dreamcast system itself. The screensaver virus erased the CMOS and BIOS settings, and attempted to overwrite files located on hard drives and the local network. The game was recalled by the publisher due to the virus. A bundle with Atelier Elie was also released on PlayStation 2 on October 27, 2005. On December 26, 2007, the game was released digitally on the PlayStation Network.
Reception
Famitsu gave the original PlayStation version a review score of 36/40, the highest score for an Atelier title prior to Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky. Atelier Marie Plus received a rating of 34/40 from Famitsu.