Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists is tough to quantify or define in any real meaningful way. It’s a spin-off title of a niche series that doesn’t have a huge following in the US. On top of that, it revolves around gameplay mechanics that are a tough sell even within the RPG genre. With all of that context, you can understand why this is the textbook example of “do you like X series? Then you’ll most likely enjoy this one.” BUT, even with that caveat, there’s still nothing here that’s compelling to the point where you need to buy it this very second. Unless, of course, you already have. Let’s get into it.
You play as Nelke, and since you’re not the best when it comes to alchemy, you instead serve the people as an overseer/administrator. The bulk of the game revolves around building up the town of Westwald via management sim mechanics. Eventually the narrative shifts towards tracking down a powerful relic known as the Granzweit Tree, which just might be able to grant wishes. The main draw to the game, however, is seeing all the characters from the Atelier series gathered together for the first time ever.
There’s a HUGE problem here, however; most US players are going to have no idea who most of them are, since this is a niche series that hasn’t even been completely localized. I of course had to look this information up- if you’re coming in cold to the game, none of this is going to mean anything to you, and you’re going to get nothing out of it. To be honest, I spent most of my time with the game wondering why it was brought over to the US at all. I get the feeling that the developers are looking to make a push to better-establish the brand with western audiences, but I don’t think this is the way you go about accomplishing that.
So, with the narrative not being a strong grab, is the gameplay at least enough to warrant playing through Nelke?
Not really.
The mechanics are simple and get repetitive really quick. Get materials, make goods, sell goods via shops and build up profit. From there, you set up shops and buildings near a road, wait two turns, and it’s set up/ready to start adding to the overall revenue. There are other aspects to the game, like being allowed to interact with individual alchemists, and exploring your surroundings, but there’s not much meat on those bones. Their distractions, at best- and parts of them are even fully automated, leaving you to watch the game play itself. It’s bizarre, to be polite.
Even for diehard fans of the Atelier series, I can’t suggest picking this game up. It’s time-consuming, but not in the good way, and it doesn’t really add anything vital to the mythology, nor provide an entertaining experience. If you’re looking for a fun RPG experience, or a solid town management sim, there are better options out there for your time and money.
