What's kind of appeal do you get in the GUST games?

[Nash]

That's why for their next venture after Ar tonelico... they should tie the Reyvateil-equivalent inheritance to Y-chromosome instead.

[Utsuho Lazy]

Ar tonelico: Girl's Side.

[Palsa]

If, or when That time comes. . . seppuku.

[Thunder]

Don't get me the wrong way, but I'm getting a little tired of the 'Magical Girl' / 'Loli' theme that they've been going through lately.
Even the bonus characters in the PSP ports are in a sense, all lolis.
The older games were more renascence, medieval, feudal era based, and that was the Atelier series that I grew to love.

I'm sick of the loli stuff too myself Though I've never been a fan of it, it does seem to be getting way too pervasive in the genre in general not just Gust. This is why Meruru gives me a little hope that they at least may be pulling out of this phase since she's a bit older looking than Rorona & Totori. However, the magical girl thing doesn't bug me at all honestly. That's a Gust mainstay really. Even all the way back to Atelier Marie. She was using magic too. Afterall, an alchemist needs to use magic... and that's the basis of their flagship series. I'm kinda confused by the last bit though, Rorona/Totori/Meruru seem to be following this to a T still... Even Iris & Mana Khemia fits this bill.

Gust revovles around magical girl deals, because there's never a male character for the Atelier series (I mean the MAIN character, the focus of the story), and Mana Khemia seems to be the opposite, having a male as the lead role.

Hm... That's mostly right yes, but Atelier Iris 2 had Felt as one of the two mains. He was a legitimate lead imo since it was his destiny to use his azoth to destroy the other one, not Viese's. Viese could not have saved the world by herself, she needed a connection in the other world to help her with various things. Actually I like that Gust puts females into the lead role. I find it refreshing to be honest. I'm sick of male lead charaters in so many games with very few with female leads.

[Nash]

Hm... That's mostly right yes, but Atelier Iris 2 had Felt as one of the two mains. He was a legitimate lead imo since it was his destiny to use his azoth to destroy the other one, not Viese's. Viese could not have saved the world by herself, she needed a connection in the other world to help her with various things. Actually I like that Gust puts females into the lead role. I find it refreshing to be honest. I'm sick of male lead charaters in so many games with very few with female leads.

Exactly. It's perfectly in tune with Gust's past trend of having a female lead in a game with Reyvateil-equivalent gene tied to Y-chromosome, ja!

[Palsa]

Don't get me the wrong way, but I'm getting a little tired of the 'Magical Girl' / 'Loli' theme that they've been going through lately.
Even the bonus characters in the PSP ports are in a sense, all lolis.
The older games were more renascence, medieval, feudal era based, and that was the Atelier series that I grew to love.

I'm sick of the loli stuff too myself Though I've never been a fan of it, it does seem to be getting way too pervasive in the genre in general not just Gust. This is why Meruru gives me a little hope that they at least may be pulling out of this phase since she's a bit older looking than Rorona & Totori. However, the magical girl thing doesn't bug me at all honestly. That's a Gust mainstay really. Even all the way back to Atelier Marie. She was using magic too. Afterall, an alchemist needs to use magic... and that's the basis of their flagship series. I'm kinda confused by the last bit though, Rorona/Totori/Meruru seem to be following this to a T still... Even Iris & Mana Khemia fits this bill.

Ah, I think you missed my definition of magical girl.
I was not using magical girl in reference to a girl that can use magic, I was using it as a reference for a specific genre that either targets youths, girls in particular; or 30-60 year old otoko.
To be more specific: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfZWQmPK ... 2C2DC651D3
This is not a magical girl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWuSKsuz ... re=related
Try not to confuse a girl that happens to use magic with a magical girl from now on, their totally different.
What I'm saying is that the leading heroines in the Alchemist of Arland series appear to be designed to look more like magical girls rather then the alchemist of the old school fantasy traditions.
Gust's older games followed closely to the classic Dungeons 'n Dragons fantasy genre, which includes magical users, such as: clerics, priests, mages, sorcerers, and even alchemists, but in more of a renascence, medieval, feudal era based style.
The last game to follow this format that was true to the original was Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny also followed, but deviating slightly from that course.
Now, it is true that world wise the Alchemist of Arland series stays true, to a certain degree, but what I'm talking about is character design, the leading heroines in particular.

[weezy]

The music has always been the biggest draw to me, it has an ethnic feel of its own compared to the orchestrated tracks of Final Fantasy games or the more forgettable stuff inbetween. I've always liked their use of pan flutes among other things. The graphics may be your usual 2D stuff, but I've always been a fan of the character designers across all the various series. The stories range from more like a slice of life (some Atelier games) to the typical save the world (AT), but they always keep things different even while using the same cliches other RPG series tend to use. Its that different slant on things that's always kept me interested in their work all of this time.

[Melody_Light]

Ah, I think you missed my definition of magical girl.
I was not using magical girl in reference to a girl that can use magic, I was using it as a reference for a specific genre that either targets youths, girls in particular; or 30-60 year old otoko.
To be more specific: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfZWQmPK ... 2C2DC651D3
This is not a magical girl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWuSKsuz ... re=related
Try not to confuse a girl that happens to use magic with a magical girl from now on, their totally different.
What I'm saying is that the leading heroines in the Alchemist of Arland series appear to be designed to look more like magical girls rather then the alchemist of the old school fantasy traditions.
Gust's older games followed closely to the classic Dungeons 'n Dragons fantasy genre, which includes magical users, such as: clerics, priests, mages, sorcerers, and even alchemists, but in more of a renascence, medieval, feudal era based style.
The last game to follow this format that was true to the original was Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny also followed, but deviating slightly from that course.
Now, it is true that world wise the Alchemist of Arland series stays true, to a certain degree, but what I'm talking about is character design, the leading heroines in particular.

I knew what you meant...I love Sailor Moon (you should see my merch collection), Princess Tutu (cosplaying as Princess Kraehe in a month from now), Pretear, Wedding Peach and Magic Knight Rayearth. While the Atelier girls lack transformations, they're still very much like the typical mahou shoujou characters...I thought you meant the characters' personalities though, not the design alone. Then in that aspect, it has become a lot more of the typical Magic Girl-like, and I can agree with that.

[Thunder]

Ah, I think you missed my definition of magical girl.
I was not using magical girl in reference to a girl that can use magic, I was using it as a reference for a specific genre that either targets youths, girls in particular; or 30-60 year old otoko.
To be more specific: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfZWQmPK ... 2C2DC651D3
This is not a magical girl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWuSKsuz ... re=related
Try not to confuse a girl that happens to use magic with a magical girl from now on, their totally different.
What I'm saying is that the leading heroines in the Alchemist of Arland series appear to be designed to look more like magical girls rather then the alchemist of the old school fantasy traditions.
Gust's older games followed closely to the classic Dungeons 'n Dragons fantasy genre, which includes magical users, such as: clerics, priests, mages, sorcerers, and even alchemists, but in more of a renascence, medieval, feudal era based style.
The last game to follow this format that was true to the original was Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny also followed, but deviating slightly from that course.
Now, it is true that world wise the Alchemist of Arland series stays true, to a certain degree, but what I'm talking about is character design, the leading heroines in particular.

Alright, I kind of see what you mean by it then I don't split those two into different groups myself, so that's why it confused me I would call that traditional vs modern as in it's a stylistic difference, not a fundamental one.

[Jinkouyuki]

For me, GUST games provide relaxation. They aren't overly violent, there are no heads exploding and blood spray. Just cute character, funny jokes, and a nice storyline. It is very...mellow ^_^.

[Moomy]

The laughs, characters and the music. Atelier Meruru's battle system has caught our interest to boot.