Pros:

- Endearing character interactions
- Gust Music
- Passage of time on returning faces
- Misc gameplay improvements

Cons:

- Disjointed level design (I felt like the map was a little too disconnected, it doesn't help that progression doesn't really feel that earned unlike the first game)
- Severe backtracking (Picking up "lore" in ruins after having already traversed said ruins is honestly a chore)
- Too reliant on "Tell don't show"
- Gatekeeping the truth until the very end
- Very short endgame
- Lack of secret super bosses (in the first game there were 2 available without needing to be in Post game, on the second game, there is no single super boss available, and actual hard content is behind a paywall, lol)
- 200 basket capacity (too little in contrast to how much items you can gather, especially as you unlock gathering upgrades, which is pace breaking when you're trying to explore)
- Mild Pacing Issues

This game is still very enjoyable, but there were too many things the first game did better that were lacking on this sequel, and that heavily hindered my enjoyment, there were also some other mechanics that were tediously overwhelming that felt like playing the anime version of Skyrim.

A sequel that's more of the same, for better and worse. Ryza 2 has seen a noticeable bump in quality, not only in terms of visuals but a lot of smart QOL features, particularly in terms of its combat which feels much more fluid and engaging than the first game. Its systems can still be a little overwhelming, especially when it doesn't always communicate to you how important some of those systems are compared to others, but there's still a ton of depth in terms of its crafting if you're really into that sort of thing.

If it takes a step back in any singular area, however, it's certainly in its story. While Ryza 2 retains a lot of the laid-back charm of the first game's narrative, there just isn't anything as compelling as that game's sense of adolescent freedom to push you forward. The plot primarily revolves around the cute little companion of Fi that is given to Ryza, but I never felt attached enough to it to have this game's story beats mean much to me. The late-game reveals that add a sense of urgency to the proceedings only serve to tread similar ground to what Ryza 1 already did. And while the returning cast was still strong and I enjoyed seeing how they all had changed in the three years of in-universe time that had passed, the newer characters never truly ingrain themselves into the friend group, feeling largely as outsiders who are merely along for the ride.

Still, quality game overall, and I'm very much looking forward to how the final game in the trilogy concludes the story of Ryza and her thighs friends.

PATTY SWEEP !!!!!!!!!

this game is such a great sequel!! improves on the first in basically every aspect

+ they made klaudia & ryza even gayer !!

You know I’ve played a lot of great games recently but I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun with a game in a long time. It was so SO good I couldn’t put it down for an entire week. It really is just that amazing!

As a sequel, Atelier Ryza 2 is an improvement over the original in every single way. I didn’t find Ryza 1 bad of course but the second game really makes you realise just how bare bones it was in comparison. And what’s even more crazy is a lot of the mechanics remain unchanged but the quality is on a whole different level. I also found the environments so much more interesting to explore as well, especially the various ruins you will be visiting as you go through the game. The alchemy system from Ryza 1 is also majorly improved & I really do appreciate the whole skill tree aspect just to make better quality equipment feel so much more fulfilling. The combat in this game is so so snappy & extremely fun & made every battle an absolute joy, especially tense boss encounters. Among the returning cast of characters, the new inclusions to the world of Atelier Ryza are a more than welcome addition. Shout to Fi who is the cutest lil fella I have EVER seen, I will literally die for him. Patty, Clifford & Serri are also really good. I also just found the writing this time to be so much tighter & I feel without the events of the first game you won’t be able to appreciate Ryza 2 fully.

Sure the story this time didn’t exactly grip me as much & it’s definitely still a narrative that takes time to really get going but once it does, it’s a ride you’ll never ever want to get off. Everything about Ryza 2 just makes me happy. It’s the comfiest I’ve felt playing an RPG in a very long time & I highly recommend playing it if you are a fan of this genre. Absolute no brainier that I would give this the highest of praise. Gust you’ve got me absolutely hooked to this franchise going forward! Genuinely can’t wait for Ryza 3 later this year!

Easily one of the best games of 2021. So many great and amazing gameplay features and elements and packed to the brim with great content, both story and side content. The crafting is as great as ever and it truly allows you the freedom to play the game how you like, whether you wanna do the minimum and get by as the game gives you weapons and armor through chests and shops or spend hours in the crafting menus like I did endless making yourself overpowered so the final boss is nothing. The battles are exhilarating for a speed-based ATB-style system, and you can find yourself near-endlessly chaining together skills to get the most out of your turn.

Definitely give this one a shot if the first one wasn’t holding you. This one fixes many problems and speeds the pace up immensely.

10/10

While it brings a lot of positives from Ryza 1 back, they really pushed harder (not as hard as in 3...) for the whole fanservice appeal. That's fine, but it clearly detracted from the game as it became a main focus and the story became sort of just a way to experience that fanservice. More importantly though, this game drags like crazy, it always feels like every step in the story is hours longer than it needed to be and it ends up really difficult to bother finishing. A step down from Ryza 1, and a huge step down from things like Ayesha and Sophie (especially Sophie 2 but it wasn't out when this had released).

Compared to Ryza 1, 2 MASSIVELY improves over almost everything the first game did. Exploration feels much more satisfying, character writing feels much fuller, and the actual gameplay within battles feel much more controlled.

The environments and their accompanying music all are great and differ enough to make each one feel unique. The added rope swing and diving abilities really add to these environments.

The battle system is probably the area that was improved the most as it feels to flow significantly better and actively encourages swapping control from member to member, and item usage is no longer heavily restricted by a set number of core charges. The battle themes are also very good.

The cast, from your party members to various NPCs you frequently meet, are all very well fleshed out. Each one has their own growth throughout the game and none feel flat.

While others may have gripes with the story, I personally enjoyed the absence of one for the most part. Rather, it's replaced for the most part with a sense of grand worldbuilding, something I enjoy.

If I have any gripes with this game, it would probably how weak the final boss felt even on hard mode, although it could be due to my own overpreparation.

A fun, relaxing and colourful slice of life JRPG that takes all the positive aspects of the first game and builds on them.

The story once again focuses on the titular Resilin Stout (aka Ryza). Three years after the events of the first game and Ryza is visiting the mainland at invitation of her friend Tao. He has discovered some legends of ruins around the capital which might have something to do with Alchemy so naturally Ryza is invited. Similar to the first game the main storyline isn't so much the point of the game, it's more about the slice of life elements of a group of friends. It's been three years, everyone has moved on, things have changed etc. I really love that aspect of the game. The overarching plot is more about excuses to explore and bring everyone together though it's not bad in itself. (It even made me cry at one point XD).

The crafting has been streamlined a bit so you buy recipes for your alchemy from a menu grid now that unlocks more as the story progresses. They are bought with points from either crafting or completing adventure board quests for the city residents. This both encourages you to actually use alchemy and gives you somewhere to use a lot of the ingredients you collect towards quests. Speaking of you can now also give items to one of the merchants building up their quality for that item type the shops sell.

Ryza 2 is full of little quality of life improvements like that. The combat also has received little polishing touches. Items no longer have limited uses but build up CC points to use them based on how many special attacks you've used to build them up. It still uses an ATB based system I like where everything moves in real time but based on a turn based structure and you can swap characters anytime. You can now also do special item combinations that will do a special move called Core Drives as well as each character has their own ultimate attack if you can build up to it called Fatal Drive.

Speaking of which, I sent a video of Ryza's Fatal Drive to a friend as she finished off a boss and he commented how good the game looked visually. It does, those animations especially look impressive and each of the many cutscenes has these animations and expressions that look great. (Coming off the back of Scarlet Nexus and how bland and static that was it's a real breath of fresh air). That said there are some caveats with that. The screen quality looks gorgeous and it has ray traced reflections in puddles when it rains in game but is comes at the cost of being 30fps only. Coming into it from a lot of 60fps games took a while to adjust as it felt like it was chugging. Having a PS5 game without a performance option was really disappointing to me.

Artistically Ryza 2 mostly wins. The art itself is great. The buildings are colourful, the characters are well realized and the hand drawn still art screens that appear sometimes are just gorgeous. That said some of the character designs are just bad. Clifford looks like he walked out of a brokeback mountain bondage club, Lent looks like a Mad Max gladiator with a mullet and Serri is wearing just a thong and a loin cloth which wouldn't be so bad except for the dodgy camera angles and general insane jelly tit physics again. It's a wholesome slice of life RPG, just why?

Overall though I had a great time with it. Got the platinum in about 80 hours (I got really sucked into needlessly crafting the best stuff) though it's really about a 30 hour game.

+ Great quality of life improvements from the first game.
+ Great colour, art and animations.
+ Excellent music.
+ Fi

- No performance mode on PS5.
- Some terrible character designs.
- Hints of unneeded creepiness.

There are two different kinds of perfect sequels. The first kind are the sequels that take everything good about the first installment and turn it up to 11. However, that sort of sequel requires the first installment to be close to a masterpiece already. Which brings us to the second sort of perfect sequel: the kind that heavily take in feedback from the first installment and use it to create something that improves it in every regard. Atelier Ryza 2 is that second kind of perfect sequel.

I enjoyed the first Ryza game when it launched in 2019. However, while i did like it, as i played more Atelier games, i couldn't help but feel that Atelier Ryza felt kinda lacking in some areas. So here comes Atelier Ryza 2, which sets a brand new precedent for the series. For the first time ever, the protagonist of the previous Atelier game would return again as the protagonist of the sequel, instead of taking a supporting role as has been the case since the entire history of the series.

I really liked how they handled Ryza coming back. Instead of unjustifiably taking away her abilities (as many games with returning protagonists like to do), the game plays it smart by giving Ryza new equipment that is the same functionally but because it's a bit different than what she's used to, she has to get used to the new equipment to craft the items she learned in the previous game. That's where the Skill Tree comes in, nearly every recipe from the previous game can easily be unlocked from the Skill Tree with enough SP. The Skill Tree, combined with the new recipes that Ryza learns throughout the game really show how much of an experienced alchemist she has become.

The combat has seen a much needed upgrade. I'm not someone who enjoys true ATB combat. Despite that, i was able to enjoy Ryza 1's combat just fine but Ryza 2 made such a drastic improvement to it, it's genuinely gonna be hard to come back to Ryza 1. Skills are now mapped to one of the four face buttons and you can pull them up with the right shoulder button. This is genius because it means you don't have to scroll through a menu in a game where the enemy won't wait for your turn. Not only that but this method also allows chaining together skills to feel nicely satisfying. The Tactics mechanic was also revamped. Gone are the days where you would be punished for using skills. Now Tactics levels up as you use skills instead of having to sacrifice AP like in the first game. I may not enjoy true ATB that much but Ryza 2 is a strong exception.

The biggest improvement to the combat comes with items however. Atelier is all about crafting items yet in Ryza 1, item use was heavily discouraged. Item use up CC points when used, instead of using up the item itself. On paper, this is good and previous Atelier games used different methods to make sure your consumables don't actually get consumed during combat. The problem with Ryza 1 is that you only ever had 10 CC points and the only way to get more was to sacrifice an item to add CC or to return to the Atelier. As such, you never wanted to use items. Ryza 2 changes this. Now, CC is raised whenever you use skills and with the new Item Rush mechanic (being able to use more than one item at a time), this not only encourages item usage but allows every aspect of combat to flow into itself. RPGs are at their best when their combat mechanics flow into one another (bonus points if it makes the party feel like an actual team working together). Plus, outside of battle, any unused CC can be used with healing items to heal up, which lets you stay out in the field for much longer.

The exploration of the world, which was a focus of Ryza 1 as well, has been expanded so much that it kinda makes me forget these are yearly releases. For the first time ever, you can climb, swing, swim, and ride, adding extra layer to exploration. These aren't just one and done instances either (something i was admittedly afraid of early on but playing more of the game took away those fears). The other big part about the exploration is the dungeons. Each dungeon has memory fragments you can research and figuring out all of them adds quite a bit of worldbuilding. Worldbuilding isn't really something that comes to mind for this series so i gotta say, i'm impressed. The game is neither open world nor sandbox but it does feel pretty expansive and this is helped by how great the game looks.

And arguably the biggest improvement this game has made is with the character events. Now, this is kinda cheating since Atelier has always had a ton of character events and Ryza 1 just didn't for some reason. Thankfully, Gust responded to the criticism of Ryza 1's lack of character events by throwing in a lot of character events for the sequel. And having Ryza come back as the protagonist allowed for a different feel of character interaction. We get to see how much Ryza has grown and how much everyone else has grown. Previous games dabbled on this but not to the extent of Ryza 2 in my opinion. The new characters are also pretty fun too and they bounce off well the already established cast. Thinking about it retroactively, Ryza 1's significantly small cast ended up being a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't say Ryza 2 has my favorite cast in the series but it's honestly up there.

Now i know i called this game a perfect sequel in the opening paragraph but there is a difference between being a perfect sequel and being a perfect game (or other piece of media). Sure the game looks very pretty but if you look closely, you can tell that these games are still yearly releases (although like i mentioned earlier, Ryza 2 does a good job of hiding that). Like the rest of the series, there is heavy enemy recolor syndrome, leaving little in the room for legitimate variety. Although there is much more item usage encouragement, each character can only equip up to four items so you're still kinda limited in the grand scheme of things, which is odd to say in a series where crafting items is the point. And you still occasionally can't do anything about an enemy's super moves. Whenever an enemy is charging up their unblockable super, the game tells you to meet certain conditions so that you can potentially Break the enemy and stop them from doing their supers. Problem is, just because you meet said conditions doesn't guarantee that the enemy gets Break, so quite a few times i've just had to eat a super move i could do nothing about. These flaws aren't that big in the grand scheme of things though.

Considering that this game was pretty much made in less than a year before the previous one, it's honestly insane how much they've improved. So much so that i wish to see an Atelier game that actually had more than one year of dev time. Gust has made it clear they're taking feedback seriously and Atelier Ryza 2 set a lot of precedent for the series if you ask me so i'm very curious to see where they take it from here.

Atelier Ryza 2, as a sequel, is perfect. It builds upon everything established in the previous game, while still further improving them, and removing one or two aspects that were unnecessary or felt tacked-on. If you want to know the specifics about the improvements, please read further. If not, then stop here and go play Ryza 2.

1) Presentation
All the excellent presentational aspects of the previous game are all here in full force once again. The visuals, music, and sound effects are all fantastic; I even dare say the OST this time around is better too. I don't really know what else I can say. Go look at some PC (or PS5) footage of this game running on max settings, it is utterly GORGEOUS. And even on the Switch, (which was the system I played on) the visual style still comes through very well despite how much the system holds things back.

2) Story & Characters
The main plot this time around didn't grip me quite like the first game's plot, but it was still pretty good. Going around each of the different ruins and uncovering the mystery of what happened so many centuries ago by collecting memory fragments and putting things together was quite enjoyable. I enjoyed this aspect a lot and it gave a lot more context to certain locations in each of the ruins.

3) The Characters
I don't really have many details to go into for this section. The character writing & cast interactions, as well as the NPC sidequests, feel just as good (if not even better) than before. The returning characters are back and better than ever, still growing and learning, as they're no longer teenagers but are now young adults.

4) Combat
One of the biggest improvements is the combat system. Action Orders are simpler to execute, are always within your currently-controlled characters' means, and are very snappy. The general flow of combat feels much faster as well and there's less downtime. The way Core Items are utilized are much-less limiting than before, as Core Charges accrue during each individual battle and aren't tied to your Core Charges in the field. It's all very engaging and never not-fun. The new Core Drives that you can unlock from the Skill Tree are also excellent and fun to use, and encourage you to actually give other party members who aren't Ryza items to use, though I still didn't use many of the other Core Drives besides the Four Star Aurora. I don't know just how much more they can improve the battle system from here, but I can't wait to see what they do next with it.

5) Alchemy
I'm having a hard time coming up with a way to describe how they improved the Alchemy system. There's a new Skill Tree where you can unlock necessary recipes, gain some certain abilities (like Core Drives), and even increase your Item Rebuild level or increase the total quantity of items you can add to a given recipe. This system seems a bit like a limitation early on, but if you're alchemizing and 100%-ing the Ruin Memories like you're intended to, you'll have more SP than you know what to do with about halfway into the game.

One small addition that was actually pretty big was the new inclusion of Essences. If you refine the collected quantity of an element (which you naturally collect from battles) you can reduce it into an "Essence" and use that essence in a recipe node to take that node's given ability or trait to a higher level. This lets you take Recipes that only seem to give the "M" or Medium version of an item's trait, to take it to the L or even XL version of that trait.

One thing they DID remove was the Travel Bottle, which I'm glad for. The Travel Bottle felt really tacked on in the first game, and I never had any real need of it, and the few times I did made it feel like a chore.

6) Exploration
All the new locales to explore feel very unique and interesting, I was always anticipating what would be beyond the next screen transition. There's also a sort of Indiana Jones magic-whip item you get early on for exploring ruins. It's a bit of a gimmick, but it doesn't feel bad, and you have to use essences to refine and fully upgrade it to access some particular swing spots. The underwater sections are neat but there aren't as many as I thought there would be. I had imagined originally that there would be an entire set of sunken ruins to explore, but you just swim through all these water areas, sometimes gathering stuff from the bottom of the lake or underwater cave you're swimming through, and up through to the other side.

A sunken pirate ship and fully-underwater ruins (like some kind of Atlantis) would've been REALLY cool to explore, so I hope we see something like that in Ryza 3.

7) Gathering
The gathering works, well, almost exactly the same as before. There is the addition of having a Spirit Beast to ride around on, summoned by clicking the Right Analog stick once you get the Spirit Beast Whistle (part of story progression). While you're mounted, your movement speed is increased and any enemies who see you atop your noble (adorable) steed will run away in terror. While mounted, you can gather items from spots that don't require any gathering tools. You can also still use Photo Mode while you're mounted!

8) Wrap-Up
Ryza 2 is, as I said at the start, perfect as a sequel. It successfully does everything it sets out to do. I can't really think of any particular moments I was disappointed or unhappy with this game. It's just utterly fantastic. If you played Ryza 1 and somehow haven't already gotten around to this, you'll regret having not played Ryza 2 sooner.

Segundo de la trilogía y, continuando a la primera entrega, vuelve a ser una aventurilla simple de verano. En este caso el sentimiento es un poco más amargo, hablando de un verano donde las amistades empiezan a alejarse un poco porque ya todos están creciendo, pero que siguen siendo un grupo a su manera.
En general esta segunda entrega se centra en exploraciones de catacumbas -con un concepto muy interesante que da pie a un lore especialmente grande para la saga- y, aunque la trama es menos interesante que 1, está simpatica, girando esta alrededor de Fi, un bichito que nace de un huevo al principio del juego.
En todo lo demás el juego es estrictamente mejor a Ryza 1, han sabido refinar todos los problemas que tenía y bueno, está bien. Además Patty es muy linda.

Si, como me imagino, Ryza 3 expresa los sentimientos de "el ultimo verano antes de que cada uno tenga que seguir con sus vidas" probablemente sea a la vez el más triste y el mejor, ya lo veremos cuando lo juegue.

Pero Ryza dentro de lo que es está muy bien, como un buen pucherito de abuela. (en verano)

Much like the first game, great fun. Refined in some aspects (the battle system was slicker, characters look better etc) and it was cool to see all the characters several in-game years later, with the introduction of some new guys it meant quite a large cast. Didn't think some of them got enough time as a result. The "banter" between the main characters didn't seem as sharp either, but maybe that's supposed to be a sign they had grown-up. Just a bit less amusing as a result. Loving this series though.

This was technically a better game than the first one. They fixed a lot of the jank. All of the changes to the battle system were welcome; though the game was laughably easy until the last two dungeons, so I didn't get to enjoy the changes to their fullest. The alchemy system was improved. All in all, this is a much more polished game than the first. Yet, I still ended up liking this less than the first game.

The biggest mistake was making Fi the emotional linchpin of the story. Fi is fine in small doses, but he got very annoying very quickly. Also, the game was paced poorly. It's great that the game gives you so much content, but it seemed like everywhere you went you would trigger a new cutscene about some sidequest or secondary character. It made progressing through the main plot a chore.

My head says this is a three star game, but my heart says three and half. I've grown to like most of these characters and the basic gameplay loop is fun and very addictive.

A CHEERS TO THE MAD LADS AT KOEI TECMO FOR IMPROVING GREATLY ON THE SEQUEL.

Ryza 1 was one of my favorite games I played last year and it was great to experience, and I would never think that Ryza 2 would do what any sequel should do: Improve on the shortcomings of the first journey and make this game its own beast at the same time. Nearly everything was improved and I can say that this is one of the best games of 2021. Some of the ruins exploration might take a bit too long for 100%, but the massive amount of content poured into this one is a real wholesome treat. Only play this one if you've played the first one though, too.

Good sequel to a good game. Better soundtrack than last time around, and it was just begging to be broken by the end - lots of fun when I came up with some items that just nuked miniboss encounters in one go!

Story's a bit more trad Atelier for the most part; less about saving the world as much as being with the characters. Only one ending but everyone's stories conclude within the game, and I liked the main ending.

PS5 native version's a mixed bag. Good resolution, basically instant loading, but the framerate is pretty shaky.

Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy is the second installment of the “Secret” Arc of the Atelier games and the 22nd overall main game in the series. The game features Reisalin Stout aka Ryza to travel to the capital city of Ashra-am Baird to research and explore new ruins of the offset of the capital. Along the way, they met a strange creature named Fi. Atelier Ryza 2 saw a few setbacks from the first Atelier Ryza game but there are many improvements overall that made the sequel very worth playing.

(Due to Ryza 2 being a direct sequel, there will be very slight spoilers for Ryza 1 but nothing very heavy, Ryza 2 will be spoiler-free as well).

Gameplay-wise, Atelier Ryza 2 functions very similarly to Atelier Ryza 1 in the alchemy creation. You pick up and find ingredients in the maps with alchemy tools and use various ingredients to synthesize items with various traits, quality, and element values. Since Ryza 2 is a direct sequel, the game does expect you to be familiar with these systems already as there are far fewer tutorials this time. However, the alchemy saw a huge improvement and a greater degree of freedom. A huge feature that adds to that sense of alchemy freedom is the skill tree. With this, you can unlock alchemy recipes and skills in a nonlinear fashion due to how they can branch off. Many of the alchemy modes such as morphing, item rebuilding, gem reduction, item duplication etc. return to the game. As well as the new essence feature. There’s tons of depth with the alchemy creation, this is merely the overall basic summary. I spent hours looking up guides just to figure out how to synthesize a specific item, what ingredients do I need, and how and where I can obtain them.

Combat also saw many improvements. While still using the same Action Turn-Based system from the first game and many of its features such as tactics and the AP and CC item systems, there are some additional elements to make the combat feel more snappy such as the addition of a 4th party member. While you can only have 3 active party members, you can switch out one of the party members for the 4th one at any given time and even have them attack the enemy as soon as you switch to them. Also combos, yes combos. If you have enough AP built up, you can do the same skill 3-4 times in a row for devastating damage and fluid and flashy attack animations. It’s largely the same as Ryza 1 but with improvements to make combat feel more smooth.

So gameplay overall is largely the same as Ryza 1 but with new improvements. However, the biggest change is the exploration. You’re able to swing your way around with a grappler hook, dive and swim underwater, use a flashlight to explore dark places, and use a large creature to dig up rare ingredients. During these ruins, once you have explored them enough, these fragmented crystals will appear all over the maps of each ruin. You collect these crystals to solve the mysteries of each ruin with the clues you have gathered around. While they’re overall not terribly hard to figure out, it’s a nice addition to make you feel like you’re researching the ruins carefully and you get rewarded with skill tree points to use to unlock more recipes and skills for the game. There are also other gameplay elements in the game such as shop development when you trade-in items and ingredients to unlock certain items in shops and the Puni eater when you feel his ingredients and he will come back with different ingredients in return.

So Ryza 2 has tons of gameplay depth to keep the player busy the entire time. However, gameplay alone isn’t why Ryza 2 is an overall improvement, as the cast is the main highlight and the strongest value of the game. Being three years since the first game, the main cast has overall matured a lot. Ryza, while overall changed the least, is at least far less self-centered and has a greater concern of care for others this time around. Klaudia, going from a shy and insecure girl to someone with confidence running her family business. Tao, going from a wimpy booknerd to….well still a booknerd but the wimpness is overall gone at least. Lent going from someone that wanted to be strong to that strength actually backfires on him and that causes him to be depressed at times. He actually regresses as a character, which makes strong character development for him in the game. The new characters are great additions as well that feel right in place with the four main characters from the first game. Such as Patty, an elegant noble that is focused on her studies and has curiosity. Clifford, a jaded treasure hunter that tends to work alone and seeking “true romance”. And Serri, a soft-spoken Oren that is out on a mission to save her world.

Each of the main characters, besides Ryza, has their own personal character arcs throughout the game and each character develops very well as they deal with their own issues with Ryza. I won’t spoil what each character deals with as the personal arcs are some of the most story-driven beats in the game. But overall the game tackles themes of friendship, trust, inferiority, and self adequacy, and standing up to what you truly believe in. And the characters do not just revolve around Ryza either. There are plenty of scenes with the main characters talking to each other about various topics, from the mundane ones to topics that build on additional information about the character. This makes the cast feel like they’re actually friends with each other and not just a bunch of random people with the only thing that they have in common is knowing who Ryza is.

Ryza gives plenty of love to its side characters as well. A few of them even got arcs of the same quality as the main characters such as Dennis, the material wilder. Cassandra, the farmer girl, Romy, a traveling merchant that settled down for a bit in the capital. Zephine, a waitress for a cafe, and even Bos, the son of the Brunnen family from the first game. Even the characters from side quests get tiny arcs as well. Such as a gang that tries to find treasure or a schoolgirl that tries to overcome her fear of men with plants or a high noble man and his servant carefully watching over Ryza as they give her tasks.

Ryza 2 got plenty of gameplay depth and character writing, the game sounds amazing with tons to do so far right? However, I do have two major issues that I have noticed while I was playing through the game. My first complaint is Ryza feels very self inserty. While she felt like she was her own character in Ryza 1. Since the game evenly focused on Ryza, Tao, Lent, and Klaudia and no one character was resolving every single problem the cast had. In Ryza 2, can't help but think Ryza robs a lot of character development for other characters. Some character arcs absolutely required her like Serri's arc and even Klaudia but others not so much, in fact, I think it would be better if someone else was in replacement. For instance, I actually think it would be better if Tao was helping Patty with her arc instead of Ryza since the two already have an established relationship that had the chance to deepen. I can say the same for Lila and Lent for his arc.

Not to mention, Ryza feels like she can do anything now while in Ryza 1 she has clear limitations. It's very clear everyone relies on her to create this instant solution to solve a roadblock. On top of Ryza's always cheerful and happy attitude. I feel like Ryza went from a very flawed character to an almost flawless character that can solve literally any problem with almost no development. Not to mention Ryza is the only character that has a deep relationship with everyone. I mean the other characters do interact with each other and there is proof they are friends but it is missing depth. Hence why I said why she felt self inserty. Self-inserts are usually perfect problem solvers.

My second issue is the main plot. While the character arcs are great and offer plenty of story for the game, remember, Ryza came to the capital in the first place to investigate ruins and that is the main plot. It’s very repetitive and formulaic. Essentially for each ruin, you look at key objects, ask questions about the ruin with your party, hit a roadblock, resolve that roadblock with alchemy, fight the boss for the ruin and suck up the mana in that ruin for Fi. It doesn’t help that there's no true antagonist in the game like Ryza 1 or even no set goals like the other Atelier games. The ruins exploring feel very aimless and barebone in terms of plot. The one thing that Ryza 1 did better was the main plot. While it had odd pacing, it gave the characters conflict and problems to overcome against the antagonists.

Ryza 2 would be much better if it had that same “classic and epic JRPG main plot” as Ryza 1 did towards the second half. Only the final dungeon had something remotely close to what Ryza 1 had in terms of plot writing but by then, it felt very shoehorned and too late to have any real impact on the overall plot barring the emotional ending. And even then, the final dungeon retreads on plot beats from the final moments of Ryza 1. The main plot could be much more but the character arcs make it up greatly. However, it would be amazing if the main plot was mixed in with the character arcs somehow.

Overall Ryza 2 is an improvement in gameplay, a huge improvement in exploration, and a huge leap in character writing and development. While Ryza herself as a character is lacking in depth and feels too much like a Mary Sue at times, she is still overall likable enough compared to the first game. The lack of a focused main plot with impactable conflict is the biggest flaw in the game, and if you’re looking for a grand plot, then look elsewhere. Atelier games were never known for epic plots, but even for Atelier standards, it’s certainly not up to par. However, if you are looking for a game that has in-depth alchemy and combat with characters that undergoes their own personal struggles and have plenty of interaction with the cast and especially Ryza, then you will enjoy Atelier Ryza 2 a lot. It’s overall a very good game and improves much of the flaws of the first game. Highly recommend the second game if you don’t completely hate the first game.