My 5th Atelier game, straight after Sophie 1, and this is the best one I've played yet. The grid crafting is so much better than it was in Sophie 1 (I haven't played Firis or L&S yet, they are next) and it's both much easier to understand the bonus and much easier to see what element everything is. There's a catalyst system in place of swapping out cauldrons, but serves the same purpose and does not have the frustrating exp one. Combat is much closer to what we saw in Shallie, but polished up, faster, and with new two character team up special moves with different effects. Some team ups are pure offense, some are buffs or healing. There's only six party members this time, meaning you will always use everyone, and they are all active members of the story. And all these gameplay improvements are on top of the most emotional story I've played from the series yet, with some amazing character relations/dynamics/interactions. As I mentioned in Sophie 1 review, my grandmother was taken to the hospital towards the end of my play through and was still there as I started this one, so the way Sophie and Ramizel's relationship developed in this game was extra potent for me, and made me tear up a good number of times. There are some very good stuff between Sophie and the young Plachta as well, and some very good stuff between past and future Plachta too (this game''s story takes place in a dream world time bubble inbetween Sophie 1 and Firis). Best combat and crafting both of the games I've played so far, best/most emotional story, great music and some great characters. The only problem is the use of in-game models for the opening song instead of 2D animation, a soulless practice that apparently started with Ryza