This was my 11th Atelier game since I became a fan of the series in 2018. To put it simply, it was a fun game, but definitely not my favorite in the franchise.
Gameplay-wise, it basically rehashed MK 1, with some improvements and flaws alike (like the addition of QTEs for the latter.) The battle system is a ton of fun, yet still manages to get tiring by the end. I enjoyed the leveling system that was here though, rather than just having a traditional one with grinding/raising levels. In this, your alchemy is tied in directly with stats, and I think that is brilliant.
The alchemy system isn’t too bad either…was the same as MK 1, and while it is not my favorite Atelier alchemy system, it is satisfying all the same.
Onto the story…it was a downgrade from the first one where I enjoyed the narrative throughout, even when gameplay became monotonous. Here though, there were many areas that suffered from poor writing. Plot holes, actions or cause/effect devices not making sense…all of that. I am inclined to say we don’t play Atelier for the story, but that brings me to my next point.
Why are so many of the characters unlikable? I might be able to forgive this if the two worst ones weren’t the two protagonists. They are both obnoxious jerks, and I did not care about them throughout. Some of the party members were also pretty horrible (like Lily and Enna in my opinion.)
Overall, this game overstayed its welcome at 65+ hours, and the two campaigns and one extra chapter did not do it any favors. Classes (it is about an alchemy school) became repetitive, especially when you had to do more or less the same thing a second time around. Didn’t enjoy all of the character stories either; kind of hit or miss.
I am giving it a 3.5 because despite all its flaws, I enjoyed my time with it well enough, and am happy to have played it, and to be one step closer to finishing all the Atelier games.
Gameplay-wise, it basically rehashed MK 1, with some improvements and flaws alike (like the addition of QTEs for the latter.) The battle system is a ton of fun, yet still manages to get tiring by the end. I enjoyed the leveling system that was here though, rather than just having a traditional one with grinding/raising levels. In this, your alchemy is tied in directly with stats, and I think that is brilliant.
The alchemy system isn’t too bad either…was the same as MK 1, and while it is not my favorite Atelier alchemy system, it is satisfying all the same.
Onto the story…it was a downgrade from the first one where I enjoyed the narrative throughout, even when gameplay became monotonous. Here though, there were many areas that suffered from poor writing. Plot holes, actions or cause/effect devices not making sense…all of that. I am inclined to say we don’t play Atelier for the story, but that brings me to my next point.
Why are so many of the characters unlikable? I might be able to forgive this if the two worst ones weren’t the two protagonists. They are both obnoxious jerks, and I did not care about them throughout. Some of the party members were also pretty horrible (like Lily and Enna in my opinion.)
Overall, this game overstayed its welcome at 65+ hours, and the two campaigns and one extra chapter did not do it any favors. Classes (it is about an alchemy school) became repetitive, especially when you had to do more or less the same thing a second time around. Didn’t enjoy all of the character stories either; kind of hit or miss.
I am giving it a 3.5 because despite all its flaws, I enjoyed my time with it well enough, and am happy to have played it, and to be one step closer to finishing all the Atelier games.