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.
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.