After 114 hours, four months with all character events and nearly all side quests completed including the DLC and tons of synthesizing, I have finally completed Atelier Ryza 3. Being the final game in the Ryza trilogy, it’s the most ambitious and grand Atelier game to date. With the most amount of playable characters in an Atelier game, huge open-world areas, and a mysterious plot to unravel. Gust was aiming for the moon with Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key. There is quite a lot of stumbling toward the finish line with some of the story execution and game balance but overall, Ryza 3 does manage to conclude the trilogy in a satisfying enough matter and the alchemy is as open as ever.
One of the biggest selling points of Atelier Ryza 3 is the open world and how the game is three times larger than Atelier Ryza 2, which includes all of Kurken Island, the main area for the first Ryza game, completely seamless with no loading areas. It was interesting to see Gust revisit the open-world idea after Atelier Firis but with even a bigger scope in mind. There is a lot of asset reuse and plenty of landmarks that are completely optional to visit. So some could argue the game is huge for the sake of it but I personally appreciate the second attempt at an open-world Atelier game. My only minor complaint is, graphically while it’s beautiful at times, there are places with low texture and polygon counts. Given the game’s scope and the budget and size of Gust, this isn’t too surprising but it’s an ugly and jarring look at times.
To freshen up the series’ formula between synthesis and combat, one of the major new gameplay (as well as story) elements in the game is the key system. There are a lot of complexities with keys, but essentially, you create hollow (and later pristine) keys, then you use a hollow or pristine key at a landmark or during battle to create a secret key. With secret keys, you can use them to enchant synthesis traits and qualities for items, increase stats and AP during combat, and gather new materials and items at supply boxes for exploration.
Speaking of exploration, there are new features that have been added. Random quests can occur at any time and anywhere in the game. The quests are extremely simple and repetitive since they’re nothing more than hunt, fetch, follow, or trading quests. After a short while, the full extent of random quests will be seen and they will become more easy to ignore when they pop up. However, they’re a useful and excellent way to gain more SP (skill points for the skill tree), gold coins, and money. Also, while a more minor feature of Ryza 3 ultimately, Atelier building will occur in every area you visit. However, there is customization on how each Atelier can give different benefits such as higher SP gain, higher chances of random quests spawning, and higher qualities of materials during gathering.
That said, at its core, Ryza 3 functions the same as the previous entries. Combat is still action-time based but it’s as redefined as ever thanks to skill usage, AP, and tactics levels all overhauled to be as responsive and smooth as ever before. Additionally, there are new features to combat such as order drives and switching between support and aggressive mode to tailor the usage of AP between the party and give the player a tactical edge in battle. Plus the skill tree allows you to unlock adventure gear and high-level synthesis items early in the game. Plus all of Ryza’s previous alchemy abilities such as item duplication and rebuilding, as well as gem reduction, forging, and sending out puni to gather materials. All of the enchantments to item creation can be obtained early on in Ryza 3 if the player desires so since there are no stop points in the skill tree that ties into the main story's progress.
Ryza 3 offers so much in gameplay since the alchemy system is as deep and fruitful as ever with the many tools the player is able to use almost immediately and more to come as they progress through the game. Combining that with the key system, and the potential for high-end alchemy is boundless. However…that can be a double edge sword by itself. From personal experience, I’ve found Ryza 3 to be the most breakable Atelier game to date thanks to all these tools on top of having no time limit like the past Atelier games. Not to mention if the player knows their way with the skill tree and makes the best usage with synthesizing, they can easily be at endgame strength within the midway point of the game. And by the time I completed the main game, I was so overpowered with equipment and items, almost nobody was a challenge at all even at the highest difficulty setting. Now, this can be avoided if the alchemy engagement is done at a minimum, but any game balance is thrown out of the window if the player chooses to get the most out of synthesis.
Now Atelier Ryza 3 offers plenty of depth with gameplay and there’s more that could be explained further but the appeal of Atelier isn’t just about the gameplay, it’s also the story. In Ryza 3, Ryza and her friends travel to solve the mystery of the Code of the Universe and the surrounding Age of God people in the past as well as the purpose and usage of the keys that appear suddenly in front of Ryza. Being the most focused in plot writing and text in the series, Ryza 3’s story offers a lot of lore and background information as well as tidying up any lingering plot threads and character development ongoing since the first Ryza game.
Atelier has always been excellent with character writing due to each character having its own series of events. Characters that have been in all three games such as Kladuia, Lent, Tao, and Bos have been thoroughly developed over the trilogy and evolved but there are still new tidbits to learn about the characters as well as resolving any conflicts that have started since the first game. While new characters such as Federica, Dion, and Kala get additional focus within the main story alongside character events and side quests. Speaking of character events, more characters are often involved in events, to the point one on one conversations are rather rare in Ryza 3. Personally, I like this since more people can draw out different sides of a person, plus the cast is rather very large so the interaction between each character has to fit somewhere.
That said, there are quite some issues with the game’s overall plot. At first, Ryza 3 appears to be very streamlined, focused, and getting straight to the point, assuming the player has played the first two games. However, after the first few hours or so, the game will often put off the main quest of resolving the issue with the Kark Islands and the Age of the Universe to resolve issues surrounding the new characters and the areas they are from. This is great for character writing but in exchange, it hurts the pacing of the plot. Even if the issues Ryza and company resolve are connected to the main conflict eventually, it just takes quite a while to make progress, especially near the end.
Another complaint I have with the plot is there is a lack of significant focus and urgency in Ryza 3 which adds to the jumbled pacing. There isn’t a single main antagonist in the Ryza games at all to actively be a threat to the group. While it wasn’t needed in Ryza 1 and 2 since the themes were more so about coming of age, seeking out adventure; and discovering new ruins, learning about a mysterious creature, respectively. Ryza 3’s story would serve very well with active antagonists since the plot is very actively focused on stopping evil from occurring again. However ultimately, the plot just felt like the group was cleaning up a massive incident that happened thousands of years ago and anyone that could potentially be an antagonist is long gone. It’s quite anti-climatic considering how ambitious and grand Ryza sets out for its narrative.
Perhaps the biggest flaw of Atelier Ryza 3 and even the entire trilogy is Ryza herself as the protagonist. Now I am aware this is the most subjective and personal part of the review but my feelings for Ryza as a character have been very flip-flopping. Ryza has been a massive improvement in the sequel but I was just quite frankly unsatisfied with her by the end of the third game. She has gotten almost no character development at all and when all of her allies have improved in strides, especially the same characters that grew up with her. It’s just not a great look.
Instead in Ryza 3, the game turns her into a convenient mary sue that can solve any immediate issue the game throws at all within minutes, or at best, a trip to the Atelier. There’s no challenge, no obstacle that has beaten down Ryza and took her a while to recover. Plus, in past Atelier games, there was always a deuteragonist that was considered the closest to the protagonist and help them grow and evolve as a person. However, for the Ryza trilogy, it just felt like Ryza wasn’t allowed to be too close to anyone. Ryza just felt like a “safe” protagonist. Lacking in character depth and writing but yet liked by everyone and able to solve the main conflict essentially by themselves and any potential threat to Ryza ended up being a near-instant recovery. I wasn’t sure what was Gust planning with Ryza but I personally believe the lack of a true deuteragonist hinders Ryza’s character overall, especially since this is the first time Gust created a trilogy of Atelier games based around a single character.
Other noteworthy quality-of-life issues I have encountered during the 100+ hours I’ve spent in Atelier Ryza 3 are the dialogue and script for the text is once in a while awkwardly translated or there are spelling or grammar mistakes. Not to mention, for a few side quests (mainly the DLC quests), the reliance on completing random quests which can trigger at any time and determine what the exact triggers is questionable game design. I could not complete a side quest because I struggled to trigger one of the required random quests despite trying different variables. I am not sure if Gust and Koei Tecmo was a tight deadline for Atelier Ryza 3, but despite a month's delay from the original release date, it wouldn’t hurt to have more polish, especially considering the size and scale of the game.
In the end, Atelier Ryza 3 is the biggest Atelier game in terms of scope from large open-world explorable areas, the number of playable characters and interactions, and the most potential for alchemy with its many systems and gameplay elements. All wrapped up with one of the most original and polished attempts in action time-based combat. The plot struggles quite a lot between the lack of focus, no true antagonist, and Ryza leading the charge being plain and uninteresting. But all and all, Ryza 3 does conclude and wrap up the trilogy in an overall solid ending with vague but promising endings for the entire cast as well as the future for Kukuen Island and beyond. The open-world approach can be better redefined and perhaps not give pave the road to the strongest items at the start of the game. However, for the future, my biggest wish for Gust is to return to just put in more character building into the next protagonist for Atelier…and maybe not attempt another epic world adventuring plot for a while.
One of the biggest selling points of Atelier Ryza 3 is the open world and how the game is three times larger than Atelier Ryza 2, which includes all of Kurken Island, the main area for the first Ryza game, completely seamless with no loading areas. It was interesting to see Gust revisit the open-world idea after Atelier Firis but with even a bigger scope in mind. There is a lot of asset reuse and plenty of landmarks that are completely optional to visit. So some could argue the game is huge for the sake of it but I personally appreciate the second attempt at an open-world Atelier game. My only minor complaint is, graphically while it’s beautiful at times, there are places with low texture and polygon counts. Given the game’s scope and the budget and size of Gust, this isn’t too surprising but it’s an ugly and jarring look at times.
To freshen up the series’ formula between synthesis and combat, one of the major new gameplay (as well as story) elements in the game is the key system. There are a lot of complexities with keys, but essentially, you create hollow (and later pristine) keys, then you use a hollow or pristine key at a landmark or during battle to create a secret key. With secret keys, you can use them to enchant synthesis traits and qualities for items, increase stats and AP during combat, and gather new materials and items at supply boxes for exploration.
Speaking of exploration, there are new features that have been added. Random quests can occur at any time and anywhere in the game. The quests are extremely simple and repetitive since they’re nothing more than hunt, fetch, follow, or trading quests. After a short while, the full extent of random quests will be seen and they will become more easy to ignore when they pop up. However, they’re a useful and excellent way to gain more SP (skill points for the skill tree), gold coins, and money. Also, while a more minor feature of Ryza 3 ultimately, Atelier building will occur in every area you visit. However, there is customization on how each Atelier can give different benefits such as higher SP gain, higher chances of random quests spawning, and higher qualities of materials during gathering.
That said, at its core, Ryza 3 functions the same as the previous entries. Combat is still action-time based but it’s as redefined as ever thanks to skill usage, AP, and tactics levels all overhauled to be as responsive and smooth as ever before. Additionally, there are new features to combat such as order drives and switching between support and aggressive mode to tailor the usage of AP between the party and give the player a tactical edge in battle. Plus the skill tree allows you to unlock adventure gear and high-level synthesis items early in the game. Plus all of Ryza’s previous alchemy abilities such as item duplication and rebuilding, as well as gem reduction, forging, and sending out puni to gather materials. All of the enchantments to item creation can be obtained early on in Ryza 3 if the player desires so since there are no stop points in the skill tree that ties into the main story's progress.
Ryza 3 offers so much in gameplay since the alchemy system is as deep and fruitful as ever with the many tools the player is able to use almost immediately and more to come as they progress through the game. Combining that with the key system, and the potential for high-end alchemy is boundless. However…that can be a double edge sword by itself. From personal experience, I’ve found Ryza 3 to be the most breakable Atelier game to date thanks to all these tools on top of having no time limit like the past Atelier games. Not to mention if the player knows their way with the skill tree and makes the best usage with synthesizing, they can easily be at endgame strength within the midway point of the game. And by the time I completed the main game, I was so overpowered with equipment and items, almost nobody was a challenge at all even at the highest difficulty setting. Now, this can be avoided if the alchemy engagement is done at a minimum, but any game balance is thrown out of the window if the player chooses to get the most out of synthesis.
Now Atelier Ryza 3 offers plenty of depth with gameplay and there’s more that could be explained further but the appeal of Atelier isn’t just about the gameplay, it’s also the story. In Ryza 3, Ryza and her friends travel to solve the mystery of the Code of the Universe and the surrounding Age of God people in the past as well as the purpose and usage of the keys that appear suddenly in front of Ryza. Being the most focused in plot writing and text in the series, Ryza 3’s story offers a lot of lore and background information as well as tidying up any lingering plot threads and character development ongoing since the first Ryza game.
Atelier has always been excellent with character writing due to each character having its own series of events. Characters that have been in all three games such as Kladuia, Lent, Tao, and Bos have been thoroughly developed over the trilogy and evolved but there are still new tidbits to learn about the characters as well as resolving any conflicts that have started since the first game. While new characters such as Federica, Dion, and Kala get additional focus within the main story alongside character events and side quests. Speaking of character events, more characters are often involved in events, to the point one on one conversations are rather rare in Ryza 3. Personally, I like this since more people can draw out different sides of a person, plus the cast is rather very large so the interaction between each character has to fit somewhere.
That said, there are quite some issues with the game’s overall plot. At first, Ryza 3 appears to be very streamlined, focused, and getting straight to the point, assuming the player has played the first two games. However, after the first few hours or so, the game will often put off the main quest of resolving the issue with the Kark Islands and the Age of the Universe to resolve issues surrounding the new characters and the areas they are from. This is great for character writing but in exchange, it hurts the pacing of the plot. Even if the issues Ryza and company resolve are connected to the main conflict eventually, it just takes quite a while to make progress, especially near the end.
Another complaint I have with the plot is there is a lack of significant focus and urgency in Ryza 3 which adds to the jumbled pacing. There isn’t a single main antagonist in the Ryza games at all to actively be a threat to the group. While it wasn’t needed in Ryza 1 and 2 since the themes were more so about coming of age, seeking out adventure; and discovering new ruins, learning about a mysterious creature, respectively. Ryza 3’s story would serve very well with active antagonists since the plot is very actively focused on stopping evil from occurring again. However ultimately, the plot just felt like the group was cleaning up a massive incident that happened thousands of years ago and anyone that could potentially be an antagonist is long gone. It’s quite anti-climatic considering how ambitious and grand Ryza sets out for its narrative.
Perhaps the biggest flaw of Atelier Ryza 3 and even the entire trilogy is Ryza herself as the protagonist. Now I am aware this is the most subjective and personal part of the review but my feelings for Ryza as a character have been very flip-flopping. Ryza has been a massive improvement in the sequel but I was just quite frankly unsatisfied with her by the end of the third game. She has gotten almost no character development at all and when all of her allies have improved in strides, especially the same characters that grew up with her. It’s just not a great look.
Instead in Ryza 3, the game turns her into a convenient mary sue that can solve any immediate issue the game throws at all within minutes, or at best, a trip to the Atelier. There’s no challenge, no obstacle that has beaten down Ryza and took her a while to recover. Plus, in past Atelier games, there was always a deuteragonist that was considered the closest to the protagonist and help them grow and evolve as a person. However, for the Ryza trilogy, it just felt like Ryza wasn’t allowed to be too close to anyone. Ryza just felt like a “safe” protagonist. Lacking in character depth and writing but yet liked by everyone and able to solve the main conflict essentially by themselves and any potential threat to Ryza ended up being a near-instant recovery. I wasn’t sure what was Gust planning with Ryza but I personally believe the lack of a true deuteragonist hinders Ryza’s character overall, especially since this is the first time Gust created a trilogy of Atelier games based around a single character.
Other noteworthy quality-of-life issues I have encountered during the 100+ hours I’ve spent in Atelier Ryza 3 are the dialogue and script for the text is once in a while awkwardly translated or there are spelling or grammar mistakes. Not to mention, for a few side quests (mainly the DLC quests), the reliance on completing random quests which can trigger at any time and determine what the exact triggers is questionable game design. I could not complete a side quest because I struggled to trigger one of the required random quests despite trying different variables. I am not sure if Gust and Koei Tecmo was a tight deadline for Atelier Ryza 3, but despite a month's delay from the original release date, it wouldn’t hurt to have more polish, especially considering the size and scale of the game.
In the end, Atelier Ryza 3 is the biggest Atelier game in terms of scope from large open-world explorable areas, the number of playable characters and interactions, and the most potential for alchemy with its many systems and gameplay elements. All wrapped up with one of the most original and polished attempts in action time-based combat. The plot struggles quite a lot between the lack of focus, no true antagonist, and Ryza leading the charge being plain and uninteresting. But all and all, Ryza 3 does conclude and wrap up the trilogy in an overall solid ending with vague but promising endings for the entire cast as well as the future for Kukuen Island and beyond. The open-world approach can be better redefined and perhaps not give pave the road to the strongest items at the start of the game. However, for the future, my biggest wish for Gust is to return to just put in more character building into the next protagonist for Atelier…and maybe not attempt another epic world adventuring plot for a while.