this was definitely one of the more complicated atelier games for me. not in its alchemy, but as a game. because i can recognize so many things that don't work and especially feel really bummed at the kinda bad translation turning people off from this game (it still isn't as bad as lydie & suelle's tho and that is still my fav in the series so u know, not a huge issue for me) but nonetheless, absolutely incredible game that while i wouldn't say is better than ryza 2 or even in my top 5 from the series, still hits all the right buttons for me and has sooo much cool stuff going for it that it's easy to ignore certain gameplay mechanics having some lacking potential or again, the shoddy translation.

i loved the alchemy in this game, the mix of the keys into the formula makes it so fun and fresh and as always, the way the alchemy progresses along with you through the game is as satisfying as ever. the combat is great too with the like, no characters actually being bad or anything. all of them control so well and are so fun to use, especially the 4 new party members. and speaking of which, i loooove the cast so so so much i genuinely cried so hard at the ending cause even if most of my later time was spent exploring the world and synthesizing and fighting stuff, i still felt so connected to all these characters. it was just so nice to see the way characters like lent and tao, who i thought were pretty weak in the first game, have some of the best character development and minor plot points of the whole cast. i
was also very happy to see the ryza and klaudia still going so strong that even when the entire point of klaudia's character events was that she and ryza are learning to deal with the fact that their paths are drifting apart, they still are so gay. i love lesbians.

so yeah amazing game, incredible end to the trilogy, and as always, i am so excited to see where the amazing creatives at gust take this series next.