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.

god fucking hell man i have so much i want to say but i have no idea how i can even put it into words

unlike the last serious review i did, the words just cannot come to me as i am typing this because what xc3 means to me is a bit beyond words

every aspect about it (with only slight exaggeration) is made for me from the story with problem some of the best (and most left-leaning) writing of the entire series (from what i have played), to the characters all just being incredible with none of the main 6 feeling lacking or even anything beyond fantastic and all the heroes being pretty good at the very worst to on the level of the main characters as well, to the villains in particular who help shape the theming of the entire story so so perfectly with none of them feeling like they do not fit and some of them even having some great character writing in their own right, and to the gameplay, that somehow, even with the massive world that the game presents, never felt boring or repetitive in the slightest and yes, this includes every part of the gameplay

from the combat, the exploration, the hero system, the sidequests, and even the fucking menuing are all the best they could ever be with only some slight minor problems (enemy debuff resistance is way too high and i wish you could respawn at unique monster statues and also sometimes i do not think the menu should have its own music lol)

this game probably could of been better if given more time especially with certain bugs many have found out about but to me, as it is now, this is my favorite game of all time and i have the highest of hopes for this series' future after it

stunt on those hoes, takahashi.

EDIT: thought i might add to this my thoughts on future redeemed because i am not stat padding my account and it's just an absolutely beautiful addition in every way. this game truly understands the beauty of life in that even if many want to hold back our future, the human spirit will always break through and stop such a thing, even if it takes 1 year, or 1000. the gameplay also was incredible. i loved the addition of the enemy/item encyclopedias because they make my brain go ooooo but even if the combat was way simpler than base game, i still had lots of fun. i'm so glad rex double spinning edge is still so broken.

the mysterious quadrilogy within the atelier series is possibly the closest one could ever experience an identity crisis while playing video games. but at the same time i utterly adored every game before this one for how ambitious they were and for the amazing characters every game brought. so going into this i did expect a lot and i can thoroughly say i was not let down at all.
obviously i have my small gripes like wishing there were more cgs and vocal songs like there were in the previous mysterious games but as a whole, this game is overflowing with passion for not just being apart of the atelier series, but also for being a game in general. even more so than previous entries honestly.
the gameplay mechanics are absolutely on point here with a lot of ideas being taken from previous entries (the tetris-esque alchemy from the mysterious games, a similar quest-reputation system to ryza 2, gathering minigames which apparently were from the mana khemia games, etc.) and the nods to both sophie 1 and firis are really really cute and enjoyable.
i loved the entire cast through and through and the story was great too. obviously, it isn't too deep or anything with what it says but i really do appreciate the messages about dreams a lot and the continued message of showing empathy and happiness that the mysterious games are known for is amazing here too.
one last complaint tho is that playing on the hardest difficulty (when you first start playing the game) can cause a couple fights feeling kinda bs, particularly the final two fights but not only did the final boss slap hard still, a majority of the fights in this game are really really good.
anyways yeah perfect video game, 10/10, the atelier series does it again.

also when the final line had "mysterious journey" in it i popped off.