As many of our regular readers are no doubt aware by now, I am a big fan of RPGs. Keen eyes might also have spotted that I am a fan of the Atelier franchise, in part due to the unique nature of its gameplay. Because of this, when Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout was announced, I was so very excited that I could hardly contain myself. Every Atelier game is a challenge, but Atelier Ryza took me by surprise.

In Atelier Ryza, you play as the titular heroine, who lives on an island, and spends her days either working on her family farm (when she can’t get away) or hanging out with her friends Lent and Tao. Ryza longs to go out on adventures of her own, even though leaving the island is frowned upon by the adults of the village. When two mysterious travelers arrive in town, Ryza discovers alchemy and finds a way to make her dream a reality.

Now, that premise makes things seem similar to previous games in the series, but I was somewhat disappointed by the way Ryza is treated in the game. Even though she is an inventive, intelligent character, she is treated like a slacker, and even after starting to learn alchemy is often treated terribly by adults. This eases somewhat as you play, but I still found it frustrating, considering I like Ryza’s character more than some of the previous Atelier protagonists.

Aside from that, there is a cast of colorful characters, beautiful environments to fight and gather items in, and all sorts of things to do and see. Much like other Atelier games, there are quests, side quests, and all sorts of things to do in addition to Alchemy, gathering, and combat. For example, as you progress through the game you will be able to make Gathering Tools which give you different ways of gathering items.

You might make a fishing rod to catch fish, or you might make a hammer to break stone. Additionally, different gathering nodes will give you different items depending on which tool you use, so this makes things even more dynamic and engaging since you aren’t going around to the same places, gathering just a single ingredient type from a node.

Atelier Ryza has also done some things differently when it comes to Alchemy and Combat. The changes to Alchemy I like, but the combat? Not so much. Some people may find the Alchemy system confusing at first, but I personally find that it has been streamlined to some degree.

Now by streamlined, I don’t mean simplified. All the things you’ve seen from other Atelier games are present. However, they have made them easier to use, once you get the hang of it. For example, all alchemy recipes take place on something called the Material Loop. Imagine if you had something like a spider web, and each junction of the web was a node where Alchemy materials could be placed.

Different recipes have different Material Loop layouts, kind of like a different sort of skill try. Some nodes may boost the quality of an item, while others may add trait slots, stronger effects, and more. You unlock nodes by putting ingredients of the correct element in, and if you put enough of an element into a node, it unlocks the next node, and so on.

What complicates this somewhat, is that early on you may not have ingredients that have enough elemental power in them to make strong items. On top of that, you can unlock new recipes through the Material Loop too. Certain recipes can unlock other recipes by putting the right material into the right node, indicated by a marker that tells you you’ll unlock a new recipe by putting in said ingredient. You can also unlock recipes over the course of the story, as well as by purchasing books from stores (like in previous games in the series.)

This isn’t all you can do with the Alchemy in Atelier Ryza however. You can break down materials and items you no longer need or want, in order to collect a currency known as gems. Gems are used in order to utilize the Item Rebuild function, which allows you to rebuild an item you have made, enhancing it by adding more materials than you were previously allowed to when you made it the first time.

I was daunted by the Alchemy system at first, because it looks so different. It took some getting used to, but I find that I really enjoy it, since a lot of the requirements for quests and recipes are easy to understand once you have the hang of the Alchemy system.

Combat, on the other hand, is a different story and is honestly one major reason why I took so long to write this review. Figuring out how to describe the intricacies of this combat system is like trying to describe the inner workings of a train while it is careening off a cliff.

Unlike previous Atelier titles which were completely turn-based, Atelier Ryza is something of a Turn-Based/Real-Time hybrid. You can only control one of your party members at a time, and when the turn of your other two party members comes, they act independently. You can switch between them on the fly, but in the chaos of battle, this isn’t a viable option in most cases.

As you attack enemies, you gain AP which serves two purposes. When you reach certain AP thresholds, you can raise your “Tactics level” which not only allows your characters to attack multiple times in a single turn but also allows their skills to gain extra effects at certain levels. The characters you are not controlling in battle can also make Action Orders like “use your items!”

On your turn, if you fulfill that action order, the character that gave the order will use a powerful action skill. The problem is, combat is so chaotic because of this new system, that it is hard to use those action skills effectively. I’m all for a complex battle system in an RPG, but without the game being fully turn-based, all these new mechanics and ideas become too much to juggle. I can fight enemies and progress fairly well, but using the full potential of the combat system is impossible.

One good thing they brought to the table though involves your items. You can now equip each party member with a certain amount of consumable items, which are now called “Core Items,” if they are equipped. Core items can be used as many times as you like, as long as you have the requisite Core Charges. Each item costs a different amount of core charges, and you can replenish those charges at your atelier.

No more having to make 4 different versions of the same healing item to be prepared for battle. Now you just equip one, and use it until you run out of charges. It is a nice little quality of life upgrade, I just wish the combat was less chaotic to make it easier to use.

There are plenty of other mechanics involved in the combat, but I think you have an idea of just how much Gust has thrown at us this time around. If you like a challenge and a complex system, you may like this, but I personally think they changed up the formula a bit too much.

Atelier Ryza has also introduced mechanics such as gardening in your hideout, decorating your hideout, and more. In fact, as you recruit new party members, from time to time they will leave you goodies in the hideout, some of which are very rare.

I also like how they changed up the presentation of quests. Instead of going to a tavern or store to pick up quests from nameless townspeople, Atelier Ryza has quest NPC’s scattered across town, and in various field environments. A great new addition is also the fact that your town map, and your world map, will show quests that are in a specific area, so you don’t have to wander the entire town to figure out where a quest NPC is.

Each quest has its own story, even if it is something as small as a named NPC asking you to go kill a monster. It is a much more personal touch to the way Quests work, as opposed to previous games. Not only that, but different quests are available at certain times of the day. So if you see a quest on the map and you can’t find that NPC, wait a little bit, and see if maybe a different time of day will help.

Party members also have quests, which unlock passive abilities to strengthen their stats or provide other rewards. It is a really dynamic way to constantly give you something to work toward, rather than having to chase a deadline like in previous entries.

If I am completely honest, I like Atelier Ryza for a lot of reasons. Gust has made some serious improvements, both to the map, navigation, and the Alchemy system. The main issues that really put a damper on an otherwise beautiful and fun game are the chaotic combat, the lack of English voice acting, and the way Ryza gets treated by most of the characters in the story. If you are an Atelier fan, I would say you will probably enjoy this one. If you are new to the franchise, and are looking to start somewhere simple, this is most definitely not the game to play. In fact, I would go with something like the Atelier Arland Trilogy on Switch instead.

Hopefully in the next game, assuming Ryza is the start of another trilogy, they will dial back the chaos in the combat system and refine some of these elements a bit to make them more palatable and user friendly. I love the Atelier series when it is at its best, letting folks strategize and have time to use combat mechanics effectively. Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout is still a solid RPG, it just has a few growing pains and some things that needed more polish prior to release.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout was provided by Koei Tecmo America for this review.

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Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout

$59.99 USD

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Beautiful Visuals
• Streamlined Alchemy System
• Lots of Quests and Content
• Likeable Characters
• Great Exploration and Gathering

Cons

• Combat is Too Chaotic
• No English Voice Acting