Alexx Aplin
Alexx AplinI have loved the Atelier franchise since my mom bought Atelier Iris used at EB Games, sometime after its release in 2005. I remember it being tricky, since at the time there weren’t many copies due to the publisher (NIS America) being fairly niche. Now, 20 years later, Atelier Yumia is here, hoping to seize the momentum from the success of the Atelier Ryza trilogy. Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land breaks away from franchise traditions while also making a variety of improvements.
Let’s start with the narrative. Unlike many of the previous, more recent titles, Atelier Yumia is a much more grounded, mature story. In it, Alchemy is considered taboo, and Alchemists are largely shunned. Yumia is the only Alchemist you see in the opening hours, and without spoiling things, I can tell you that there is a good reason that the people of the land fear Alchemy in the way they do.
Yumia is recruited by a Research Team so that she can use this forbidden knowledge to help them expand their influence and help with their research. Much of the land has been forgotten due to an overabundance of mana, and only Yumia can help. This leads to a different sort of mystery though.
Unlike recent Atelier-series sets, Atelier Yumia also has a central villain, though there are multiple villains you’ll face throughout the game. Atelier Ryza and several previous Atelier sagas focused more on a mystery rather than a villain. This encapsulates a bit of both.
I won’t go too deep into the story, but I will say that the characters in Atelier Yumia are very well done. While a few of them lean a bit into tropes and obvious plotlines (as the franchise does), they are all well executed. This is helped by the fact that the development team utilized a new engine in order to make the characters more expressive, so their faces match the dialogue a bit more.
I’ll get into that more when we discuss the visuals, though they aren’t the only thing that has been overhauled. Gathering feels familiar, but you won’t have to craft different tools to gather, which was an annoying bit of Atelier Ryza for a lot of people. Instead, you’ll have exploration tools, which are things such as Yumia’s gun-staff, which she can use to shoot things from a distance, as well as things like repair kits. Since you’ll be investigating long-forgotten ruins, as time progresses Yumia will be able to repair things and use different things to help the research team.
Yumia won’t just be using Alchemy, though. Yumia will also be using gathered materials to build and decorate bases. This allows you to not only craft your own base if you wish, but it also allows you to give the Research Team a foothold as you advance further along. The building mechanics are well done, and it gives a little bit of Fallout 4-esque flair to the exploration, minus random people walking over you while you’re trying to build.
Another improvement I found was in the exploration. Yumia can climb surfaces using her boots, which have a sort of afterburner-style extra boost to them. She can also do the typical climbing of ladders, vines, etc. You’ll also interact with puzzles (environmental and otherwise) to explore further in the world. There are zip lines, switches, levers, and all manner of other things.
The open-world aspect of Atelier Yumia is just expansive enough to feel like you are pioneering a new adventure (following the story), without feeling too overwhelmed. I also noticed that playing on the Nintendo Switch version, while there are loading screens, they aren’t long. Somehow, Koei Tecmo and Gust managed to package this beefy experience into the Switch without too many issues.
I had a stutter here and there, as well as a crash or two, but Atelier Yumia plays pretty well on Switch overall. I expect that the PlayStation and PC versions will likely play even better, but without having access to them, I can’t say for sure. I’m also still a little sad that we don’t have English voice acting in Atelier Yumia, but hopefully, if this entry is popular, we’ll see a return to that in the future.
In terms of some of the more integral gameplay elements, such as combat and synthesis, both have been improved. Well, Combat has been improved to be a less frantic, more comfortable experience compared to the Atelier Ryza games. Synthesis has been streamlined overall and is easier to understand. There are even “guided synthesis” options to teach you how to make stronger gear and items.
I have a mild concern about what this streamlining means for the series. Atelier Yumia leans closer to an Open-World exploration and action-RPG rather than leaning into some of the elements that make the Atelier franchise unique. It works as a gaming experience, but if this continues, we may see the Atelier franchise homogenizing into something indistinguishable from other RPG franchises in a few years.
Aside from the stuttering and the occasional crashes, I am very pleased with Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land. Despite my concerns for later entries, this sets a solid foundation for a new trilogy, and the improvements to the engine and facial features are a much-needed boost. If you’re looking for a great new RPG, Atelier Yumia is a perfect option.
A Nintendo Switch review copy of Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land was provided by Koei Tecmo for the purposes of this review.
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45 Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land
$69.99 USD
Pros
- Gorgeous visuals
- Engaging Combat
- Streamlined Synthesis System
- Mature storyline
- Open World that doesn't feel bloated
Cons
- Minor stuttering
- occasional crashing
