Ryza returns to star in the sequel to the most successful Atelier with more exploration, new mysteries and all the charisma of the young alchemist.
We told you in our impressions of Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy how the success of its predecessor had meant a leap in quality for the role-playing saga developed by Gust. After more than twenty games – Ryza 2 is number 22 – Atelier showed that the series could get rid of that minority RPG stigma and, although it is far from other much more well-known names, in mid-2020 the first Ryza exceeded the medium million copies sold. Enough so that for the first time in the history of Atelier a sequel would repeat the protagonist, a young alchemist who remains determined to learn more about this art of transmuting resources into valuable objects.
Atelier Ryza 2 is therefore a direct sequel to the first and takes place three years after that. It is not completely essential to play Atelier Ryza but it is highly recommended, because the introduction hardly speaks in passing about the protagonist and her friends; you will simply enjoy the characters and their charisma more. That said, Ryza 2 does not delve too deep into the group either and what we have is an extension of the adventures, the missed opportunity to develop the protagonist and her companions is slightly missed, who are still almost one-dimensional in their motivations – something which is not at odds with Ryza’s charisma and optimistic tone that has always characterized the Ateliers -. Needless to sayit comes to us with texts in English and voices in Japanese.
“Atelier Ryza how can you”
Reisalin “Ryza” Stout believes that he can no longer advance with his knowledge of alchemy and on recommendation he will travel to the capital Ashra-am-Baird, where he will establish a new atelier and continue learning new recipes. Very soon he will meet old friends and new ones, as well as mysteries related to strange ruins and a strange “jewel” that he carries with him, which seems to react with the temples. Of course, the general mechanics attach great importance to alchemy and not only as a means to make powerful consumable items during battles, but also to progress through the story and solve the problems that the population will leave us on a request board. It is an Atelier after all , soget ready to collect a multitude of plants and minerals on your expeditions because you will need to use the magic cauldron on more than one occasion.
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You can start with ‘Ryza 2’, but obviously you will enjoy the reunion of the characters more if you have played the first one.
Broadly speaking, Ryza 2 does not modify the recipe of its predecessor, there are no strict deadlines for orders and it allows a good freedom of exploration that, although it is not comparable to a real open world, it certainly goes in the right direction . Precisely here we find one of the great novelties of the sequel, and it is the attempt to add options that make the game world more credible. The fields and forests will cease to be a mere esplanade with four trees and a couple of rocks, now they have not only grown in extension but also allow swimming, hanging from objects, riding a beast, crawling through narrow places, swimming, diving and climbing – in certain points of vegetation – small mountains.These and other actions make it easier to hide valuable resources in places not so obvious as in past games and give a feeling of a more natural and unpredictable world, without so much invisible wall restricting our steps. The improvement is appreciated, but we must also admit that it does not revolutionize Atelier – at least as it has been done in practice – and it is only a make-up for making the stages more vertical. However, the saga usually grows at this rate, step by step, and without a doubt this was one of the sections that was most anchored in the 128-bit mechanics.
The other two legs of Atelier are synthesis and fighting. Alchemy requires unlocking –with some branches of nodes- or learning recipes, placing resources, getting bonuses and improving the quality of the result; you can experiment and even combine objects with each other to merge characteristics or enhance their values. Given that it is one of the peculiarities of the saga that differentiates it from other role-playing games, it is possible that newbies feel a bit intimidated at first, but the mechanics have been simplified a lot with Ryza 2 – especially when compared with the Atelier from a decade ago – and it’s not so cumbersome anymore; It will be fun for those who are not excessively fans of these phases of alchemy.
As for the fights, Gust continues to strive so that they are not a mere procedure and thanks to the different levels of difficulty each player will decide if they prefer a simple adventure that does not require killing every monster on the way or instead face a challenge that put our strategy to the test. The base is similar to the previous Atelier : hybrid turn-based battles but no pauses during command selection-time continues to advance- and allows you to perform combos with basic attacks or abilities -as long as we accumulate enough AP bar-, recharge a common bar for more powerful abilities, alternate between the main character of our group -the rest works with artificial intelligence-, defend at the right time, etc. As a negative point, the camera during combat does not help much to see the entire area at a glance, or what happens to the rest of the teammates.
It follows modern RPG trends and it is appreciated that it keeps you more active in the fight – you will not have almost a moment to look at the shrews – than with traditional turns, but it is far from the dynamism of the combats seen in, for example, Final Fantasy VII Remake , and due to the reduced variety of enemies, normal confrontations will make them somewhat repetitive; only the bosses will force us to study each movement better. Certain aspects have been redone that extend the personalization of the group and, as with alchemy or exploration, it seems that the developer has preferred to polish the base a bit without risking too much; On the one hand, it seems logical for a sequel, but it would be a shame if Gust avoided innovating too much over the next few years now that he has managed to find the key to relative success.
The best thing about fighting is that they are fast and require your attention at all times. They are most enjoyed with the most difficult enemies.
Atelier Ryza 2 is ultimately what many gamers have come to expect from the sequel . Small improvements in the gameplay, a light story and progress that we liked even a little more than in the previous adventure, with new puzzles for one of the mysteries of its plot – the ancient ruins, where we will have to decipher a series of paragraphs that they form a history of the past. Basically they are dungeons with their enemies and some kind of obstacle that will be solved with the synthesis of a tool, and as we cover the place we will be able to collect memories that decipher historical events or memories. Yeah this Atlierit is still a collection of clichés, the story has hardly any unexpected twists and turns and there will hardly be any surprises in its gameplay that will change your opinion of Atelier , but it is “one more and better” of Atelier Ryza – it offers more content than that in its original release, then expanded with DLC-, which is probably the goal it was aiming for. Everything works like clockwork: exploring ruins rewards points to unlock recipes, synthesize items to advance missions or defeat enemies, and eliminate monsters to get resources or discover new temples; everything has a meaning in the gameplay.
The exploration movements open up new possibilities in map design, but they also do not make this Atelier a completely free world in the style of ‘Breath of the Wild’ or ‘Genshin Impact’.
Modest in the technical, but very beautiful
One of the great leaps of the first Ryza was the graphic renovation that made it almost a generational leap compared to the not too distant Atelier Lulua . Atelier Ryza 2 cannot be compared to the blockbusters of the role and that shows in multiple details of animations and textures, but we do not deny that it is a pleasant game to look at in the most important locations, such as Ashra-am-Baird – although its NPC population is barely decorative. However, the quality is sometimes a little unevenand the dungeons of ruins become monotonous, while the charges between areas of the city or the fields remind us that underneath this facade there is a design that still inherits limitations from decades ago. As improved details in the graphics we can mention the climatic effects and, for a simple matter of less flat maps, a more ornate decoration. Although for this analysis we have played it on PS5 at this time, the native version of this console was not available, but the PS4 version – that is, without the technical improvements of the new generation – and the only notable defect is the low quality of the shadows, visible in certain close-up sequences; It is also available on Nintendo Switch and PC.
‘Atelier’ makes up for technical deficiencies with a fairly effective anime aesthetic.
The music maintains the excellent level of the saga and brings some new versions of songs from the original – we have interpreted it as coherence with this universe, not for recycling. The voices, which we have already commented that arrive in Japanese, are interpreted in the usual anime style, so sometimes it squeaks a bit because of the strident tone, but nothing out of the ordinary for Atelier.
Conclusions
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy tweaks the combat and alchemy a bit, adds more freedom of movement, and the youthful-toned story will hook those who enjoyed Ryza’s first time . The only obstacle for the game not to shine more is that it does not finish uncovering its full potential: there are JRPGs with better confrontations, the charisma of the characters lies in their infinite optimism and the exploration still has a lot of room for you to feel that you are really investigating the nature. Atelier Ryza 2 is a good RPG and outperforms its predecessor, but it also loses the wow factor .
