Atelier is a longstanding JRPG series, with dozens of entries. But with some exceptions such as Atelier Ryza 2, most of them are standalone. Sort of. They often come in sets, where the stories are separate and there are different protagonists, but they’re in the same world. We looked at the Dusk Trilogy that did this before. Now we’re looking at the Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack.
This is a set of the three games in the Mysterious storyline. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book DX, Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey DX, and Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings DX. These have been remastered and released once again on the PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4.
Story Summary
Atelier Sophie follows Sophie, a young alchemist who isn’t particularly talented. She meets a talking book that has lost its memory. Discovering that writing new alchemy recipes helps to restore memories, Sophie’s growth as an alchemist begins.
Atelier Firis follows Firis, a young miner girl who encounters Sophie and learns alchemy. Her story follows her journey outside of the underground town where she has lived and her goal to become a certified alchemist.
Atelier Lydie & Suelle follows twin alchemists Lydie & Suelle. One day they encounter a mysterious painting that lets them enter its world and collect alchemy materials. The twin alchemists spend their time finding new paintings and collecting materials from within.
These stories are more connected than some of the Atelier titles, as each protagonist has a direct impact on the ones in the following games. That said, I would still say they can be played as standalone titles without an issue.
Overall, while some serious topics appear, this is a fairly relaxing series. There are a lot of casual scenes and funny moments, much like the series as a whole. Unlike some of the Atelier titles, time isn’t really a factor either. There’s no push to complete, so you can just relax and experience the world.
Gameplay
Alchemy is an important aspect of these games. Quite a lot of the time spent will be gathering ingredients and learning how to synthesize items out of them. Unlike some of the other titles in this series, there was almost a puzzle element to it that was brought in with Sophie and carried on throughout the Atelier Mysterious Trilogy. I’ll go into this more in the reviews of the individual titles, but be aware that it won’t be to everyone’s taste.
I should note that most systems in this series do tend to give you a short tutorial or at least a hint of how to use them. It’s not always enough for in-depth knowledge, but certainly enough to get you started. Creating a simple item will be easy enough, but guides may be useful to get the most optimized equipment.
Improvements and Changes
These remasters are not just about bringing the titles to new platforms, but have become the definitive edition of the games. It doesn’t include all of the previous DLC, but it does include most of it. While it is a pity that not everything is included, there are new things to make up for it.
While things like new costumes and vehicles are fun enough, I particularly appreciate that they’ve added in a new area based on Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World. This standalone spin-off was previously not well connected to the mainline series, so it’s nice to see that built on. There are other extra scenes and quests too.
Most important to me though are the additional comfort features. Being able to sprint is extremely convenient. I always find it frustrating in JRPGs when needing to cover the same area over and over, but it takes ages to get through town. Battles can be sped up too. While it will be appreciated by anyone playing it for the first time, I imagine people replaying it will enjoy this even more. This is potentially hundreds of hours of playtime, so adding features to cut down on unnecessary waiting was a good move.
As another bonus, each of the games now included a photo mode. As someone who takes far too many screenshots at times, it’s certainly a benefit.
One note – I’m playing this on the PlayStation 5 and as a trilogy, the selection method is a little strange. The icon shows one of the games such as Atelier Sophie, then I need to open up options on that icon and choose to change to the next game such as Atelier Firis if I want to switch. It’s just a little strange that it doesn’t show as three separate titles. It seems to on the Switch version. Practically this isn’t an issue since most people will complete one game and then move onto the next. It might cause some confusion though.
Verdict
Overall, I find the Atelier Mysterious Trilogy to be good remasters. These are some great games, which I’ll discuss more in individual reviews later. The convenience features stand out, but the additional scenes and areas are most welcome. It would’ve been nice to see further improvements in graphics, but they’re already okay as it stands.
ATELIER MYSTERIOUS TRILOGY DELUXE PACK IS RECOMMENDED
If you enjoy JRPGs, perhaps you’d like to take a look at Fairy Tail? Or perhaps you’d like to take a look at the first Atelier Ryza or the remaster of the earlier Atelier Ayesha?
Many thanks goes to Koei Tecmo for a PlayStation 4 review code for this title, which was experienced on a PlayStation 5.
A gamer since the days of Amstrad and DOS and someone who has dabbled in a variety of professions. He enjoys a wide variety of genres, but has been focusing on visual novels and virtual reality in recent years. Head Editor of NookGaming. Follow him and the website on @NookSite.
