Atelier Sophie 2: Ultimate Edition – Review Follow Up

Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist & The Mysterious Dream feels like it slipped under the radar in comparison to the Atelier Ryza titles. One of our team once mentioned it as a candidate for GOTY and scored it very well in his review of this JRPG, so between that and my own love of the Atelier series, I knew I had to give it a try. I picked up the Atelier Sophie 2 Ultimate Edition and started on a 60+ hour journey.

If you’d like a full review of this series, that can be found here. This can be read as some thoughts on the Ultimate Edition specifically as it wasn’t all accessible at launch and musings on how it affects the game.

A Mysterious Dream

While I recommend reading the full review, as a summary; Sophie finds herself in a mysterious world of dreams that people have been brought to from all times and places called Erde Wiege. Separated from her friend and mentor Plachta, she has to join with new friends to find her and the cause of some problems in this dreamland.

While her arrival in this world is sudden, in some ways it’s ideal for Sophie. It’s not only a land of dreams but one where people have unlimited time to pursue them. Time doesn’t move and people don’t age – perfect for an alchemist trying to learn more about her craft.

I enjoyed the story, though as normal with the Atelier series, it’s the relationships between characters and humor in the slice-of-life scenes that make the time spent with it so great. Not to mention the genuinely fun combat system, the deep alchemy system that ties into it, and the amazing music added to by the Gust Extra BGM Pack.

Atelier Plachta

Purchasable separately or as part of the Atelier Sophie 2 Ultimate Edition, Atelier Plachta is an additional scenario that takes place shortly before Atelier Sophie 2’s events.

Early on in the main game, we discover a younger version of Plachta is pursuing her own dreams of alchemy in Erde Wiege. This scenario shows the younger Plachta as she is brought to the world and gets wrapped up in her own short adventure. It’s the only time outside of battle where we can control Plachta directly.

Interestingly, I didn’t feel like it added a huge amount in terms of relevant story for Plachta, but it gives a little more background information on another important party member and a good idea of the nature of this world. Aside from plot points, it has quite a lot of pleasant slice-of-life scenes where the characters reminisce on their childhood.

This mostly takes place in a new area, which has an interesting mix of enemies and items. It’s somewhat more fantastical than most of the world, which makes it unique to explore. The rest takes place in the hub city. The only minor frustration here is that fast travel is much more limited.

Completing Atelier Plachta unlocks the area and unique items in the main game. This certainly feels worth doing, as it can open up some items and rarer monsters early. That said, the free DLC Atelier Sophie 2 – Extra Area “Heartscape” does the same in some ways, adding two areas from Blue Reflection: Second Light that can be explored for similar benefits.

Swimsuits and Bunny Girls

Aside from Atelier Plachta, the most obvious addition that the Ultimate Edition brings is cosmetic DLC. It adds 11 DLC costumes, with the “Bunny-Eared Salesgirl” being accessible by all of the female characters.

These are great for the photo mode or just to customize them as you like. More than half of the costumes are swimsuits, which isn’t a huge surprise. I liked the look of some of the non-swimsuits more than the default costumes. It’s worth checking out the store for some additional free DLC too.

Catalysts and Recipes

The most practical of the additions in Atelier Sophie 2 Ultimate Edition is the Recipe expansions. Additional recipes are always helpful for more options to survive battles, but the main bonus here is two additional catalysts.

The review talked about alchemy and catalysts are an important part of this. Later on in the game, they let you add materials to your grid in different ways, such as overlaying materials or freeing up spaces after they’re applied in certain ways. While the base game certainly has enough options here, I found the Penetria Catalyst from the DLC easier to use in a lot of circumstances.

If you’re playing on the normal difficulty, you probably won’t be too concerned. Hard or above really needs a deeper dive into the alchemy systems though, so these extra options and methods will certainly be of use.

Verdict

I second the reviewer’s opinion that Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist & The Mysterious Dream is highly recommended. And if you’re planning on spending 60+ hours making your way through this world, it’s certainly worth considering grabbing the Atelier Sophie 2 Ultimate Edition. It is fairly pricey though, so if you’re not quite sold on the Atelier series yet, the Digital Deluxe Edition with Atelier Plachta as a separate purchase might be a better compromise, as it includes most of the non-cosmetic DLC at a much lower price. Not that the base game alone isn’t brilliant.

If you enjoy JRPGs, perhaps you’d like to take a look at Blue Reflection: Second Light? Or perhaps you’d like to take a look at Atelier Ryza, Atelier Ryza 2 or the remaster of the earlier Atelier Ayesha?

Many thanks goes to Koei Tecmo for a PlayStation 4 review code for this title.