Do you have a game or a franchise that you really want to like, but ultimately can’t fully dive into and enjoy? That’s kind of where I’m at with some JRPGs, including the Atelier series. I like the simple, whimsical idea of them, but for various reasons I found it tough to stick with them. Oddly enough, another series I have had similar issues with has been Guilty Gear, yet the latest release in that franchise has really caught my attention and I’ve been enjoying it. Well, I’m able to say the same thing with this Atelier game too, thanks to a few gameplay tweaks that have made the game more engaging and less off-putting than the others I have played.
I’m not nearly well versed enough in the Atelier universe to claim this is the best or anything as bold as that, but, I can say for the ones I have played, I think this one makes a strong argument for the top spot in my modest list. While graphics aren’t very concerning for me (I played a lot of retro games), I’ll admit from the outset that Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is a very smoothly animated and colorful game that looks and runs great. I liked how the game starts, too. The title screen quickly disappears as Sophie turns around and heads back into her home, very simple art direction there, but between that and the graphics, I was off to a good start right in the opening moments. I realize that opening moments don’t mean much, but it was just a sign of good things to come that, so far in my playthrough, have continued.
So the story gets setup fairly early; you play as Sophie, a young girl who wants to be the alchemist in her home town of Kirchen Bell (named after the large church and its bells). Her late grandmother was the previous best alchemist in the town and her skills allowed her to create medicines and other goods to help people out. Sophie isn’t very good to start with though, and the game uses these opening moments to offer up tutorials on how to do basic synthesis. After a your first story quest, you return home to find your grandmother’s old recipe book floating in the air and able to talk. It’s sentient enough to know what’s going on, but it cannot remember much of anything, except some alchemy. This book, Plachta, becomes a central character and the more Sophie and her pals go out doing quests, the more begins to remember.
I liked that this book actually takes the place of buying spell books from some of the previous games. I thought the approach of Sophie and her party having to go out and find the materials and try to make something was more enjoyable than just having to harvest items to buy a book to get more spells. You’ll know when you need to make something, the trick is just figuring out where to go and how to get it, but it’s not difficult. You do have to pay attention to both the time and the weather though, as conditions change based on these; sometimes ingredients are available in certain conditions, or harder monsters come out, and so forth.
Speaking of time — one of the biggest changes to Sophie is that the time restriction for getting things done is gone. I felt like this was a great virtual weight lifted from my chest. Time is clearly a factor, not only time of day but also time of the week and month — but not having a ticking clock to contend with made my Atelier experience better. At the same time, a new metric called LP, or Life Points, gets introduced early on and it tries to help keep the player moving forward rather than spending too much time away from home. It’s a integer you have to watch for each of your party members; if you spend too much time gathering goods or otherwise out and about, you’ll enter a weakened state.
The design of having Sophie recall spells, put them into the book, and the book’s character than remembering more worked well for me, as did the change in the time requirements. Battles are similar to what I recall from previous Atelier games, although one key difference is setting your party members into stances. Stances can be offensive or defensive, and what this dictates is how party members will support each other as a gauge fills up during battle. If you have someone in an offensive stance and the gauge fills, you can expect them to add an extra, often powerful, attack on top of the one that the original attacker does. Similarly, defensive posture can deflect much of the damage intended for the original target to these support team to help lighten the blow. Combat, like most other aspects of the game, are not ground-breaking or done so well or so poorly as to really stand out, but, they’re solid and work to the game’s advantage in terms of difficult and pacing.
For me, I turn to the Atelier games for a JRPG experience with a different focus. Something that’s more light-hearted, not difficult, and without much, if any, pressure felt — basically virtual comfort food, but still way more engaging and rewarding than an otome or casual game. I think Sophie encapsulates that more than the previous Atelier games, and I’m excited about the fresh start of what is likely a new trilogy. The core gameplay of Atelier remains largely the same though, so if you weren’t already a fan or “close” to being one before, eh, Sophie may still not offer enough. But if it’s a series you want to start in fresh or get back to, this is a great place to do so.
To the summary…
