I want to try the Atelier series. Where do I start?

[AvianAviator]

Today I learned that the Atelier series was revolutionary at the time it was created in Japan, with it's focus on item crafting and it's focus on one city.

I didn't really know what the draw of the series was beforehand, but it seems like a cozy alchemist simulator? Do I have the right impression? If all I own is a PS5 and I want to jump in, where do I start with this series?

Edit: scratch that, I have a PS5 and PC.

 

[NioA]

Today I learned that the Atelier series was revolutionary at the time it was created in Japan, with it's focus on item crafting and it's focus on one city.

I didn't really know what the draw of the series was beforehand, but it seems like a cozy alchemist simulator? Do I have the right impression? If all I own is a PS5 and I want to jump in, where do I start with this series?

Click to shrink...

As of now, Ryza is the most beginner friendly. The game is artistically lovely (it's set in a island on summer), has tons of quality of life feature, nice characters and a really engaging battle system.
The series is really good and even if they have an annual release most of the time, all Atelier games brought something different to the table, so you can always go back to play the entire series if you'd like, although you might want to get informed first:the Arland games, for instance, play quite differently. There's nothing like it, think of a jrpg that meets a slice of life anime
I played every Atelier games from Rorona and I had a blast with all of them (bar a couple, which were still good experiences, just a bit disappointing)

 

[Kuro]

Atelier Series Guide

In a 25 game series, it's completely understandable to not know where to start. I'm here to break it down for you.

barrelwisdom.com

This is one of the better series guides I've found.

My personal favorites are the Arland and Dusk trilogies (and Iris + Mana Khemia from the PS2 days).

Ryza is a good boost in QoL but also features questionable character design and the combat is a bit of a mess IMO.

 

[Foot]

Atelier Series Guide

In a 25 game series, it's completely understandable to not know where to start. I'm here to break it down for you.

barrelwisdom.com

This is one of the better series guides I've found.

My personal favorites are the Arland and Dusk trilogies (and Iris + Mana Khemia from the PS2 days).

Ryza is a good boost in QoL but also features questionable character design and the combat is a bit of a mess IMO.

Click to shrink...

I agree with your opinions.

Start with Arland or Dusk!

 

[AuthenticM]

probably Ryza, from what I read.

 

[Pellaidh]

It doesn't really matter which one you start with. The series is split into trilogies which are all completely separate from one another, but even starting in the middle is fine. Ryza or Sophie are the generic recommendations.

Arland (Rorona, Totori, Meruru, Lulua) is the only one with somewhat strict time limits. Great if you want involved, challenging gameplay, not great if you want something chill. Totori in particular is hard, and as such probably the worst place to start. It also has a bunch of fanservice, and the trilogy as a whole also features the worst character in the entirety of the series, so it's not so great if you want a good story. They're also pretty bad PC ports. Totori stutters on menus and randomly crashes, and Meruru has an avoidable crash on the final boss fight (basically it'll chrash unless you play in windowed mode). Lulua is pretty much just for fans of the trilogy.

Dusk (Ayesha, Escha & Logy, Shallie) has great art, and very lenient time limits. It's the one trilogy I haven't really played, so I can only say that Escha & Logy is incredibly easy. I started with it because people recommended it, but was pretty bored by the lack of challenge. Still, if you're not looking for a challenge, they're a good place to start.

Mysterious (Sophie, Firis, Lydie & Suelle, Sophie 2) is pretty inconsistent. Sophie is good, probably the most solid on the gameplay front, but the story is just okay. Firis is kind of a mess. Gust tried to make an open world Atelier game, but didn't have the resources to pull it off. Widely ambitious by series standards, but also very janky. Not great as a starting point, but I like it for trying something new. Lydie & Suelle plays the most like a straightforward JRPG. Haven't played much of Sophie 2, but it seems like it doesn't really require any knowledge of 1. The PC port of Sophie 2 runs worse than Elden Ring so beware if you have a weak PC.

Ryza (1 and 2) is pretty much just thighs. Well, if you're fine with the character designs, they're actually pretty decent games (and other than the character designs don't have as much fanservice as some of the other games in the franchise). They have great production values, and a somewhat interesting real time combat system. Ryza 2 is incredibly easy due to changes in the way the crafting system works.

Also just in case: the more recent Atelier PC ports will stutter heavily unless you plug in a controller.

 

[Futabaisthebest<3]

Atelier Series Guide

In a 25 game series, it's completely understandable to not know where to start. I'm here to break it down for you.

barrelwisdom.com

This is one of the better series guides I've found.

My personal favorites are the Arland and Dusk trilogies (and Iris + Mana Khemia from the PS2 days).

Ryza is a good boost in QoL but also features questionable character design and the combat is a bit of a mess IMO.

Click to shrink...

I was looking for this as soon as I finished catching up the backlog, thanks and bookmarked!

 

[Harp]

I've been wondering this myself and have yet to actually pick one. I get tempted every time there's a steam sale, but how are the switch versions of the games that are on Switch?

Atelier Series Guide

In a 25 game series, it's completely understandable to not know where to start. I'm here to break it down for you.

barrelwisdom.com

This is one of the better series guides I've found.

My personal favorites are the Arland and Dusk trilogies (and Iris + Mana Khemia from the PS2 days).

Ryza is a good boost in QoL but also features questionable character design and the combat is a bit of a mess IMO.

Click to shrink...

After reading some of this, I kinda wanna start with the Rorona games. I like the idea of the time limited but structured gamepaly, and I never mind missing content in JRPGs. I find them much more fun to just play and find what I find and miss what I miss, and reading guides is too unwieldy and interruptive of the game.

 

[Red Liquorice]

I got Ryza at Xmas and had fun with it for a while but found the alchemy part visually confusing and overly fussy. There's an auto create feature that I relied on but got held up a few times with story roadblocks that required me to do certain alchemy functions I didn't think were explained properly and weren't covered by the auto feature. I had to look it up every time I did it and still didn't understand what I was being asked to do.

The exploration, world and characters was what kept me playing for as long as I did, it was very fun and charming. If you like ATB combat it should appeal too. I found the basic combat with normal mobs repetitive but fun and flashy, but as soon as I came across a tougher enemy I was very quickly overwhelmed by the speed of the combat, there's a lot to keep track of, lots of different buttons and all going very fast. I'm old! I would definately give the series another go if the alchemy was less fussy and the combat turn-based.

 

[Thordinson]

I think Ryza, Sophie, or Rorona are great places to start. I started with Rorona DX and really enjoyed it.

 

[SenseiX]

I recommend

Or

 

[Sieffre]

I started with the Dusk games (Ayesha/Escha/Shallie) and then went back to the PS2 games (Iris 1/2/3, Mana Khemia 1/2), then Arland (Rorona/Totori/Meruru) and Mysterious (Sophie/Firis/Lydie). I've kind of fallen out of keeping up with the series due to the excessive rereleases (PS4 has something like 19 Atelier games) and half-assed English localizations of recent games.

I will say that if you do start with the Arland games, Atelier Rorona is a very difficult game. It's meant to be played through several times and carrying things over into new game+ to make subsequent playthroughs easier. Most of the games are like that and are much more fun in new game+. I'm playing Rorona DX right now, and I'm in the postgame content now and have only fought a single "boss" enemy in the game so far because I haven't had the time or resources to make decent equipment. I've spent half the allotted time making new equipment that will let me even reach the areas that I can gather materials to make the best equipment, and I might not even have enough time left to do that. The three original Arland games are all very stressful on a first playthrough.

Firis feels like an oddball game in the series, but I really enjoyed it. It's more open-world than the other games, and kind of felt like a scaled down anime version of Skyrim, where you just set out in a direction and do whatever quests pop up along the way.

The item synthesis in the series is super complicated, so expect to spend stretches of 4-6 hours of doing nothing but synthesis to make equipment. Like, "oh, I want to put this trait on armor, so I'll need to make 3 of this item with that trait, but to get that, I'll need to make 5 of that item, and then 2 of that item" and such and such. Some times I get so deep into making items for items for items that I forget what I'm even doing. And other times you'll spend an hour or two getting traits transferred from one item to another, and then when you reach the final item, you'll discover you didn't plan it out right and don't have enough points to carry everything over, or the item you're making doesn't work with a certain trait you wanted, and then have to go back to an earlier save because of all the in-game time you just wasted. But once it clicks and you get in the zone, it's really addicting. Be prepared to do a lot of Google searching and reading through GameFAQs discussions.

 

[androvsky]

I've been wondering this myself and have yet to actually pick one. I get tempted every time there's a steam sale, but how are the switch versions of the games that are on Switch?



After reading some of this, I kinda wanna start with the Rorona games. I like the idea of the time limited but structured gamepaly, and I never mind missing content in JRPGs. I find them much more fun to just play and find what I find and miss what I miss, and reading guides is too unwieldy and interruptive of the game.

Click to shrink...

I actually found the time limits relaxing on the Arland games since I knew I wasn't going to get true end on the first try. I could just sit back and play the game.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

I've been meaning to get into this series recently, from what I've heard consensus seems to be Ryza 1 or Sophie 1

 

[gabyb]

From someone who only has a PC, which is the best one to play if you could only play one? I have been kind of curious about them since I see people liking them so much, but don't have the time to invest in a whole series right now.

 

[Thordinson]

From someone who only has a PC, which is the best one to play if you could only play one? I have been kind of curious about them since I see people liking them so much, but don't have the time to invest in a whole series right now.

Click to shrink...

Ryza or Sophie would probably be the best for starting as others have said. Most Atelier games are on PC.

 

[FinalArcadia]

Escha & Logy would be a good starting point, I think. There's a time limit, but it's very, VERY lenient, so it eases you into both the time limit and non-time limit setups. It was a very solid game as a whole, one of the best, and you don't really need any background from the preceding game (Ayesha) to enjoy it.

 

[MegamanFreak]

i normally hate new game plus due to none challenging gameplay, but the Arland series is super fun with new game plus, since those games have a time limit, and replays allow you to manage your time better, and you feel like you actually accomplished something with that restriction. I enjoy the no time limit games as well, but the for me, the sense of urgancy and strive to get better and better is gone. The Arland trilogy is a great start.

 

[AvianAviator]

Atelier Series Guide

In a 25 game series, it's completely understandable to not know where to start. I'm here to break it down for you.

barrelwisdom.com

This is one of the better series guides I've found.

My personal favorites are the Arland and Dusk trilogies (and Iris + Mana Khemia from the PS2 days).

Ryza is a good boost in QoL but also features questionable character design and the combat is a bit of a mess IMO.

Click to shrink...

It doesn't really matter which one you start with. The series is split into trilogies which are all completely separate from one another, but even starting in the middle is fine. Ryza or Sophie are the generic recommendations.

Arland (Rorona, Totori, Meruru, Lulua) is the only one with somewhat strict time limits. Great if you want involved, challenging gameplay, not great if you want something chill. Totori in particular is hard, and as such probably the worst place to start. It also has a bunch of fanservice, and the trilogy as a whole also features the worst character in the entirety of the series, so it's not so great if you want a good story. They're also pretty bad PC ports. Totori stutters on menus and randomly crashes, and Meruru has an avoidable crash on the final boss fight (basically it'll chrash unless you play in windowed mode). Lulua is pretty much just for fans of the trilogy.

Dusk (Ayesha, Escha & Logy, Shallie) has great art, and very lenient time limits. It's the one trilogy I haven't really played, so I can only say that Escha & Logy is incredibly easy. I started with it because people recommended it, but was pretty bored by the lack of challenge. Still, if you're not looking for a challenge, they're a good place to start.

Mysterious (Sophie, Firis, Lydie & Suelle, Sophie 2) is pretty inconsistent. Sophie is good, probably the most solid on the gameplay front, but the story is just okay. Firis is kind of a mess. Gust tried to make an open world Atelier game, but didn't have the resources to pull it off. Widely ambitious by series standards, but also very janky. Not great as a starting point, but I like it for trying something new. Lydie & Suelle plays the most like a straightforward JRPG. Haven't played much of Sophie 2, but it seems like it doesn't really require any knowledge of 1. The PC port of Sophie 2 runs worse than Elden Ring so beware if you have a weak PC.

Ryza (1 and 2) is pretty much just thighs. Well, if you're fine with the character designs, they're actually pretty decent games (and other than the character designs don't have as much fanservice as some of the other games in the franchise). They have great production values, and a somewhat interesting real time combat system. Ryza 2 is incredibly easy due to changes in the way the crafting system works.

Also just in case: the more recent Atelier PC ports will stutter heavily unless you plug in a controller.

Click to shrink...

So this discussion of time limits...do these games have a calendar system like Persona? Where you can only do a certain number of activities during the day and then have to go to sleep to advance time?
Or is it more like Stardew Valley or other farm sims where you can stretch the day out as long as you want as long as you have the stamina for it?
And the time limits are in the form of "craft enough items of recipe X by day Y" or "complete the compendium before the alchemist exam" or something?

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

I've only played Rorona. It's writing is very anime (and I don't mean that as an insult, but you definitely need a tolerance to anime "comedy" and tropes to sit through it), which for me was very meh. But I got super into the crafting time management stuff. And some of the characters were charming a bit.

So this discussion of time limits...do these games have a calendar system like Persona? Where you can only do a certain number of activities during the day and then have to go to sleep to advance time?
Or is it more like Stardew Valley or other farm sims where you can stretch the day out as long as you want as long as you have the stamina for it?

Click to shrink...

It's closer to Persona than Stardew Valley, though it's still a bit different from that. I've only played Rorona but think of it like... you have like 3 months to craft and hand in the items for your deadline and like... you can craft 5 potions in a day or spend 3 days crafting a big item, and then traveling to a different location will take 4 days, that sort of thing.

The actual requirements were pretty easy to meet fwiw, I wouldn't call it hard to just complete, but min maxing your time and getting high scores was more involved.

 

[Dolce]

I would probably just recommend jumping into Sophie 2 or Ryza.

So this discussion of time limits...do these games have a calendar system like Persona? Where you can only do a certain number of activities during the day and then have to go to sleep to advance time?
Or is it more like Stardew Valley or other farm sims where you can stretch the day out as long as you want as long as you have the stamina for it?
And the time limits are in the form of "craft enough items of recipe X by day Y" or "complete the compendium before the alchemist exam" or something?

Click to shrink...

FWIW, the version of Rorona you can buy nowadays lowered a lot of the harsh time limits, and the further you go into the series, the less time limits matter. And in some cases they pretty much don't exist.

 

[Strings]

I'd recommend Atelier Escha & Logy just because that's an extra fab game:

Ryza sux, don't do it

 

[bangai-o]

The YouTuber Ircha Gaming is really into Atelier series.

Here is an older video.


And a newer video.

 

[MrWindUpBird]

I'd recommend Atelier Escha & Logy just because that's an extra fab game:

Ryza sux, don't do it

Click to shrink...

Do you ever get tired of your Ryza shtick?

 

[Strings]

Do you ever get tired of your Ryza shtick?

Click to shrink...

 

[Kapryov]

I've only played a few, but I started with Totori on the Vita and handled my time pretty badly (walked everywhere, wasted a LOT of time) and got a bad ending... but liked the game enough to start over again and got a better (not best) ending. It was only really a 20hr RPG so I guess I put 40hrs into it or something overall?
Got a decent way through Meruru and liked how it handled timed missions better, it's a little more lenient, but didn't finish it since my Vita memory card was dying. It features a badass "older" (40 year old) female character who I always had in my party when possible, but she's also the target of a really immature STD joke in the english localization.

Sophie has like no time limits at all, almost too relaxed. I didn't finish this either, can't comment much. This was the last one with an english dub I think?

Ryza I bought because people were gushing over it like crazy here, and I just can't get past the character designs (I'm sorry). I adore the artwork in the Arland and Dusk trilogies, but Ryza... the main cast really sticks out even in their own environment, it's jarring. Also the battle system is a downgrade, but I might be alone with that opinion. I prefer turn-based battles.

 

[Giga Man]

Which games have an English dub?

 

[penguindrum]

I've also been wanting to get into the series for a few years now. I have the first Ryza, Sophie, and the Nelke spinoff. I've played the opening 2 or so hours of Ryza at least four times since it came out but it never really caught me. Sophie I enjoyed more, I just need to put time into it. I liked Sophie's battle system more, and like many people, I feel Ryza's design is kind of a joke. I picked Sophie up around the holidays when it was on sale on the eShop and I remember being a little overwhelmed by how fast time moved when you had to go a few nodes away on the map, or when you defeated a few enemies on the field. I know there's no time limit, but I recall some resource (akin to Turn Points?) being tied to exhaustion so I never wanted to stay out too long. Also I was worried about missing events that might be weekend only if I was out exploring too long. Nelke I actually played the most. The town building and production management scratched a serious itch even if all the fanservice went over my head. I definitely think Atelier is for me, I just have to stick with one long enough to get into the systems properly. I love crafting and gathering in games. Also typing this stuff out has made me realize my irl job is a lot like Atelier (R&D for personal care products).

 

[Strings]

Which games have an English dub?

Click to shrink...

Everything from the PS2 era up until Atelier Firis (excluding the DS games (now that I check, they only ever localised one of those anyway)). Of the 'modern' format (that started with Rorona and is easily accessible on most systems) you have:

Arland trilogy:
- Rorona
- Totori
- Meruru

Dusk trilogy:
- Ayesha
- Escha & Logy
- Shallie

Mysterious trilogy:
- Sophie
- Firis

And then the third game of that last one is where the dubs stopped.

Btw, they're very loose trilogies - you absolutely do not have to play them in any kind of order and you won't really miss much. Characters reappear and they take place in the same general world, but that's all anyone means when they refer to them as such.

 

[Sieffre]

Which games have an English dub?

Click to shrink...

Everything prior to 2018 has an English dub. Everything after (Lydie+Suelle, Lulua, Ryza, Ryza 2, and Sophie 2) does not.

 

[Pellaidh]

So this discussion of time limits...do these games have a calendar system like Persona? Where you can only do a certain number of activities during the day and then have to go to sleep to advance time?
Or is it more like Stardew Valley or other farm sims where you can stretch the day out as long as you want as long as you have the stamina for it?
And the time limits are in the form of "craft enough items of recipe X by day Y" or "complete the compendium before the alchemist exam" or something?

Click to shrink...

More Persona than Stardew. Every action you take (gathering, crafting, traveling) takes a certain amount of time, and you have certain tasks you have to accomplish in a given time limit. But there's no real calendar system like Persona, you don't have to sleep between days, and time of day mostly doesn't matter.

In Rorona, you get one major objective and a bunch of optional objectives, and have 3 months to do them. After the 3 months are over, you get new objectives. Failing a major objective is a game over, while optional objectives give you bonuses like more gold or ingredients. The objectives are pretty much what you said: mostly either craft certain items or kill specific monsters or a boss. If you focus on the major objective, it's really hard to actually lose the game, and even the optional quests are not that hard. The tricky parts are clearing an optional endgame dungeon which has a lot of really hard monsters, and certain character side quests with missable steps.

In Totori, you get 3 years to rank up as high as you can in an adventurer guild. Everything you do, from exploring, battling, crafting, and so on gives you points, and the more points you have the higher rank you get to. But other than being told to get points, there's basically no guidance, and no way to tell how well you're actually doing. There's also a bunch of mandatory quests you have to do, but the game never actually tells you they're mandatory, and the endgame dungeon similar to Rorona's is now required for the good ending rather than being optional. Which all combines into a pretty hard game.

Meruru is kind of a combination of the two. Here, you need to grow your kingdom, which works somewhat like adventurer points from Totori. But the game is split into 3 one year periods, so it's easier to track where you're supposed to be, and the requirements are much more lenient. And you also get a lot more quests to guide you. It's the best balanced of the Arland games, but its story relies heavily on callbacks to the previous two games, making it a bad place to start.

Some other games (Ayesha, Escha & Logy, and Firis) also have time limits, but they're so lenient you basically have to try to fail them (especially in Escha & Logy and Firis).

 

[purseowner]

I recommend

Or

Click to shrink...

This is the post.

 

[Can I really be the hero?]

Atelier Series Guide

In a 25 game series, it's completely understandable to not know where to start. I'm here to break it down for you.

barrelwisdom.com

This is one of the better series guides I've found.

My personal favorites are the Arland and Dusk trilogies (and Iris + Mana Khemia from the PS2 days).

Ryza is a good boost in QoL but also features questionable character design and the combat is a bit of a mess IMO.

Click to shrink...

I bought the three Arland games on Vita like 6 years ago during one of the Vita's big sales but have never played them, this mentions to avoid Vita? Can anyone elaborate why?

 

[FinFunnels]

I started with the Iris trilogy and Mana Khemia on PS2 and they're still some of my favorites.

But they're also a lot different from modern Atelier games. They're more like traditional JRPGs but with alchemy. Atelier Rorona was when the series went back to its simpler roots. I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me. I'll always miss the 2D sprites, though.

 

[Kuro]

I bought the three Arland games on Vita like 6 years ago during one of the Vita's big sales but have never played them, this mentions to avoid Vita? Can anyone elaborate why?

Click to shrink...

They are fine on Vita, its just that the games are now on more powerful platforms at higher resolution and less frame drops. If you already own them on Vita and like playing on the go, I would just stick to that.

edit: the PS4/Switch/PC versions do have battle fast forward and some extra content though.

 

[Can I really be the hero?]

They are fine on Vita, its just that the games are now on more powerful platforms at higher resolution and less frame drops. If you already own them on Vita and like playing on the go, I would just stick to that.

edit: the PS4/Switch/PC versions do have battle fast forward and some extra content though.

Click to shrink...

Thanks I may pick them up again on switch if they are cheap enough, but I still love using the Vita so will stick with that when I finally get around to playing them.

 

[chrominance]

I recommend

Or

Click to shrink...

These would be my two recommendations as well. Sophie has nearly zero time limitations and lets you play the game at your own pace. Ayesha I think has a stronger story and cast of characters, and generally I just like the Dusk trilogy better for a few reasons (especially if you don't like the JRPG tendency towards revealing outfits and other fanservice), but it does have time limits and while they're relatively easy to ignore, some people don't like the stress of it. I feel like you can't really go wrong with either, though; they're both quite good introductory games.

Any beginning of a trilogy is a good place to start, though, so Rorona DX and Ryza would also work. And with the Atelier series, I'd say personal taste trumps all here; if there's a game that looks especially appealing to you, you can probably play it without issue. All of the games are self-contained stories and there are no cliffhangers or anything like that, even with the numbered sequels. Each game also reintroduces you to the alchemy system, so you don't have to worry so much about how the mechanics work. (Sophie 2 is an exception here; though it does reintroduce you to how alchemy works, it also gives you a lot more of the system upfront versus other games, which could potentially be overwhelming.)

What you miss out on is characters carrying over between games; each trilogy expands on its cast of characters with each game, with a few from previous games always returning in later games. If you haven't played previous games, you'll lose out on some context of how everyone knows each other, but it's not critical.

 

[chrominance]

I bought the three Arland games on Vita like 6 years ago during one of the Vita's big sales but have never played them, this mentions to avoid Vita? Can anyone elaborate why?

Click to shrink...

I would say they're not totally fine; I've heard about performance issues with later Vita ports, especially Firis with its large, open areas for gathering/fighting. The article singles Firis out for a reason. That said, Firis is kind of a black sheep in general; the original PC release was also pretty buggy (shadows in particular were bad, especially on faces/character models) and missed a lot of QOL features like arbitrary resolutions, a surprise after Sophie PC was mostly okay.

I think aside from Firis you should be okay, with mostly "minor" performance issues that you'd probably be disappointed to see on a modern system but would be par for the course on Vita.

 

[PatrickMahomeFanGirl]

Ryza is great especially for beginners.