All tales fare to an end .
The latest installing in the Atelier series and end of the " Secret " Trilogy , Atelier Ryza 3 : Alchemist of the oddment & the Secret Key , reflects its main protagonist . It continues to develop the relationships of some of the trilogy ’s core fictional character and reason their taradiddle in a final , epic journey . It also finesses some mechanics in a way that makes the game feel like it has originate and matured alongside Ryza .
However , Atelier Ryza 3 can sense a number too broad in scope at times . While the expansion of the world is brilliant , the addition of three raw playable characters ( making it the largest cast yet ) feels a chip excessive . More newfangled characters meant less time with the essence work party I already knew and enjoy .
Other than the upfront disclosure that I get a free copy of Atelier Ryza 3 in exchange for a critical review — there ’s one more key thing to note . This review is from the position of a late fan of the Atelier Series , which has 24 main series entry over a 26 year chronicle . I ’m familiar with the Secrets Trilogy , and I ’ve flirt Atelier Sophie 2 , but I have not had the prospect to bring the older titles in the serial , yet . I go for to playact the Atelier Dusk Trilogy that has been baby-sit on my Switch ’s to - be - play list . Someday , Ayesha … someday .
Characters and Narrative
The main draw of each Atelier secret plan is the light - hearted , cut - of - life , character - centered story that it tells . While I ’m certain some will find the main story ofAtelier Ryza 3a bit disorganized or ridiculous , frankly , I ’ve just learn to nod along . It is a second nonsense , but I play to relish the characters they put inside these crazy scenarios . Defeating the final boss took me about 75 60 minutes of gambol meter , and I still have plenty of eccentric report to view and delight . My recommendation is to take your time as you make for .
Ryza ’s brash and cheeky style has been known to be off - invest for some fans . I ’ve tended to revel her bolder personality , though . I , too , tend to speak my mind to a fault . Getting to spend more metre with her core group of friend — Lent , Tao , and Klaudia — and seeing how their bond have grown through the series was the high spot of the plot for me .
However , after play several Atelier titles , I ’ve also come to understand that I have a preference for games that ride out centered on a smaller cast , those that really dive into their lives and human relationship . While I enjoyed the three new graphic symbol , particularly the mischievous Kala , each one felt like they could have just as well been an NPC , narratively speaking . They seem to only drive the narrative forward in their own exceptional regions . In this instance , bigger did not feel better to me .
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides
mark : 3.5/5 Stars
Open World
The explorable areas in Atelier Ryza 3 are vast in comparison to prior titles , and they are full of fantastic , lush scenery . Some areas will be familiar to fans of the prior Atelier Ryza installments ; others have been newly create for this secret plan . Mixing the old with the new tended to make the impertinently design field of the biz seem more interesting and vibrant . Being able-bodied to explore these areas freely without loading cover dividing the game into so many segments was also a welcome advance .
If anything , Atelier Ryza 3 suffers from what most other modern , open - world games suffer from ; the immense scope of the world can make the game finger bloated and some tasks unnecessary , at times . Side pursuit have been slightly change and expanded , but random and repeatable fetch pursuit are still present . It makes sense — I’m playing as an alchemist who form things for a living , after all . But , it can get irksome , at a certain point .
One notable melioration is that these quotable tasks spawn randomly as you wind around the world rather than being tie to a central notice gameboard . This helps the chore blend in a bit more with exploration and feel less obtrusive overall .
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides
Score : 4.5/5 Stars
pertain : Tchia Review : A heartfelt delectation deserving exploring
Combat
I generally favour traditional spell - free-base combat over Active Time Battle systems in JRPGs . Naturally , Atelier Sophie 2 ’s combat system is my best-loved out of the four Atelier titles that I ’ve dally . The " Secret " Trilogy ’s ATB organization in Atelier Ryza 3 has n’t commute much . It continues to refine what was introduced in the original title .
If you ’ve played the first two , which I highly recommend you do before start up Ryza 3 , the flow of battle will come jolly naturally to you . The addition of Secret Keys added a singular stratum of complexness that did n’t feel too obstructive , either , and certainly not as much as having to manually lift tactics levels in Atelier Ryza , which I doubt any of us neglect .
On my first playthrough , Atelier Ryza 3 could be set to four dissimilar combat difficulties . I played on normal , and , as long as I at times rejoin to my atelier to craft better items , I did n’t have too much trouble .
sexual conquest : 4/5 Stars
Crafting
Atelier Ryza 3 ’s craft scheme remains a complex teaser , one that I extremely recommend you spend meter with rather than mechanically put gamey - timbre factor in . Automating crafting continues to often produce high quality but inferior items , or utilise ingredient that should n’t be used . There were some diminished quality - of - liveliness changes implement , which I appreciated , like the power to pass over now to crafting a simple-minded ingredient needed in a formula , but the carte du jour remain a beast to navigate .
Recipe Morph Chains were break down a little chip in this installment . Weapons , in particular , could only be craft after unlocking the formula from the Skill Tree — no Morph Chains involved at all . hush-hush Keys sum some boosts to my cauldron ’s output , and I commend using them often . About mid - game , I was introduced to a novel path to alter crafting boards and an point ’s result . I mostly used it to unlock the Morph Chains that I need to .
Score:4 / 5 Stars
Verdict – A somewhat satisfying conclusion
As this chapter of the Atelier serial comes to a stopping point , I feel hopeful that Gust and Koei Tecmo will be able-bodied to keep to honor the Atelier convention while building on what The " Secret " Trilogy did unambiguously well . Atelier Ryza 3 gets it correct when it finds a balance mix the familiar with reasonable sum of money of new system and constituent . It ’s not perfect , but it ’s a decent recipe that can be replicated in the future .
We received this code from Koei Tecmo for reviewing determination .
