Hot on the heels of 2019’s excellent Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout, developer Gust has wasted absolutely no time in releasing this second epic adventure for Reisalin “Ryza” Stout, a protagonist who’s proven so popular with fans that she’s the very first since the Atelier series kicked off back in 1997 to get a second crack in a starring role. Far from being any sort of quick cash-in, what we’ve got here is the twenty-second entry in a long-running franchise that elevates combat, dungeon-crawling and the game’s signature alchemy to new heights, while rectifying the previous outing’s somewhat sluggish pace with a campaign that hits the ground running.
Taking place just three years after the events of its predecessor, Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy sees Ryza travel from her quiet home on Kurken Island to the bustling city of Asha-Am-Baird where a now grown-up Tao Mongarten requests that she joins him in exploring a series of mysterious alchemy-related ruins. Before leaving for the city, Ryza is gifted a strange glowing rock which promptly reveals itself to be an egg when it hatches a creature known as Fi, who is tied in some strange way to the goings-on at the ancient ruins she must now explore.
In comparison to the glacially-paced opening hours of the last entry in the series, Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy gets off to a refreshingly quick start, wasting no time in funnelling players through a handy refresher on combat and alchemical techniques before launching Ryza and the gang into their latest adventure. Of all the games we’ve played in the Atelier franchise so far, this one easily feels as though it strikes the best balance between narrative, combat, exploration and resource gathering through the introduction of a series of excellent ruin dungeons.
Where Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout could sometimes feel a little plodding and rudderless in the periods of downtime between its main story beats, here Ryza, Tao and new character Patty – as well as a host of returning friends and foes that we won’t dare to spoil here – are kept on their toes and driven forward towards their ultimate goal through these dungeons, which introduce a host of new mechanics and give the game a fun archaeological bent that never grows old over the roughly forty hours it takes to see the campaign through to its conclusion.
Each ruin you investigate here is filled with memories of the people who explored it in the distant past and, by using the new Compass of Recollection mechanic, you and your team must gather clues represented by glowing lights scattered throughout multiple areas in order to piece together puzzles – represented here by fun little stamp books – confront an end-of-dungeon boss and move the narrative forward. Making use of Ryza’s newfound traversal abilities, including hook-shotting her way across gaps with a swanky emerald bracelet, swimming, clambering over small barriers and even riding a beastly mount, the moment-to-moment gameplay is the best the series has ever offered; it's atmospheric and full of weird and wonderful creatures to battle your way through as you piece together the backstory leading to the game’s central threat which, as per usual, remains a mystery until deep into the narrative’s running time.
Speaking of battles, Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy sticks with the massively improved real-time, turn-based combat system introduced to the series in its predecessor whilst making a few tweaks that result in an even more action-packed and strategically satisfying affair. The general flow of fights here remains attack, accrue AP, spend AP on special moves and build up your core charges in order to use items that you’ve synthesised back at your atelier. However, you can now chain together your flashy specials, using as many as your accrued AP allows at one time, as well as expending multiple items in one turn if you’ve banked the required core charges to cover the cost. In practice this means you can, for example, heal yourself and a teammate, fire off an explosive uni and chuck a freeze bomb all in the space of one turn before unleashing a combo of specials that see your teammates – who you're once again free to control in battle at any time – join in for some screen-shaking attacks of their own.
It’s a combat system that really raised the bar for the series last time out, and here it feels like the handful of clever little tweaks give you even more flexibility with regards to the strategies you employ against foes who are much more satisfying to face off against here from the get-go. Indeed, it wasn’t until quite late in the game in Ryza’s last outing that we came across any sort of proper combat challenge at all, whereas here we were butting heads with highly capable bosses in some of the earliest dungeons. That’s not to say Atelier Ryza has turned into a more hardcore JRPG by any means; this is still a relatively small-scale adventure that’s a relaxing delight to dip into – it’s just that the enemies here provide a smarter challenge that gets you considering your options much earlier on.
With regards to the series’ signature alchemical gameplay, fans will be happy to hear that it remains as deep and addictive as ever, retaining the slick new grid/node-based style of its predecessor while again making a few tweaks and additions that give players even more in the way of choice as they get down to the business of crafting all manner of health potions and defensive/offensive items to carry into battle. Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy introduces a new essence system which can be used to change the elemental nature of nodes within recipes as well as adding new traits, making an already hugely flexible synthesis system even more malleable. Gust has also introduced an evolve link system to Ryza’s atelier shenanigans, which allows you to combine two of your created items in order to increase the stats of one, evolving and improving its overall potency – or creating a new item entirely.
Alongside all of this, Ryza now earns SP which can be used to unlock new recipes and buffs on a great big skill tree and, overall, the symbiosis between all of these various elements – the dungeon-exploring, alchemical creation of items, slick battle system and unlocking of new skill tree branches – results in a game that keeps you hooked into its core gameplay loops noticeably more so than any other entry in the series to date. We were so busy with digging around ruins, furthering the mystery-filled main story and getting deep into creating powerful new bombs and potions here that the series’ now almost expected weak points – boring cookie-cutter side missions, lifeless NPCs who repeat the same dialogue ad nauseam and the constant need to gather more and more resources – didn’t seem anywhere near as problematic as they have done in the past.
In terms of performance on Switch, the brand new graphics engine introduced by Gust last time out does a fine job here in both docked and handheld modes, with nothing in the way of framerate issues, bugs or other problems in a big, bright and colourful game that’s graphically on a par with Ryza’s previous adventure with a few new atmospheric flourishes (such as puddles left around town after a rainstorm) thrown in for good measure. Out in the field, Atelier games have never looked or played better, with more variety and scope in the spaces in which you battle and collect resources and – owing to all those new traversal options at your disposal – they’re also far more involving to move in and around. Whether you’re climbing up some vegetation to reach a high point, swimming across a body of water or riding your new mount around areas, what’s here feels like a step up over what’s come before it in the series.
For newcomers who may be considering diving into some Atelier action at this point, Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy is definitely an excellent starting point. Yes, you may feel more affinity with the lead protagonist and generally get more out of the host of cameos and returning characters here if you’ve at least played the previous game but, in terms of the story and gameplay mechanics, there’s no real reason to let that stop you joining in the fun. The game’s deepest aspect, its signature alchemical synthesis, can once again be fully automated here if you so choose, removing the biggest barrier for new players, and the story itself works perfectly well as a standalone adventure.
So it's perfect, then? Not quite. While it's not quite as annoying as before, the act of gathering resources can still be really annoying, especially when you're missing one stupidly hard-to-find ingredient. Side quests are also quite boring, which removes a lot of incentive to complete them; these optional missions should add flavour to the story, but more often than not, they're painfully dull. We'd also like to have seen a more interconnected world, rather than the segmented setup that's present here – it feels very old-school, and not in a good way. Finally, the lack of English voice acting could be a negative to some players – although we're aware that the most hardcore of hardcore JPRG fans want the original Japanese voice tracks and nothing else.
Overall then, this latest Atelier adventure is the strongest entry in the series to date and one that happily continues the steady march into a more mainstream form for the franchise that was first signalled in Ryza’s 2019 outing. It’s all still quite quaint compared to other modern JRPG efforts; there’s no free-roaming open world here and the story is still pretty small scale – more interested in friendships and personal learning and growth than some world-ending evil on the horizon – but it’s undoubtedly the most playable and fully-formed Atelier game that Gust has released thus far. If you’re looking for a light-hearted and relaxing JRPG adventure with some slick and strategic combat, addictive alchemy and fun dungeon-crawling action, this one comes highly recommended.
Conclusion
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy takes everything good about Gust's 2019 Atelier adventure and further refines it, resulting in the best entry in the long-running franchise to date. This may still be a relatively small-scale, old-fashioned JRPG experience, but it's one that's full of heart, great characters, slick combat and some excellent new ruin-based dungeons. Anyone looking for a relaxed and enchanting JRPG to sink their time into should definitely check this one out.
Comments 54
Physical release was delayed till Feb 12th here so still got a bit of a wait to go for me as I'm not desperate enough to get it digitally instead. I've loved every Atelier game I've played so far so looking forward to getting stuck into it when my copy does arrive.
The lack of an english dub is the only thing holding me back from getting both this and the first game in the series. A shame really as I do like JRPG's. Good thing I have DQ11 to keep my company for a while.
@BenAV Yup, this seems like an amazing game but for my personal tastes it might be hit or miss so im going to wait for a secondhand copy to play that I can resell if its a dud
Mine just came in yesterday but I am not sure when I’ll get to it.
Is there any new enemies in this? From what I've seen so far it has the exact same 6 enemy types as the last game, and that's just lazy
Atelier Ryza was my first game in the series and I thought it was quite fun, so I'm glad to hear the sequel improves upon it in a lot of ways. Looking forward to trying this one out for sure.
I think that it would drive me nuts that her stockings don't match! It just looks so jarring somehow. Maybe just me! It's like odd socks, but much worse! Argghhh! 😆
I just wish they would make an english dub for those games, I really dislike japanese voice acting
I'm really tempted to jump into the last one with all the praise it's gotten, but I tried out Lydie & Suelle and didn't think much of it (though that one seemed to be pretty badly optimized for Switch, which probably didn't help).
My take on the cons:
Gathering resources can still be a pain
This is what the game was built on what did they expect???
Japanese only voice-acting may put some players off
Their voices place more accent and emotions and emphasis more then english voices. ie comparing anime subs of jap to en voice translation missies the mark alot.
@RR529 Ryza is a pretty big step up imo, a much better game overall.
rejoice my fellow alchemists
Did Tidus design her tights?
I've played for a good bit and from what I've played it's far better than the first game. I absolutely love it.
this looks like a good release but is it usal 200 bucks of dlc again
@Anguspuss $40. Not... awful, but nothing in it’s really necessary either.
I’m not unhappy about the lack of English dub. They always cut out like 3/4 of the voiced lines in the English versions to save time, so you end up reading almost as much that way...
@RR529 I started the Atelier experience with Lydie and Suelle too, and found it very very flat. Never finished, wasn't interested enough and hated the characters. But I was still into the concept of alchemy being the core of the game, so when Ryza 1 came out I gave it a shot - and I am so glad I did.
The difference is night and day. Better graphics, better combat, a modernized alchemy system that makes a lot more sense, and best of all... characters that you don't hate. Lydie and Suelle were annoying as hell. Ryza is cool. She's an obstinate teen growing up on a farm that just isn't big enough for her. She's bold and sassy and is a MASSIVE improvement over the last protags.
Ryza 1 really surprised me. I'll definitely be buying Ryza 2, and I would totally recommend giving the series another shot.
@JasmineDragon Lydie & Suelle was poorly optimized on Switch. I like the combat, but it’s still one of my two least favorite Atelier games...
Sounds like a treat. I would like English voice acting, but I tolerated the Japanese the first time, and in countless other games, so I won't complain. Sounds like the game is improved largely all around in all other aspects, so it's a guaranteed buy for me.
@StardusterEX yeah im the same with the dubbing as well for the same reason. but the time they waste on the 400 cosumes to sell could be better spent in most games they publish. especially at the 6o francs price we have to pay over here
@Kiz3000
I recommend starting with Atelier Ayesha or Atelier Rorona if you still want to get into this series
I got most of this series that was from Japan that came over so I am happy but man trying to play all of them and keeping track is a challenge.
I've never played an Atelier game, but I'm thinking that I'm going to try the Ryza games. Not right away though. I can't justify buying it right now until I play through my backlog. Great review!
@mariomaster96 given the success of the first, and the new-found appeal in the west, it's cheap and lazy for Gust to not provide a dub
Good review. My copy just arrived last night, can’t wait to get started.
Nice. I was going to pass on this, given I haven't played the original, but maybe this would be a decent starting point for me.
@Ralizah absolutely! the story in this series is something you can pick up on real fast
I have been really interested in this series for a long time now, and not just because of the main character! I am wondering if I should start with the one before this one was released or just jump into this one since the game seems more polished as a whole.
Thanks for the review.
I am looking forward to this.
I'll be picking this up for sure! Even if it had English dub, I wouldn't use it. I had a blast with the first entry, so this one is a no brainer. I just kinda wanted to make sure there were no surprise issues with it before buying.
I wanna get this because I loved the charm of the original. But no English dub killed my experience with the first one.
in general i tend to prefer jp voices while appreciating dubs but... no dub is not a con. english voices dont make a game better especially since the games with english voice acting that i genuinely like i can count on like 2 hands
also, not every game needs to be an open world
Never had a probplem with there binge no dub But I still have to play the first one.
@StardusterEX Yeah, I have heard that, and most Atelier fans seem to rank L&S as one of the worst in the series.
"Japanese only voice-acting may put some players off"
Eh, this doesn't really bother me much since I'd just turn it off anyways, lol.
That said, maybe I'll look into this...? Dunno yet, got too many other games to mess with right now, and MH Rise is almost here as well. >.<
I want to get this for my Switch lite rather than PS4.
Is it better to play the first game or just watch a summary on youtube?
Mechanics and overall gameplay seem to be heavily imrpoved in this sequel, so I'm not sure about playing the first one.
This game seems interesting. Do people recommend playing the first one? Or should I just jump right into this one? Any info and inputs would be appreciated!
I tried so hard to like this game, but the animation is kinda a letdown for me, it feels stiff. Also the Japanese voices makes me quit playing. Im going to try again in the future, but seems like this game is not for me.
Did the previous Ryza game have an English dub? If not then it won’t be a problem for me (got it but backlog 😑). But that $40 season pass is making me hesitate.
Dem thighs though. 10/10.
Nuff said
@Handsomistic15 Ryza 1 was also Japanese only. And you likely won’t have to worry about the DLC, in the first game it wasn’t needed at all.
I picked up the first game on a whim, but got pretty bored with it. The overall game quality seems indie-ish.
Can anyone tell me if the first Atelier Ryza was released in the US?
I am a dubs all the way kinda person when it comes to anime (even if it is bad at times) but with previous atelier games the dub annoyed me so much that i switched straight to JP anyway.
I still have Ryza 1 new and sealed (OOF) so I think I will play that before grabbing this; actually be sensible for once. The time limits in the series stressed me out too much after many a try with them (I suck I know) but wanted to dive into the non timed ones including Ryza since I loved the gameplay other than that.
@TDRsuperstar2 yes, it was.
@StardusterEX is it worth playing if I’m going to play the 2nd one? Or can I just dive into 2?
@TDRsuperstar2 I’ve played 1, and am currently playing 2. 2 seems to do a fine job of catching you up on the events of 1 from what I’ve seen so far, if you just want to jump into 2. The first game was fun, but I think the second one has more polish. It feels like Gust listened to the community feedback, and made a lot of improvements based on that.
@StardusterEX hmm okay thank you! I’m def grabbing 2 but I just grab the first one because it’s so hard to find
@Anguspuss
Most Japanese games have $50+ of DLC, mostly useless and cosmetic. It’s a cultural thing, in Japan people look at DLC and think “neat, I don’t need to buy that, but it provides me an opportunity to support the developer if I want to . Better still, rich people will buy them and supplement the development costs without increasing the price I need to pay! Win/win!"
Unlike in the west where people see DLC and say “ME MARACIN! ME ENTITLED!!!! ME SHOULD HAVE ALLS!! EVIL PEOPLE BADS FOR NOT GIVING ME ALLS!!!! DEVELOPERS NO DESERVE MONEY! ONLY I DESERVE AND DESERVE ALLS!!!”
This sounds great. But i am still finishing off Lydie and Suelle, then i have to play through Lulua before getting to Ryza 1 lol.
The only other Atelier I have played is Iris 2 a decade or so ago. Good fun games though from my experience.
Nice! I tried one of the old games on PS3 12 years ago but couldn’t get into it (most likely because of the dreadful Italian translation and the fact that I was not into JRPGs at the time, silly little girl that I was), and ended up returning it to GameStop after a couple of days. I’ve been meaning to give the series a second chance for ages, and with all the praise Ryza and Ryza 2 have been getting, I finally took the plunge and got the first game (I wasn’t sure if I would be confused jumping straight into the sequel without knowing the characters/story from the original). Really looking forward to it!
No brainer for me!! Just look at my avatar 😂
These games "the Ryza ones specifically" are great! I really like the overall more down to earth stories they tell, I have already played about a thousand emo amnesia riddled hero with big sword saves the world from evil because reasons games and while great something more light hearted is also good. Ryza is full of thighs and lows, a wonderful experience.
@Kiz3000
Likes J! RPGs, still wants English dubs lol.
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