Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey

Turn-based combat, world exploring and puzzle-like crafting mechanics make for relaxing and fun gameplay in this slice of life RPG. Regardless of some shortcomings, fans of the series will enjoy traveling with Firis.

Gust's most ambitious game to date may have a few flaws, but is definitely an effort worth commending.

The Atelier series recently just began its current “mysterious” ark with Atelier Sophie back in June 2016 – you can check out our review for it here. While it packed some changes, tweaks, and updates to its staple formula, they were changes that would either agitate or entertain returning fans that were largely subjective in nature. With Atelier Firis being the second installment in the mysterious ark, we get to see how Gust has decided to tweak it yet again while keeping the core alchemy, fluffy and overly cute characters, as well as other features the Atelier series is known for.

I admire Gust for delivering a product outside of their comfort zone. However, even though the open world is the most exciting new addition, it also tends to bring the most problems with it. Atelier Firis will surly impress fans of the franchise, but could feel dated to modern RPG fans.

Atelier Firis certainly lacks the depth that hardcore JRPG fans come to expect from the long-standing genre and hardly taxes the brain with morale decisions, but it gives a relatively safe environment in which to get to know some colourful characters and beat up monsters in some rather impressive ways. The soundtrack does little for the ears and the characters are likely to be relatively forgettable, but it’s a game full of charm and a good recommendation for those looking for something a l...

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The Atelier series is one of the longest running and most prolific Japanese role-playing game franchises, with Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey being the 18th instalment in the series' 20 year history. Atelier Firis is also, in many ways, the biggest leap forward the series has ever taken, implementing a number of changes that are radically different to previous entries. However it still manages to keep the heart and soul of its predecessors.

I loved Atelier Firis. It features my favourite group of characters in an Atelier game, while the vast, open world environments add something unique over the rest of the series, with a huge amount of options and quests to explore. Unfortunately, it isn’t until you pass the time restricted first half of the game after dozens of hours of playtime that you’ll truly be able to appreciate any of this. Combining timed quests with free exploration is an interesting idea, but its flawed execution ruins leads to some awkward pacing. Atelier fans and curious newcomers will still have an amazing time, as...

Atelier Firis is GUST's first try at an open world game and they do it decently, but the real draw lies in the game's complex alchemy system.

Atelier Feris: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey is sometimes charming, but frequently feels a bit vapid in execution. The core of Alchemy is done well, but the things around it don’t hold up. I can praise it for telling a more personal journey, but not much else.

The Atelier franchise has been around for 20 years as of 2017. I was exposed to it some 11 years ago with the Atelier Iris trilogy, but haven’t really had a chance to get to know the new generation of titles. I was excited to see just how much the series had evolved through the lens of Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey and discovered a whole new world through its eyes.

Fans of the Atelier series will find a number of new mechanics to enjoy along with plenty of familiar elements but unfortunately the new journey and fresh faces that they’ll find in Atelier Firis fall below the series’ standards.