Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout - Digital Deluxe Edition

If you can look past its obvious pacing issues – and some of its more gratuitous character designs – Atelier Ryza is a solid slice of JRPG comfort food that goes down easy and might just leave you asking for more. If you’re part of that in-group – and you likely know if you are – you’re in for a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

It's a refreshing change of pace from moody protagonists saving the world from unambiguously evil villains. While I like to poke fun at fashion issues like Ryza's butt hungrily devouring her shorts, I had fun with Atelier Ryza. It's not quite enough to get me to run out and pick up the rest of the series, but if I'm ever in the mood for some more anime crafting hijinks, I'll probably give them a look.

Gust has done a brilliant job of taking this long-running franchise and making it appeal to the mainstream more than ever here and, if you’ve ever been tempted to give the world of Atelier a try, this is a perfect jumping-on point.

Atelier Ryza is a solid start to a new trilogy.

The Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack is the definitive way to play the trilogy, yet with no upgrade path or save transfers, people who own the games already should wait for a sale.

Atelier Ryza is an excellent addition to the Atelier game series. A fresh new world, complex crafting system, and a new real-time battle system all work together creating a very compelling game. Combine that with the traditional Atelier heartwarming story as well as a magical setting and you have a JRPG that is well worth your time and money.

I don’t know how Gust managed to go from one style of Atelier game to another in the span of a year, but they managed to pull off quite the fun adventure, one that manages to refine the alchemy mechanics to make them more addicting, and being a perfect game that works great for getting back into no matter how long you take a break or get distracted from it!

A franchise with soul and innocence, along with heart and confidence; certainly to admire and cherish. It’s whimsically charming, while pushing certain boundaries of narrative and character development within its respective arc, all while doing its best to progress and tell a tale of this young girl that only wanted to take a trip to the mainland, but was met with the task of saving an entire universe from corruption. An alluring fairytale, and one I will no doubt appreciate for years to come.

If you're a hardcore JRPG fan, Atelier Ryza doesn't offer a satisfyingly high difficulty or complex builds to work through, and you might be disappointed if, for example, you've just come off an epic adventure in Final Fantasy VII Remake or Xenoblade Chronicles. However, if you're a longtime fan, Atelier Ryza is the natural evolution of the franchise after the Mysterious trilogy, as it not only offers a visual touch-up but also brings additions - albeit experimental ones - to enrich you with a varied Atelier experience.

The pacing of the story wasn’t the best in the world and the characters weren’t as charming as some other titles, but it was a relaxing journey with well developed characters and an interesting world. Overall, the gameplay is one of the better systems I’ve experienced for a JRPG too and it comes paired with a beautiful world and character design.