Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream

Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.

Atelier Sophie 2 massively improves upon everything from the original game. It has a much more interesting story, plenty of heart-felt character interactions, and a ton of different side activities to keep you busy. Becoming a master alchemist and exploring this vibrant dream world is a fantastic way to celebrate 25 years of Atelier titles.

Atelier Sophie 2 stands as a wonderful achievement for Gust and the Atelier series. What we have here is an entry that feels like the perfect fusion of the old and the new. Sophie's new adventure may not have much to offer up in the story department, but it more than makes up for this with its streamlined design, thrilling combat, expansive world, and addictive alchemy system. This is a title we'd recommend to both longtime fans and newcomers-it's one of the best Atelier releases yet. If you're at all curious about this one, we'd strongly encourage you to give it a shot.

Atelier Sophie 2 manages to synthesise old and new in a way befitting improvements to the franchise while leaving it comfortably with the rest of the Mysterious games. It shares some minor similarities with Sophie's first game but is generally quite different. It doesn't quite reach the heights of Atelier Ryza 2, but will still definitely keep most Atelier fans quite happy.

Atelier Sophie 2 is an incredibly high quality and wonderfully crafted follow-up to the original, and one of the best Atelier games to date.

Regardless of my complaints, Atelier Sophie 2 does many things right to warrant a recommendation. It’s a great entry-level RPG with some intricate systems that will keep you entertained. The turn-based system might be a turn-off for some players, but I believe that we could work more with this genre, and Gust seems like they are willing to experiment more with it.

As a whole, Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is a good game. The story is cute and tells a nice tale of exploring through dreams alongside friends. The gameplay, while bogged down by some nuisances, is largely neat, and I enjoyed mastering the turn-based combat. I did not resonate with the alchemy much, and I thought as a whole many parts of the game were sluggish, but I did enjoy my time and can recommend it if what I mentioned above sounds interesting.

Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is part of the Mysterious Trilogy and it's not difficult to see why it's the best game in the series thanks to the improvements that help shape it into a more modern experience while keeping the spirit of the formula intact. A wide and varied world to explore and with very addictive ways to do so, an engaging and dynamic combat system, and an overall refined experience that makes this a memorable game and a very welcome addition to the Nintendo Switch catalogue.

Too much fan service to finish, at least for this guy.

While the overall package is lots of fun, it's not without a few issues. The lack of a truly driving story is by far Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream's weakest point. Furthermore, progression is in general just slow throughout, with endless backtracking. The simplified alchemy system is a mixed bag. It does little to stray from the formula and will be picked up by players exactly for that. It would be nice to see Gust take some risks and really step out with some new ideas rather than re-hashes of the same thing over and over.