Don't worry, back in the days I literally pre-order it 'cause Ryza is super hot, even if I didn't know anything about Atelier. I don't regret it, 10/10 would recommend
my first attemp at getting into the series was a few years ago with Atelier Ayesha and for various life reasons i never really got into it. i still really enjoyed my time and every couple of years i would think back to it and muse on trying it again but never did. i would say that ryza was my real first attempt and i loved ryza quite a bit. i really want to go back and try the dusk trilogy again but what stops me isn't so much how different the games are but is because of some of the older features from the past generation. like the small corridors with load times in between all of them really started to add up. for me it was the smaller quality of life things that really made it much more enjoyable like the large maps. i still plan on going back to the dusk trilogy when ever i have the time and giving it a second shot but just wanted to add my two cents.
I haven't played Atelier Ryza yet even though I own all the US versions of the Atelier series since PS2 days, the description of how this game is reminds me of the Atelier Iris series. Where the focus is mostly on combat with hints of alchemy and no time limits.
and its very chill and light-hearted, if Atelier was a music genre, it would be some lofi music you listen at 4:00 AM, when you are questioning your life.
Ryza is certainly uh, I'm gonna go with "interesting", as an Atelier game. As someone who started with it, I really enjoyed it and found myself starting a play session and before I even realized what was going on, the sun was coming up. I found the alchemy system really addicting and that general flow of going out for materials, making things to make more things, then running out to explore more and use those new things I made while I'm at it. So on, so forth, it's fun. That said, I eventually finished it and hopped into the Dusk games not long after, as of now I've finished those and am working my way through the Mysterious games. And man, I dunno; for some reason I've just found myself liking Ryza less as I've gone on. I think a big part of it is the alchemy system and my issues with it largely mimic what you brought up in the video. I think in general I found the system less... expressive, I guess? The system felt very restricting going back to it, especially compared to what I'd grown used to in the Dusk games. That's not to say Ryza is lacking in other areas or anything either, I think the environments are downright stellar to look at and the explorative feeling the game gives is really something all it's own, not just within Atelier but JRPGs as a whole. It has this very child-like, adventurous vibe that makes every trek from the hideout feel way bigger than they probably should have been. Though, I think for me the older games just have more to offer. I'm generally more fond of traditional turn-based combat, and the more free-form, albeit less newbie-friendly alchemy system felt great to finally get down. I really felt something having mastered it, to an extent. I could keep going on and on for a while about this game, but I think my point has been made. All-in-all I think the game is still very solid and I'm absolutely interested to see what Gust does next with the series, but a part of me is definitely going to miss the very specific charm the older games have that I've found myself falling in love with.
@@_mako To be fair tho...You can kind of contribute a large reason for those sales being her uhhh. Many assets and various amounts of online art sharing platforms
As someone who really just dabbled with the series before Ryza, which I really enjoyed, I can definitely see where this video is coming from. Personally I've always found that the "over complicated" synthesis/crafting held the series back for me. I would get into the story or characters but then would run into, essentially, a puzzle game that just kind of ruined the flow for me. The synthesis in Ryza felt important but simplified enough to feel like it fit more into the flow rather than being a brick wall you'd occasionally slam head first into. It really is a different focus than in the rest of the series and despite how much I enjoy Ryza I haven't really felt tempted to go back and play more of the earlier titles in the series. I would say it's more of an Atelier game for people who just haven't been able to get into the series rather than an introduction to the series as a whole.
I see your point and completely understand! However, its when you start to complete multiple games and starting New Game + a few times that the Alchemy system really starts to shine. It is so huge and complex that at first it seems intimidating; But around my third title it became my favorite part. Eventually I got to the point where I was just skipping ever scene (already had watched them all) and I would spend hours just crafting the perfect bomb or the ultimate weapon. I believe Gust and Koei Techmo did this on purpose to keep players engaged throughout the series well into 100+ hours. The alchemy system is something that has been tweaked and perfected throughout the series, and to "retcon" it is a huge risk for the series. (I Have not played Ryza, this is just my opinion about the synthesis system as a whole.)
@@daggerthedragon1582 To be honest, if a person is having trouble enjoying even their first playthrough of a game in a series, it's kinda unfair to expect them to complete multiple playthroughs of several games in the series just to learn to enjoy the main aspect of the series.
@@_mako Hmm fair point. For me this never hindered my experience, only made it more enjoyable as I learned the nuances. However, many people could lose interest in the game as a whole due to initial intimidation or confusion.
@@daggerthedragon1582 while true, you never really needed to make the perfect bomb or the perfect equipment in previous games. You could beat the game with very simple alchemy. For me though, what drew me was the very idea of how customizable alchemy was, how i could spin my own twist into items and make what i wanted. So for me alchemy was first, everything else second. But cute girls doing cute stuff and saving the world is always nice.
While it might be a hard pill to swallow, Ryza's increased emphasis on exploration and combat over alchemy makes it a much more balanced and dynamic game that a greater number of people can enjoy, and it's monumental success is proof of that. The "niche appeal vs. general appeal" conflict is always a bitter one, but I think the current trajectory GUST is on is the correct way forward. Honestly, I'm just glad Atelier isn't dying anymore. Sales numbers leading up to Ryza had me sweating...
Well Ryza was my first atelier game and I absolutely loved it.. Ryza herself making the playthrough really enjoyable as she really is that lovable a character. She works hard for what she wants to achieve, she grew a lot as a character by the end of the story and hey she is absolutely cute. Of course though I end up playing Atelier Lulua after and.... I don't have the motivation to complete Lulua. The Alchemy style is so much harder, I find Lulua to be not as compelling a character as Ryza.... Its true that while Atelier Ryza got me an interest in trying other atelier games... It gave me quite a huge culture shock to the point I don't feel motivated to complete the rest of the game
Maybe you'll enjoy it more if you stop thinking of it as part of the same series as Ryza. I know that sounds silly, but if you take the older games for what they are rather than expect more Ryza from them, the cultural shock might not be so harsh. I only started enjoying the series when I stopped comparing it's watered down combat and storylines to other JRPGs that I usually play, and started playing the games for their alchemy systems.
playing Ryza and then going to Rorona and stressing was rough. Then going to Totori..... Jeez man I was on the struggle bus. I will say I actually think I enjoyed the overall story and art of arland series WAY MORE than Ryza but, Ryza was very carefree and it's hard to compare to the older atelier games.
truly a shame that this channel is dead but to anyone who wants to try out ryza DO IT! Ive played this game as my entry title and instantly fell in love with the series Moved on to older titles bit later and felt more engaged by experiencing how much the systems differ from game to game ryza being simple is great to get a feel for atelier itself. and i believe that moving down from that point is best (firis is my favorite)
I think what you said makes a lot of sense. You enjoyed it less (to a degree) because it lacked some of the stuff that originally brought you into the series. This, however, is exactly why it's actually one of my FAVORITE Atelier games. I first started playing with the Atelier Iris games on the PS2. I played all 3 and really enjoyed the Mana Khemia games as well. So when Rorona was released on the PS3, I got really excited. Unfortunately, I wound up being pretty disappointed. This was the case with almost all of the Atelier games from Rorona till now. They all went HARD on the Alchemy and item crafting, but really missed the mark on the story and characters. I didn't find my self yearning to know what happened next and I didn't get attached to or care about the characters. And that's totally fine, because that wasn't their main goal. Ryza was the first one (with some small exceptions here and there) in a long time that gave me really fun characters and an interesting plot. It all depends on your preferences I suppose. Though I do admit, you're right, it tried to give you the best of both worlds and wound up coming a tad short. Still a stellar game in my opinion though. Great work on the video!
Have to say that was a bit rambly.. What part of it did you zone out? What did the other titles had you not doing that? Y'know.. some specifics. I get that you might not wanna spoil it but it was a bit hard to get a clear picture. It could just be me, certainly the comments seem to get it. Oh well..
First of all I want to thank you b/c your videos got me into this wonderful, charming series. I completely agree with you. I tried to use Ryza as a starting point but soon got the feeling that, although it was a fantastic game, it didn’t represent the series well. It made me worried that I may not like the other games if Ryza was my intro, so I went back to the Dusk games and then played Ryza.
Wow, time passes so fast. Thank you very much for making your videos 'public' again. I guess this is definitely the kinda channel I'll have to somehow download some videos from so that in 10 to 15 years I could show my daughter some games and reviews I used to watch.
I just beat it last night and I loved it. But the real question is, who is best girl? Because unlike certain other entries in the series all three options are perfectly valid options, so you can be a man of wealth and taste no matter which you pick. Personally my mind's telling me Klaudia, but my body, my body's, telling me Lila
I guess it's the same case as it was for us Iris and Mana Khemia fans. I grew up on Atelier Iris and when I wanted to get back into the series years later, I was frankly disappointed by how different the newer titles were. I only learned to love them when I stopped comparing them to Iris and started playing them for what they offered instead. Iris/Mana Khemia and the PS3/Vita Atelier games feel like they're part of different subseries within the overall Atelier series, and it seems like Ryza is starting a third subseries of its own.
The games never appealed to me in the first place, but with Ryza it just feels like her design was purely made for fan service. She's wearing short-shorts, a blouse and has the biggest honking honkers and it's honestly just dissapointing because I have seen many of the protags in earlier games and their designs are so unique and creative. Then you have the enemy girl who is in a demonic tight jumpsuit and also has big honkers and im quite honestly tired of games like this. It's like, they can't trust that the game has any appeal to any new fans so they bait them in with young looking moe anime girls with honkers bigger than their heads...
@@pahtosh That just solidifies Soaps comments about the gameplay. The alchemy is easy and there is no time. Why give people pressure or develop on the systems already in the games when you can do the bare minimum because you know the main girl is going to bring in the sales.
Started with Ryza and enjoyed it for the few hours I played of it,but went to Sophie and I found myself enjoying more, thank you for introducing me to what has become of my favorite series
As someone who haven't missed any Atelier game since Rorona, this is what I generally think - Ryza is a good starting point for new player going forward, but a bad starting point if they wish to try previous Atelier after they play Ryza. I feel the only older title that the newer player like to play is the Mysterious, which would be a shame, because personally I feel Atelier series is at its peak with Arland and Dusk. And knowing how slightly complicated the alchemy are and the inclusion of time management in 5 of those 6 games, I don't think many new players are willing to try those games. This I do think is partly due to the changes and differences made in Ryza to cater to a "wider" audience. Alchemy system is dumbed down to such a degree that it doesn't require much effort or long term planning to craft the best equipment and items. Collecting ingredient is just a matter of one fast traveling away. Creating a max 999 quality item with the best traits is a matter of slapping other ingredients in the slots. Combat system changed to be fast paced, which I personally have no issue, but it also made item usage an afterthought. Everything is so convenient in Ryza that it just took the challenge and fun factor away from many older Atelier fans. Overall I personally enjoyed Ryza a lot, but as an Atelier game, I think it's just a mediocre one. Far from the good old memories I have experienced with the likes of Rorona, Totori, Ayesha and Escha&Logy. At least it did get good sales figure from all the changes (and imo, excessive fanservice marketing), which bodes well for Atelier series going forward.
It makes me so happy that you present your ideas down the middle. None of your content feels biased and helps people feel well informed about everything Also say it louder for the people in the back "if you end up liking just Ryza and not the older games, you're not in the wrong in any kind of way" Like yaaaaas thank you
I feel Ryza's alchemy system still has quite a bit of complexity to it and can require a bit of thinking, but it only becomes more apparent on higher difficulties which become accessible only after the first playthrough. I think it might have been intentional, alchemy doesn't require too much effort on the first playthrough, but becomes a thing to consider when challenging a more difficult second playthrough. I actually liked that a lot, since that combined with no time limits means i could figure out all the little nuances of the alchemy system with no pressure, whenever i felt like it. Meanwhile, it took me 2 tries to get into my first Atelier game (Rorona) because the system confused me a bit at first. Once i figured out the system and increased my efficiency with some methods i discovered during my first time, I felt like a god of alchemy. This was satisfying I admit, but it was still a barrier i had to try to overcome twice. With Ryza, i didn't feel the need to learn the system, more like I really wanted to and that's satisfying as well in its own right. Overall, I'd say Ryza might be a good entry point based on my experience, though, unfortunately those are the only 2 Atelier games I've played as of now. I hope i am able to try other entries in the near future. Also, it was because of your videos that I found out about Atelier so thanks for showing me such a great series :)
The thing I love about the Alchemy system in Ryza is that it finally (mostly) fixes the biggest problem I've had with Atelier games from Atelier Shallie through Atelier Lulua - the obtuse "discovery" system. I'm going to start from the PS3 era because after a lot of experiments on PS2 they landed on Atelier Rorona and have largely been iterative from there rather than transformative. From Atelier Rorona through Atelier Escha and Logy, the process of learning new recipes was fairly simple; either you acquired them over the course of the story or you bought/found special books that taught specific recipes. But in Atelier Shallie they introduced the Discovery system where the character would become "inspired" by doing some random something-or-other that would cause them to magically learn the recipe. In my opinion, this was always dumb; it was obtuse for the sake of being obtuse. The things you'd have to do were absurdly random; even with the hints it often never made sense. I'd read a guide after I got stumped and think "How the hell was I supposed to think of doing THAT even with the hint?" It really soured my feelings on the following trilogy as well as Lulua because it was always really dumb IMO. Atelier Ryza fixed this by making the process infinitely more intuitive and it made more sense by tying it to the game's main mechanic; alchemy. Most new recipes are learned by making items using currently known recipes, with the twist of adding a specific ingredient to the mix to learn the new recipe. This is infinitely less obtuse and encourages the player to engage with the alchemy, the main point of most Atelier games. It's not always as easy as that sounds; sometimes the ingredient is hard to find or requires an item you don't know how to make yet, but at least I'm not wondering what I even need in the first place. I know what I need, it says I need "Alchemy Fibers" or whatever. I may not have those yet or know how to make them, but at least I know *what* I'm looking for. As such I feel it's a much better system than what Shallie through Lulua have offered.
From what I gather, it seems to be similar to the split in the fe fan base after awakening. For some fans of Awakening, it’s hard to go back to older titles since it lacks a lot of what the newer fans were drawn to and for older fans the newer games seem overly simplistic in comparison to previous games.
This was my first atelier game, and I had to literally watch multiple RU-vid videos to fully understand the alchemy part. 😬 I just feel stupid now if this one’s is the least complicated in the series.
It’s not a question of being smart, Atelier games alchemy are definitely a tough nut to crack, and I’m an engineer in space engineering. I just do a lot of internet research about alchemy, because I just don’t have the tome to do all the testing required to figure things out (like figuring out the best combination of traits for ultimate equipment, no way I’m going to test all combinations and save results for comparison).
Ryza sintesis is really really easy , many times i dont need to think even , atelier mysterius the entire trilogy have a smart puzle minigame , very fun
---May contain some... spoilers? Idk--- To tell about it, Ryza was my first game from the franchase that I've played from Atelier series. Whose who doesn't have any sort of experience in this game style, I think that was a good game. You can feel that there are something amiss, some odd feeling about the story of the game that you doens't know about, but you can just ignore it and play without looking back in past, and because of that, I was able to enjoy my time carefreely, but... as said, the alchemist system is really... hum... like... unnecessary? I guess... I've only used the system to complete the quests (Playing on normal difficulty), and only really started to try to learn it after the second time in Underworld (Almost end of game), that was when I got 999 quality in almost everything (Philosopher Stone). So, I surely enjoyned the game, but I couldn't tell that was really an "atelier" game. Conclusion: I still not played the other games from the series so, I can't classify this game between good or bad starting point --- Looking from those who played the other games of the series, but --- I think that is a good game even for those who never played the other ones.
I'm still having extremely bad lag even though my laptop has GTX 2080 graphics card. Can anyone help me? Even on lower everything still lags or felt slow when walking.
Although I didn't finished it yet, I liked Ryza. Out of all the Atelier games I've played, which are Annie (Didn't finish), Mana Khemia (Didn't finish), Ayesha, Escha & Logy and Shallie (Didn't finish), Ryza is probably one of my favorites overall, but the alchemy really is a step back compared to the Dusk Trilogy (it still is more interesting than Annie and MK). As you said, while there is a focus on adventure, for some reason the group refuses to move on away from their town. Even when they say they'll leave the town for real and go on a adventure, they still go through a bunch of requests made by the townsfolk. Ayesha had more of an adventurous feeling while still being a very "root" Atelier game. If I got to praise something about Ryza is it's character interactions. For the first time in a long while in any game I've played, the main characters actually do significant progress on their own objectives without the help of the player, even if that progress never really affects gameplay, just story. And the cutscenes + some side quests that show this progression don't feel like they're shoved down your gut. It's leagues above in terms of "quality over quantity" compared to Shallie for example, where every time you finish a quest there's what feels like 20 cutscenes where nothing of worth happens. They help you know the character's personalities and how they interact with each other, but they all feel the same and you never really get to know any of them besides their quirks. Ryza has a lot of cutscenes as well (probably not as much as Shallie), but they're much better spread out between quests and exploration, and because there's less "important" characters you can better see their development without feeling convoluted. I've made this comparison before and I still agree with it, but Ryza is like the Monster Hunter World of the series. There's a lot of polish in the overall presentation and a great deal of care to bring newcomers to the series, but it kills some of the aspects that made the older titles so good. They're both great games on their own, but they feel like spin offs rather than main titles.
@ValkyrieAurora: if I may make a personal opinion on a technical element: English not being my natural language, I was a little distracted on this video by the level of the background music, that was just a tiny bit too high for me. It was harder sometimes for me to focus on your speech, because of the distraction caused by the music. Anyway, thanks a lot for your hard work. It's good to have you back. Hope everything is ok for you. 😘💖
You're not only telling me that Ryza is Baby's First Atelier Game, but also that it isn't so good that it puts the older titles to shame? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP!
I've never been more bored with a video game than with Atelier Ryza. The combat is not engaging in the slightest coming from many other rpgs, and the characters act like they're written to appeal to literal babies. Babbies first rpg.
Tl;dw if it's like Iris and Mana Khemia again, yes; if not, no. Considering you're saying it tried to be both Iris-like (less alchemy more story) and Rorona-like (more alchemy less story) and fails in both, then I guess no. Correct me if I'm wrong of course. I have, admittedly, a huge bias towards Iris (first entry in the series and, disappointingly, the exception of the series instead of the rule) and the very similar Mana Khemia, and I wish more games in the series went back to great adventuring. I don't wanna be cooped inside the main character's house hunched on the cauldron all the time. Quarantine was enough of that already.
I get your point about being "misled" by how much simpler synthesis is in Ryza compared to older entries. To me then, it boils down to which is kinda the "lesser evil" to hook people into Atelier series. Ryza being my first foray into the series, I'd say that its a good thing Ryza's synthesis is "simpler" because to me, someone who does not play much "crafting" type games, I did not find Ryza's synthesis to be that simple. FFXIV's crafting being my only prior crafting experience. But all-in-all, I really enjoyed Atelier Ryza and imo, it is a good starting point for those interested in Atelier series. It's like getting your foot in the door, and continue on from there.
I liked the game a lot but there's something about this game that bugged me a lot and it was the graphics. It looks like a PS2 game in HD and dynamic light added. Awkward movement animations, non important NPC look like a bad plastic models, the grass and paths are just flat textures and most of the times the overall textures are not HD (I can even see the pixelation on them), the way the camera moves on cuts scenes are like a PS2 game, towns are empty, lifeless and the few NPC there are just standing still or with an awful IDLE animation.
I play rorona/arland series If you prefer fallout series/games or objective based game, play arland series, the schedule is ruthless & the story is much tighter than ryza Ryza tutorial goes on for 6 to 8 hour on top of inflated map size Arland tutorial basically ends an hour of the game And the ATB combat of ryza, good god, the annoyance
so, what's a good atelier entry for a new player?. i played Sophie, and i loved the feel of just chilling with friends, doing gathering and stuff, but i also unlocked places way too fast that i just didn't even know what to do next,entering places that would pretty much be a death sentence because of it, also while i loved the feel of just chilling with friends, the characters where way too generic tbh, (Julio is your typical white knight,Monika the perfect and intelligent girl, and for fuck sakes, i rolled my eyes every time i saw oskar). The whole alchemy stuff was very confusing but also engaging since i never played something like that so, i dont really hate it, but i couldn't also understand it at the fullest. overall, i unistalled sophie a few hours later unlocking the level cap, i loved the game but i just was tired at that point. i got Firis too, but i didn't even played.
I started with rorona a while back, then proceeded to play meruru, sophie and lulua, and finally ryza. I had a good time with it, but after going back to it, I can easily see it is vastly inferior compared to previous titles
I have been wanting to play Atelier Ryza but after playing Lydie & Suelle, It kinda left me burned out on Atelier. The begining was fine but the more I played it, the more repetitive and uninteresting the gameplay and story it became and I was left slogging through it just wanting it to end already. I forced myself to finish it due to a commitment to play all my games from start to finish (I got the basic ending, couldn't be bothered to go for the true ending). So my question is: will Ryza end up the same? or does it manage to keep itself interesting (in both gameplay and story).
@@Chosty94 Can confirm. I bought it for the thicc but stayed for the good gameplay, charming characters, excellent ost and pretty addicting alchemy system... and also the thicc
Atelier Ryza was my first Atelier game and I do think it is a nice chill game but I agree with the downsides that Sophie made here. Maybe some more depth in the alchemy
This was my first Atelier game and I found it quite enjoyable but I did find the alchemy lacking and items you can create seemed a bit lacking too its mostly just synthesis material but very little items that are used as is. I just hope the other Atelier games are more complex since this feels more like an entry level game to get ppl interested in the series.
I played mana Khemia years ago on the psp and PlayStation 2 and thought those games were really fun. In terms of crafting were those games on the easy side of things or were that game a pretty standard crafting system?
Its better to get more newcomers, sincethe series at stale state forvery longtime. And better tell the newcomer to just wait for new series to come, I know its sad for series lover like you toaccept it. But its far better than getting this series to dies. Since you can tell how desperate gust so they can catch up more player then ever
So, if this is the starting point for more casual Atelier, what is the best starting Atelier if you want to experience the 'real atelier experience'? One that is not too old, polished in most aspects, and is the representative of the series greatest strength?
Yeah Atelier Ryza is like a jack of all trades master of none atelier game don't get me wrong it's not a bad game at all its just older atelier series is an acquired taste.
![ValkyrieAurora [INACTIVE]](http://yt3.ggpht.com/VEqE3LpPOnuinnFAU53mlrl_zHjtW4ofcOvi-QyGzaexL9ngkqyvxsGEgfj_J-D9wp7Njfl_TQ=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)