Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book Reviews
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is now available for the PS4 and PS Vita. It was developed by Gust Co. and published by Koei Tecmo. This review covers the PS4 version of the game.
Even so, Atelier Sophie gets right the same things as many of its predecessors. It’s a charming, relaxing adventure with a new cast, strategic depth of combat, lovely visuals and a uniquely bright setting and atmosphere. It does almost nothing new, but it doesn’t have to because the fans don’t want it to. If you’ve played any of the recent series entries, you already know if you want this. If you’re a series fan, you probably already have it.
All in all, Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is a solid if unexceptional addition to the franchise. The new alchemy system is enjoyable, but the combat lags behind its predecessors. The focus on a more relaxed and lighthearted atmosphere than the Dusk games can be either a plus or a minus, depending on the player. At the end of the day, it's an enjoyable and relaxing game where you spend hours crafting the ultimate cake in order to fight a giant dragon, and if that appeals to you, Sophie fits the bill nicely.
While some aspects may seem potentially annoying or daunting, such as the passage of time (and the fact no one has an open store at one in the morning) or the intricacies of the alchemy system, these aspects grew on me the more I kept playing. I learned to adjust my in-game schedule in order to view character events, and the alchemy system is something meant to start off as a looming presence that you slowly become familiar with. Overall, Atelier Sophie is a great addition to the series, and while it does have its flaws, does its best to try and overcome them. Although the PC port could run a lot smoother, the majority of the transition went well, and is still an enjoyable game to play.
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book isn't going to win any awards for best RPG of the year, but it's still a good time and gives you a couple dozen hours of enjoyable playtime.
For anyone seeking out an RPG they can just play for weeks, Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is a solid choice, but for each of its highlights, it suffers a misgiving. The story is plain but is delightful and organically executed. The battle system has some awesome features that are locked behind story gates. The characters are beautiful, but the rest is hit or miss. And then there are the confusing or offensive writing and design decisions throughout. As I said, I loved playing it (despite the rush to meet embargo), but its faults keep it from becoming a classic in any sense.
Atelier Sophie has a target audience in mind here, and while it offers a compelling crafting with alchemy, the narrative lacks much intrigue to keep things moving.
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is a solid, yet not perfect, beginning of the new saga, sporting enjoyable characters, that sadly don't get the development they deserved, outside Sophie and Plachta, and interesting mechanics, such as the new alchemy system. Some of the new mechanics, such as the removal of the time limit, do create some pacing issues, but the development of the main characters' relationship is so good that it's easy to look past this issue. Just don't expect to play the best Atelier game ever released.
While Atelier Sophie makes interesting changes to the dynamic of the series, it does not leave a strong impact.
Sophie is a fun game that is ultimately marred by a tedious advancement system, vague mission objectives, and the choice to downplay its battle system in favor of character interactions and dialogue. If it were to balance these elements better, Sophie would easily have been a much better game worthy, but as things stand we can only hope that the next game in the trilogy will bring more balance to Gust's trademark series.
Fans will eat it up and for people who have been curious about the Atelier series but are uncertain about what game to start with, this PS4 debut is a new character with a new story and appears to be a good starting point.
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book gets off to an odd start, with its initially confusing crafting sessions and an extremely open-ended story. It does get easier as materials become easier to obtain and as the world opens up, but it's more freeform than the standard JRPG. Still, it has one of the most unique and engaging crafting systems out there, and it's exhilarating coming up with new combinations of items. It's definitely got a unique flavour, but it's charming and addictive all the same.
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book isn’t anything groundbreaking, but any fan of the series can attest the Atelier games never set out to be – and it doesn’t matter.
It won't win over any new converts, but "Atelier Sophie" certainly has more than enough to satisfy fans of this long running JRPG series.
In conclusion, while the game has flaws most of which stem from a cluttering of systems being placed into the game. The immersive crafting experience and colorful characters still makes it an enjoyable experience. If the player doesn’t care much for combat and prefers a crafting experience Sophie will be a truly good title to have in one’s library.
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is a more relaxed entry in the series, and I enjoyed that particular aspect of it. Unfortunately, it’s also becoming clear just how little the series has grown over a whopping 17 entries, a condition likely due to the annual nature of its sequels. Loot-based open-world games have become immensely popular lately, making the flimsy, cramped levels of Sophie seem all the more dated by comparison. Still, I think series fans will enjoy the more deliberate pace of this entry, while newcomers have the perfect entry point thanks to the lack of a time limit. I won’t lie, though; alongside Neptunia, this is another series that really needs to slow it down with the constant follow-ups and re-releases. I’d love if Gust would take a little break from Atelier and come back in a few years with some fresh ideas.
Atelier Sophie is a mediocre game at best. The game is very colorful and it will make you smile if you're having a bad day but that alone doesn’t make this game a great game.
Atelier Sophie isn’t at its best when doing particularly anything. It may only appeal to an alcove of anime fans, being so jovial you can practically hear it wishing you a merry Christmas. The broad stroke of the content can be experienced with any other JRPG, and better so. But if the home-bound, alchemic twist appeals, you may have a game worth persisting for.
Providing a fairly monotonous story with a splash of colour, the characters seem to be the only bright spot in this otherwise dreary role-playing game. That's not to say that the constant rigmarole of finding and slaying isn't fun – it is - but considering what the storyline offers, the grind hardly seems worth it; the narrative's simply not engaging enough to warrant the repetitiveness found throughout Atelier Sophie: Alchemist of the Mysterious Book. If you've played other titles in the series, then this entry will feel like it adds very little to the experiences that you've already had, while leaving a much blander taste.