Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout Reviews
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout feels like a massive step backward, both in terms of gameplay and story. Although GUST attempted to inject some real-world themes into this tale, it's unfortunately just more of the same.
Big booties aside, the easiest way to sum up Atelier Ryza is: an absolutely great game framework, waiting for a game. The battles are interesting enough, the gathering okay, and the alchemy very good, but it all fails to connect on a purposeful or coherent level. With no driving narrative or reason, pretty rapidly the whole point becomes to simply battle, gather, alchemize, repeat; all of which fails to pull the player into something deep or meaningful. The is a great casual-friendly title, but it lacks any serious staying power.
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout makes some fundamental changes to the core mechanics that may get under the skin of long-time fans but are welcome for those looking to jump into the franchise for the first time.
This is a good Atelier to jump into the series if you're curious.
Ryza herself may be among the best heroines in the Atelier series. She is chock full of determination and humour; she is sensitive and has empathy, offering players a heroine who is multifaceted in a way that the previous entries lacked.
With its delightful novelties and visual improvements, Atelier Ryza would have been a must-have if only Gust had put more effort into its characters, story, and building a more interesting world in general.
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout bring plenty of changes to the series that make it an enjoyable experience for long time fans and newcomers alike.
Though it may require a bit of patience to get to the sweet stuff, Atelier Ryza is a wholesome and addicting experience that RPG fans will gleefully gulp down, even if they've never dabbled with the Atelier franchise before. Thanks to the strong visuals and countless gameplay features, now is the best time to jump in on this niche series, which may end up becoming much more recognizable thanks to this latest solid entry.
The best thing that can be said of Atelier Ryza is that it is accessible. Down to its core it is meant to be enjoyed by new players or by series veterans who might be looking for a nice light addition to the franchise.
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.
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.
In a bid to move the series forward towards a new direction, Atelier Ryza presents a new exciting combat engine and one of the best takes on alchemy yet, but falters with its plodding pace and a cast of forgettable characters.
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!
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.
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout is a game that may not go down in history, but it does its job: to propose an interesting story alongside the alchemy so normal in the saga. It is a perfect game for all those new to the saga, as it offers certain new aspects. However, I'm sure the traditional player will also like it, as it's, above all, a very solid game.
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Atelier Ryza is the best place for new fans of the series to jump in and a relaxing entry for older fans. Not the easiest game to get a handle on but once it clicks, you won’t want to put it down.
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout is a solid by-the-books Atelier title. It does everything pretty well, and its only real flaws are a somewhat lackluster story and an overall low difficulty level. If you like the Atelier titles, then you'll like this one, and if you're interested in getting into the franchise, this is a solid starting point. There's no lack of Atelier games to play, but Ryza is one of the more enjoyable ones available. Besides, who doesn't like crafting a bomb so powerful that it blows up a dragon?
Even if you’ve never played an Atelier game before, Atelier Ryza is one worth jumping into.
In the grand scheme of things, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hidout is just another entry in the series, which doesn't have what it takes to be declared the absolute best amongst its many siblings. That said, and although a little more emphasis in alchemy and storytelling, as well as a more open-ended structure would be more than welcome, this is definitely one of the best Atelier titles ever. It's an immersive, beautiful, and relaxing journey, which smells like summer and childhood adventure.