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Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey - All News

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Sunday - March 19, 2017
Tuesday - March 07, 2017
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Sunday - March 19, 2017

Atelier Firis - Review @ GodIsAGeek

by Hiddenx, 20:35

GodIsAGeek has reviewed Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey:

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey Review

Walkin’, talkin’, fightin’ and alchemisin’

It might be easy to assume that Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey could coast on a wave of glory due to its title being the most JRPG name in history. Its cover and art screams high-Eastern fantasy, all elaborate, colourful costumes and youthful melodrama, but whilst the former is certainly true here, Atelier Firis is a far more chilled out, altogether lighter experience than you might assume.

The game’s heroine, Firis Mistlud, has lived in the town of Ertona all of her life and has never seen the outside, which wouldn’t be quite so bad if said town wasn’t inside a mountain and had no natural light. Her parents insist that it’s too dangerous, and it’s only until two young alchemists named Sophie and Plachta blow up the town’s gate that Firis finally has a way of breaking her metaphysical shackles. She makes firm friends with the pair and instantly starts practicing alchemy, and after a few unremarkable fetch quests, Firis is allowed to leave Ertona along with the company of her handily skilled fighter of an elder sister, Lianne.

Of course, there’s a catch; Firis has to pass her alchemist exam in one year or face returning home a failure. So, with the help of her sibling, and a few handily-placed auxiliary party members, she sets out to get three letters of recommendations from registered alchemists to pass her exam and continue on her journey through the world.

[...]

Given that Firis is the eighteenth entry of the Atelier series, it’s made without a trace of fatigue, and clear affection. Its desire to tell a tale devoid of standard apocalyptic tropes or any big bads is a nice change of pace from its genre’s typical histrionics, especially given that the bulk of the cast is made up of teenagers. Its world feels a bit bare at times, though, with each area and town often far too big with too little to see and sparsely populated, and its reluctance to point you in any sort of direction when it comes to key quest points is regularly infuriating. But its problems aren’t outweighed by its positives, and this is still a charming, enjoyable and bright JRPG with plenty to offer.

Score: 7/10

Positives

  • Charming, easy-going story
  • Alchemy is simple, yet fun
  • Genuine, human cast

Negatives

  • Occasional lack of guidance on quests
  • Timed approach doesn’t help
  • Towns often feel bare

Tuesday - March 07, 2017

Atelier Firis - Review @ RPG Site

by Hiddenx, 20:46

RPG Site has reviewed the J-RPG Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey (PS4 version):

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey Review

To me, the Atelier series has been great in turning on the charm and putting me into a much better mood as I play it. It’s almost therapeutic in how it pulls me in close and wraps around me like a warm blanket. The fact the stories never get too serious makes a lot of my cares and stresses melt away the more I play.

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey does a brilliant job at this thanks in large part to its very likeable cast. Although each character has their own backstory and motivation, they all play off each other so well. Gust has continously managed to do this despite having to introduce a largely new cast of characters, though it's not always seamless. This is easily the biggest game Gust has ever made, both in sheer size and the amount of content to indulge in, but does it stick the landing?

Set shortly after the events of Atelier Sophie, Firis and her sister Liane live in a small, underground mining town located on the outskirts of society. Firis spends most of her time helping the workers mine for ore with her gift of locating the best spots to dig, while Liane head out into the wilderness to hunt for food.

[...]

It is pretty incredible how Atelier Firis is able to take full advantage of the power of the PlayStation 4. Not only is the sense of scale off the charts, but the gameplay itself is commendable for the developer. Gust clearly put a lot of work into this iteration and it really shows, creating what is essentially a modern JRPG for all intents and purposes.

Aside from framerate issues and a lack of truly meaningful exploratory content, the series has never been more impressive from a technical perspective. Any fan of the Atelier games will be captivated with what’s in store, and newcomers may just find something to admire as well.

Score: 8/10

Information about

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey

Developer: Gust Co., Ltd.

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: J-RPG
Combat: Turn-based
Play-time: Unknown
Voice-acting: Unknown

Regions & platforms
Internet
· Homepage
· Platform: PC
· Released: 2017-03-07
· Publisher: Koei Tecmo