Full disclosure: This is my first journey into the Atelier franchise, but I can promise you, it won’t be my last.
Now, call me out of touch, but my only prior knowledge of the Atelier games was seeing them on my Switch’s eShop for a small fortune. I wouldn’t say that I didn’t find the games interesting, instead, I never gave myself the chance to see if they were interesting because of the price tag (R1080 for a digital copy on Switch). So when I got the opportunity to jump into one of the games I’ve always just seen from a safe distance from my wallet, I jumped, and man, oh man, was that a terrible life choice.
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is a JRPG and a direct continuation of the first game in the series. However, suppose you’re anything like me and have never taken the plunge to play the first game. In that case, you can choose to watch a story recap video at the start of the game, which will catch you up on all the important story beats you missed out on. Without going into any spoilers, Atelier Sophie 2 goes about Sophie, an Alchemist who is on a quest to find her friend Plachta after the two got separated while in a dream world.
Before I get any farther into anything, let’s address the R1080 elephant in the room. If I didn’t review this title, would I buy it at that price? Probably not. But that’s just because I refuse to buy any digital game at that price. However, to say I’m hooked on the franchise now is an understatement, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for when the other game goes on special, and I’ll pick it up then because it’s a game well worth playing.
The one complaint I have about the game is about accessibility. The entire game is in Japanese with no option to play a dubbed version, which isn’t an issue. However, the subtitles you need to read are very tiny, meaning instead of comfortably playing on my tv while lying on the couch, I had to go and sit right in front of the screen, or I wouldn’t be unable to read anything. It’s not a deal-breaker by any means, but it is still worth noting. One of my favourite parts of the game is how much it looked and sounded and felt like a top tier anime. I’ve played my fair share of JRPGs and even some which are directly based on anime shows; however, Atelier Sophie 2 is the first one that just felt so much like a beloved anime that during some of the longer dialogue sections, it was easy to forget I was playing a game at all.
If you’re wondering what you’re going to be doing within the game, it’s all relatively simple in theory and surprisingly complex when put into action. In very basic terms, you’re going to be gathering materials to use for alchemy and battling monsters. After you’ve gathered your ingredients, you’ll head back to your Atelier and create stuff with it.
Combat is the other major part of the game, and other than boasting a pretty impressive array of monsters for you to fight, the combat is also really complex to master. While running around the world you won’t just find yourself being attacked; rather, you’ll have to run into an enemy or attack an enemy first. Then once you’re in combat, everything is turn-based but with twists. There is a pretty impressive dual trigger system that allows you to fight in unison with a team member of your choosing as well as entering battles with up to six-party members who get split into two teams, and it’s up to you to manage them.
I also enjoyed playing around with Dreamscape Stones. Each region you visit in the game has set weather, but by using the Dreamscape Stones, you can change that, allowing for some areas to become accessible that usually wouldn’t be and altering the materials available to gather. It’s an exciting concept that will have you returning to places over and over, looking for changes.
