Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey / フィリスのアトリエ ～不思議な旅の錬金術士～ Reviews

Port Review There are good things and bad things about this port. I decided to lean to the negative side because the graphics do not justify the high requirements for this game. Also there are PS4 graphical features missing. I'll reevaluate this review if KT/Gust ever releases a patch to address some issues. If you don't have a PC that exceeds recommend requirements and have a PS4 then the PS4 is a better option even though it has frame-drops as well. Pros: - Variable frame-rate. If you have a high refresh-rate monitor and a very powerful video card you can play this game above 60 fps. - Synthesis does not have performance issue present in Atelier Sophie. However, load is so low during Synthesis that powerful video cards may trigger power saving mode and drop below 60fps. Workaround for Nvidia cards is to set "Power Management Mode" to "Prefer Maximum Performance" in Nvidia Control Panel. - Supports 1440p and 4k resolutions. Cons: - Really demanding game. The system requirements for this game are no joke and won't get you 1080p60fps. For 1080p60 you're looking at a RX 470/GTX 1060 and can still have drops in areas with lots of effects/shadows. - No Ambient Occlusion. It exists in PS4 version. Workaround is you can add it by using Reshade with MXAO shader, however will make game even more demanding. - Missing Lighting that is present in the PS4 version. - Low resolution 2D art assets. PS4 has higher resolution 2d assets. Update: Fixed in patch 1.0.0.13 - Blocky character outlines make it looks like there is a lot of aliasing. Reshade SMAA doesn't work to remove them because they are too large to detect. - Shadows that disappear when source object moves off screen. - Some flickering textures. - Shadows that hit characters look broken. - No AA options. FXAA can be forced in video card control panel or SMAA with Reshade/sweetFx. - Only supports 5 different 16:9 resolutions. Prologue using Reshade on high end video card. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=880529903

Alright, first off, I'm biased about the series. I did post-game(?), went 100% with the items, CGs, events, played only on normal, etc. Here are my thoughts for this game (no spoilers). Look at the bottom for the non-boring part Graphics/Performance - Port is kind of mixed as mentioned countless times related to shadows - Performance is good except in foresty areas and cuts the FPS in half if it's raining/foggy in that area. Otherwise, most areas run great - Character 3D models felt like a downgrade compared to Sophie. You could probably notice some details like shadows, the facial animations, and the overall character animation is stiff - Firis' character art looks great, it feels like it didn't translate well to a 3D model though Sounds - It's Atelier music. Great as always as they still managed to keep the feel of series' music. Most the BGM is done by the guys who mostly did the music from Totori onwards and a few tracks by the original creators - Did encounter some weird instances of two BGMs playing together which is noticeable when you immediately enter or leave an area - Do read the music commentaries after you finish the game. They're always fun to read (and the VA bonus voices) Story/Character - It's a variety of slice of life kind of story, ie. don't expect too much. I understand that can turn off a lot of people who aren't really into slice of life - It's nothing special, Firis is just a simple girl who wants to experience the world (hence the "Journey" for the second "Mysterious" title) - On the way though, you do get to see a bunch of characters and your party members' side of stories and life - I feel like the characters in this game are weak. Why? Not much character development or more scenes to show then who they are and there's too many "important" (the not-typical NPC kind) characters that aren't really given much screentime - However, I do appreciate how some them tie to each other, the previous installment's characters, and well, the rest of the people in the game. Like how some character's stories are resolved at the end. That really warms the heart. - I'm a huge sucker for item descriptions in games and this does not disappoint. Item descriptions can tell a lot about their everyday life and world and this game tells descriptions in a way how Firis and her sister are talking about said item (though only in text). World - First part of the game has a time limit. Let's not discuss why the alchemy exam as the reason for the time limit is stupid because we're talking about a game where a burger pops out of a cauldron by just putting the ingredients in an unsanitary cauldron - I'm a fan of the time limits since the first game of this series and the first part of this game has it. The limit for this game is so lenient, you could get at your destination and have everything prepared in 1/3 of the time limit (and it's completely doable even without relying on a DLC item that reduces the time passage). I can understand the time limit isn't for everyone, they may feel uncomfortable about it. - Instead of the traditional Atelier where you have either one or a few hubs to rest at, this one you travel and look for camp spots to go to your Atelier. Okay, so you still have a hub but you go with it and you can only go in it at certain places - It really does feel like you're on a journey with how the areas are so vast (and empty) and so many areas that you have to travel in-between. - In which the vast areas can be a problem when you just want your shit to get done. And the quick travel becomes accessible once you get to a certain part of the post-game and that one doesn't even let you travel anywhere. Gameplay - Other than the usual crafting mechanics, what's different from this one is that each items you craft now have their own kind of "mastery" in which you can't just immediately craft the most powerful item the first time you sythesize it. You have to keep on crafting it to unlock perks for it. This actually gives you the illusion that Firis' way of alchemy is different. - They actually balanced the battles for this one in that you don't feel that powerful early in the game and post-game. Enemies can take a beating so your items aren't the usual one hit KO to enemies. - Though battles can still feel easy. You have four alchemists at your disposal meaning you can abuse them with their items since there are only specific items that alchemists can use. Course, that could be a balance problem in that they're all paper which can easily be cut so maybe put a tank or two in your party - I only played on normal since I already find it difficult (and tedious) with common mobs with the same or higher level as yours. Post-game bosses that aren't story related? Now those are the challenge. tldr; I like the Atelier series, I like this particular game even with flaws as it felt like they went one step ahead but two steps backwards. You should play it if you're a fan of the series, you should think about playing this if you just want to play a cute JRPG, and you should avoid this if you can't tolerate a subpar port or anything with anime tropes. Any reviews I missed it's because I wrote this at 2am in the morning PS. Firis is fucking stacked. I wish I was her so I can be called cute every morning by my sister

Do you like filler episodes or chapters where the characters just bond with each other instead of fighting their archenemies? No? Then this game's not for you. If you're looking for cute girls doing cute stuffs while blowing monsters into crafting ingredients, then look no further.

[strike]It is killing my laptop my laptop processor is i7-6500U and my GPU iss Radeon R5-355, 4GB RAM.. and i need to set my graphic option to the lowest possible, i even need to override its graphic option via Radeon to the lowest possible. You may think that this is bad, but believe me, the game still looks GOOD, as long as you can bear low FPS at some moment.[/strike] [EDIT: IT IS NOT, i didn't set my radeon vga to run in this game, it didn't set up automatically, so i need to set it up. Finally i can run this game smoothly in normal shadow mode, and yes, this game is so beautiful.] This is my second atelier series after Sophie, and compared to Sophie, the adventure feeling in firis is a lot stronger, i love the feeling when i found new places, items and people. But i have a mixed feeling about the time limit system, in other side it makes this game more challenging, but in the other side i can't roam freely (yet). The sythesis and battle system is also a bit different from sophie, and in my opinion Firis has better system in both sythesis and battle. The biggest downside of this game in my opinion is the teleport system, it's not really helping, there aren't many teleport point, so you still need to waste your precious time to go to areas that don't have teleport point in there. Like i mentioned before that i've played Atelier Sophie, and i think if you have finished Sophie, you really want to play this game, but if you haven't finished the previous game, it's still okay, but maybe you'll get different experience from what i've got. [spoiler] I love that Sophie showed up from the beginning [/spoiler] If you love discovering new things and places, i really recommend this game.

Fun game if you like crafting/collecting. It is a pain to control with just a keyboard. A controller makes the game much easier to play.

Now that I have over 75 hours logged in my main save, it might be time to write a review. For a long time before finding the Atelier series, I had been looking for a game like this. Atelier Firis is essentially a turn-based JRPG with a character-focused, mostly slice-of-life plot, but the real draw is the huge focus on gathering materials and using them to create your own items and equipment. While some JRPGs have you just buy items and gear from stores (with a lot of items not being worth it) and use different level up or skill systems to make things interesting, the Atelier games let you feel like you're making the tools you need to succeed. This entry (the 18th main game in the series, from what I hear) really does a great job of making crafting items easy to learn but still have depth for those who choose to master the system. Two instances of the same item will rarely be the same, so you have to make sure you make the right choices when crafting if you want to do well. The story of the game won't be too exciting if you want a strong plot-driven narrative, but if you can grow attached to the characters it can still be engaging. The first part of the game involves the lead, Firis Mistlud, learning to use alchemy and being given a year to pass the Alchemy Exam, which takes place in a city far from her home. Should she succeed, she then continues to adventure to try to find her calling in life. This is where the story (and game) really open up, as each companion has their own story arc and ending and many named NPCs have their own sideplots. While some characters take longer to develop than others, they all have at least a few interesting things about them to make the sideplots worth exploring. From a gameplay standpoint, Atelier Firis is an open-world game that encourages exploring each part of the large maps. While there is a chokepoint about halfway through the world map that requires a questline to open and not every area is available until after the Alchemy Exam, you'll still have more than enough ground to cover and explore. There's also a fast travel feature within maps, and after the exam you can complete a quest chain in order to get a way to warp to almost any area in the game from rest spots. There is a time limit for the first part of the game, but you are given plenty of time to do everything that must be done pre-exam with some time to spare. Even if you fail, you can load the bad ending save to get the same benefits as a New Game+ clear, which includes a few features that makes surviving the time limit and doing pre-exam questlines even easier. Aside from gathering items from the environment and making items from them, the game features combat with monsters as a big part of finding the best materials and completing some quest chains. The battles are played with a turn-based system that changes turn order based on stats, actions, and buffs/debuffs. While normal attacks and skills are available for each character (and can become powerful in the late game), the early and mid game will put a huge emphasis on item use. While only Firis and the alchemist party members can use a lot of items, everyone has access to some types of items and they are powerful for a huge part of the game (even into the endgame, if you craft them right). Making sure you have a good set of attack and healing items is essential before getting into any fights, because Firis is not a front-line fighter and there's only so much the rest of the team can do without item support. There's also an interesting system where a meter depicts how well your team is working together (which increases when you do damage to enemies) that can be expended to protect Firis from attacks or filled to unlock limit break-esque attacks. The game also has anti-grinding measures to force you to move into harder areas if you want to level up quickly, so you have to make sure to be improving your items and gear whenever you can to prepare for the next region. Items are also useful outside of battles, as they can be used to gather materials (such as bombing a rock) or alter the environment. A few minor negative points do come up, though not enough to make me dislike the game. One problem I had early on is that fast travel between areas is not available until after the exam, which means a lot of walking when backtracking for materials (since in-map shortcut points are almost never near exits to areas). Another issue is the poor requirements for some recipes in the recipe idea unlock system (which gives you recipes based on what you do). Some items have absurd requirements, giving an otherwise cool system idea a bad reputation. It also doesn't help that some recipes get glitched if you complete certain quests too early, preventing 100% completion without doing a New Game+. The last, and probably least, of the issues is that I keep being annoyed by how "Atelier" is pronounced in the English voice track. The original French word sounds sort of like "a-tel-ee-ay", the Spanish cognate should sound something like "a-tel-ee-er". The English voice track for this game uses the made-up (as far as I can tell) pronunciation "at-lee-ur", which ignores the first "e" in the word. A small issue in the grand scheme of things, but with the Japanese word being closer to proper French ("a-to-ree-ay"), it gets a bit strange when the English actors are made to mispronounce a word. Overall, Atelier Firis is a great game and, in my opinion, a good way to be introduced to the series. It has inspired me to seek out previous games in the series (particularly the game it's a sequel to, Atelier Sophie) to have further crafting adventures. If you're interested in a JRPG that gives items and crafting a big focus and tells a character-driven coming of age story, Atelier Firis might be a good fit for you.

UPDATE: Excelent port, I finally discovered what happened. This game was using my Intel HD to render the game -.- .... not my NVidia .... plx add a select your video card on options ------- This is my first atelier series game and i liked it o/, great game, great world, many items to craft and the time limitation is a good pressure. BUT!!!! the port... the cursed port.... it is sooooo good that I want to cry of despair and burn my notebook, but playable on [u]"SHADOW_TYPE_LOW" in 1280x720[/u] -.-" on [b]i7-4710 2.5GHz, 24 GB RAM, NVidia GTX 860M 2 GB.[/b]. Recommended because of the game not the port (trash port), if you have patience and endurance to lag, buy this game.

The game is workable and if you have ever played an Atelier game before you'll get more of the same except a few tweaks. Familiar faces are back and the plot is more towards the characters than any big world-ending problem, so don't expect an epic tale of heroes ala Final Fantasy or Tales of (again, nothing new to the Atelier franchise.). If you haven't played an Atelier game just know that its a Turn-based JRPG with a big focus on item construction, you live or die based on how well you've prepared your items, which you make from items you collect in the world. There's a relatively large depth and variety of items and associated traits you can gather and make, and really this will be attractive to powergamers and those who like crunching numbers to get the most OP characters ever. I love the Atelier franchise and I've gotten every one of their games since the PS2 era (Iris is the first I can remember), but this one I cannot recommend because of how amazingly bad the PC port is. The game works, but the graphical niggles are just too much. Shadows seem to pop in and out at random (just moving the camera with the character staying still causes it). Draw distance is ATTROCIOUS, just look in any direction and move, you will very visibly see assets pop in from short distances away. The "open world" just really serves to make traversing it more annoying, as it is literally just plain bigger without adding anything new to the system. The 2D art assets like character stat pictures and such are very low res, and there is no HDR and ambient occlusion (The PS4 version has it). The PS4 (not pro) version of this game does not have any of the problems I mentioned, and runs better FPS and detail even at 720p. I heavily suggest getting that version instead of this one, as it is as of this writing the definitive and most satisfying version of the game.

How Atelier Firis could turn to be the last Atelier game I play. In my long history with Atelier games I never was disappointed by any of them until Firis, and they never were so ambitious as Firis is, but not this, or lack of polish, or not the best port are reasons for my disappointment. So what's good about Firis: 1.it's the open world in nature, for the first time in the Atelier game 2. Complexity of alchemy is a notch down from Sophie, but in general alchemy feels better in Firis. 3. Character endings are back 4. The world is nice and monster design is great. 5. It's a huge game 6. learning alchemy and taking an actual exam of it is an interesting idea. 7. Many interesting characters with their stories. 8. Chain quests what's not so good: 1. Localization is poor 2. Quest descriptions for many quests are wrong past the first step 3. A game is way too demanding on hardware and runs poorly 4. There are some glitches. the ugly: 1. No real fast travel for 30-40 hours, depends on how fast you get there. 2. Even when you get fast travel, it is limited, as there are parts of the world that allow no fast travel, and these aren't small locations, also filled with dangerous monsters (that can wipe out even strong party) without ability to save your game, of course. 3. Sophie had an interesting system of unlocking alchemy recipes, which Firis ditched in favour of guessing what you should do and how many times to unlock what, yes guessing. 4. Alchemy results in Firis are strongly dependent on quality, yet you can't register a single item in this game (just let it sink in). What means creating the same items ad nauseam over and over again, what takes extra hours upon hours of playtime for no reason. 5. ridiculously small initial storage space available to you (you easily get it filled in first three-four locations) and you have no ability to sell anything for a long time after that. It never becomes sufficient too. 6. Many character events are pure guesswork too, and not something that is obvious, or even logical or easy to guess because of lack of options, nothing of the sort. 7. the game that can't be fully finished without of use of a guide (and that's not a few things but a whole lot of them), is not a well designed game in my book. so those seven reasons are that make me think that Firis can be my last atelier game. I can't tolerate even one of those, all of them? overkill. This is an end of era. I still have a hope that Gust will get some feedback and won't repeat all numerous mistakes they made with Firis. I only recommend this game because it has redeeming qualities, but if you wanna a real good Atelier game, you should play Atelier Sophie instead.

Note: I have spent 100+ hours on the game on PS4 (Chinese version released back in January), bought this in steam to support the developers, hence the low hour count. [b]tl;dr : Scroll down to blue text for a quick summary.[/b] For those who are new to the Atelier Series of games,you should check out my review on the previous installment of the series [url=http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198040879146/recommended/527270/]here[/url], many aspects are similar and carry over to this game. [u]I'll get straight to the point here, the main aspects which Atelier Firis [b]differ[/b] from Sophie:[/u] [list] [*]Instead of choosing a location on the world map and "fast-travelling" there, the [b]whole world map is now connected by paths[/b] which you'll walk through. (Some sort of fast-travelling is still available, and other methods of transport can be unlocked later in game.) [*]Each area of the world map is now [b]much larger[/b] than the previous game, and is one single large area, instead of a few small sections separated by loading screens. (Sophie's world system: Choose destination on world map, then "dungeon crawl" with multiple sections.) (Firis' world system : Open world exploration, though not seamless as there are (short) loading screens between areas.) [*]There is no "home town" which you need to return to after each expedition, you now [i]carry your home/atelier/crafting room) with you[/i] as you travel! [*]The grid-jigsaw alchemy system is retained, but there are some changes in mechanics. [*]The battle system is also changed, which I would not delve into the details. [*]Weapons and gear can now grant the wielder new skills, depending on the gear & your alchemy process. [*]The main story is divided into 2 segments, the first segment has a clear goal with a time limit, [i][b]but don't fret as it is quite lenient[/b][/i]. [*]The 2nd half has no time limit, and grants the player complete freedom in exploration and quests. [/list] [u]What I think is [b]better compared to Atelier Sophie[/b][/u]:[list] [*]The whole world feels much more connected, as it basically transformed into a true open world exploration system. [*]The exploration feels more open and free as you carry your atelier/home with you, eliminating the need to backtrack and return to a main town/settlement, which breaks the "flow" of exploration. [*]The 1st half of the story basically tells you to travel from one corner of the world map to the other, guiding the player to explore the world. [*][b]Combining the above 3 points, the exploration is miles ahead of Atelier Sophie, and truly fits the "Mysterious Journey" subtitle.[/b] [*]This is subjective, but I find the alchemy system more fun in this one than in Sophie. [*]Also subjective, IMO the soundtrack of this one is better than in Sophie. [/list] [u]What I think is [b]worse compared to Atelier Sophie[/b][/u]:[list] [*]Character interaction. In the 1st half of the story, interaction with some side-characters are pretty shallow (or even awkward). It gets better in the 2nd half though, as character specific quest lines are unlocked. [*]Battle system. The system felt less in depth this time around. [*]The alchemy proficiency/skill level for each item. You need to craft the same item multiple times before you can use your full alchemy abilities when crafting them. This is unneccessary "grinding" IMO, a minor annoyance. [*]Firis' outfits' abilities. Different outfits for Firis grants her different (useful) bonuses, the need to change clothing every time you want a different ability is a bit irritating. (In New Game+ all abilities are active at all times, eliminating this issue, but you need to finish the game once first, due to this fact I semi-rushed through my first playthrough.) [*]The requirements for unlocking alchemy recipes are not clearly presented to players, players going in completely blind may have trouble discovering them. Although the game has a system which allows player to bypass these requirements (limited use) which alleviates the issues somewhat. [/list] [h1][u]A general summary of why I recommend this game (May contain points above):[/u][/h1][list] [*]Happy atmosphere & relaxing gameplay - the defining aspects of the Atelier Series IMO. [*]In-depth alchemy/crafting system which is very rewarding when mastered. [*]Fantastic world exploration and sense of journey. [*]Great soundtrack, some of which are live recordings. [*]If you liked Atelier Sophie, you most likely would like this too. The quality of games in the Atelier Series are pretty consistent. [/list] [h1][u]This game's [b]weaknesses[/b], and other issues that you should be wary of:[/u][/h1][list] [*]No strong story or epic & heroic chapters, pretty light in general. [*]Less character interaction/development than other full-fledged story-rich RPGs. [*]Battles system quite simple/shallow, not quite strategic. [*]Although this is the 2nd installment, new players don't need to play the 1st, not much is lost apart from background lore of the world & some side characters. [*]Potential UI element quality, [strike]performance & control mapping[/strike] issues due to being a PS4 port, I will reference other reviewer's results, and also do some simple testing myself, and update this review accordingly. [b](Update : Quick test results below, mostly good news.)[/b] [/list] [h1]tl;dr : If you like Atelier Sophie, you will like this too. If you haven't played the Atelier Series before, there is no problem playing this without playing previous titles, and I still recommend this joyful & relaxing J-RPG with a great in-depth crafting system.[/h1] [u]Quick test results regarding issues in Atelier Sophie, whether they are still here in Atelier Firis & other miscellaneous findings:[/u][list] [*]The CPU usage is completely normal, this is fixed in Sophie so I think it is also fixed here. (CPU : i7 2600) [*]The launcher window now provides a section to custom map your keyboard controls, rejoice keyboard users! (The implementation is crude though, but it works.) [*]Funnily there is no menu option to exit the game, press "Esc" on your keyboard to quit. (Took me quite some time to find out, as I normally use an XBOX controller. I had to use ALT+F4 before I found this out heh.) [*]Framerates are at stable 60FPS during roaming and in menus, except for occasional drops to 50~ in [i]cutscenes only[/i]. (CPU: i7 2600 , GPU: Geforce 980Ti, running at 2560x1440) [*]The are no stutters or lags when opening the encyclopedia or the alchemy menu, so this problem is also fixed here. [*]Currently there is only English UI, with the option for Japaneses vocals or English dub. [b](Update : Developers confirmed that Japanese UI & sutitiles will be added soon, click [url=http://steamcommunity.com/app/527290/discussions/0/135510669602979533/#c135510669603848735]here[/url] for source.)[/b] [*]Interestingly there is a "LanguageType" option in the launcher menu, but currently it is fixed as "English". Perhaps future updates would bring Japanese or even Chinese UI which can be selected here? [*]Regarding quality of 2D assets (Sophie used lower quality PS3 2D assets in the Steam release, instead of better quality PS4 assets). [b](Update 2: I have checked and compareed the PC & PS4 (Non-Pro), sad to say the 2D UI elements indeed seem to be of the lower quality variant from PS Vita.)[/b] [strike](Update: People in the forum seems to notice that the 2D assets are still in lower quality, I will recheck and verify it with my PS4 (non-Pro) once I get back home a few hours later). It seems to me that full quality assets are used this time.[/strike] [*]It seems many of issues & problems which plagued the Sophie release are fixed & corrected nicely, I thank the developers for their work, as well as the community who discovered and reported the issues to them. Everyone contributed to a better gaming experience, and I am grateful. [/list]