First Impressions: ATELIER MYSTERIOUS TRILOGY DELUXE PACK
Koei Tecmo has released the Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack on Nintendo Switch, PC (via Steam), and PS4. The trilogy consists of Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book DX, Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey DX, and Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings DX which can be purchased individually or as a bundle from each platform’s digital store. Koei Tecmo was kind enough to send me a copy of the trilogy on the Switch and I wasn’t able to spend much time in each game, so I’m not providing full reviews, but rather a first impressions of each game.
Atelier Sophie is first in the trilogy and I think so far it’s my favorite. It stars Sophie who wants to be a great alchemist like her grandmother and a talking book becomes her guide. The battle system is fairly straightforward so far in turn-based combat with the turn order affected by the action taken by each character. It’s not terribly special, but it’s smooth. Finally, the alchemy system is something I actually really like. After you pick your ingredients you fit them in a block to improve different traits and abilities. Each ingredient has a different layout on the board which turns it into something closer to a puzzle and I love it. This system is used in all three games as well which is great.
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book DX follows Sophie in a coming-of-age story as she struggles living up to her grandmother’s legacy. The new DX version of this fan-favorite adventure includes three new cauldrons that add new elements to the synthesis system, as well as a new costume for Sophie showing her grown-up charm! On top of these newly introduced elements, players will also have access to a large amount of the previously released DLC for the title, including six costumes, four background music packs, two item sets, a sequel episode, the ‘Hidden Archive’ gathering area, and the ‘DESPAIR’ difficulty level.
Next is Atelier Firis. Firis lives in an underground society scared of leaving because of how dangerous the outside world can be. It reminds me a bit of Gurren Lagann to be honest. I’m not very far, but I don’t really like Firis as a character so far. She’s very whiny and part of that has to do with the culture of her world I think. Maybe I’ll have a greater appreciation once I finish Atelier Sophie and play more of Atelier Firis, but for now I’m not a big fan of it.
Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey DX introduces four new vehicles with various features to Firis’ adventure, as well as quests to defeat seven new monsters. If players manage to defeat these seven monsters, they will have a chance to challenge the incredibly challenging foe, Palmyra! The game also features most of the previously released DLC, including two playable characters, sixteen costumes, four background music packs, and two new areas to explore.
Finally, Atelier Lydie & Suelle follows twin alchemists with a seemingly deadbeat dad. This one is definitely very intriguing with the mystery element coming into play really early. I’m very intrigued by the world inside the painting and am excited to play more of this one. I also really like that the twins have very different weapons. Lydie uses a staff while Suelle uses two guns. You can also switch between the characters which feels like maybe later in the game will play a bigger role, but right now it feels much more like personal preference.
Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings DX features a new painting that allows players to enter the world of 2019’s Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists, which can be unlocked through collecting the fragments of mysterious paintings during their adventure. After meeting Lady Nelke, several scenarios and boss quests become available to help develop the town of Westwald, offering a powerful new challenge for the alchemist twins. The DX version of the game also features most of the previously released DLC, including two playable characters, seven costumes, five background music packs, five item sets, a new area to explore, eight additional game features, and four other DLC items including new recipes and quests.
Overall, it’s great to see these games get new life breathed into them. Fans of the franchise, new and old, will enjoy these games.