[Atelier Ryza now bought] I would love to try an Atelier game...

[Zagreus]

EDIT:
I now bought Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout; thanks for everyone participating.

# # # # ORIGINAL THREAD # # # #

... Hey there, so I am always looking forward to dip my toe in an Atelier game, though I always chicken out, sometimes it is due to time constraints, sometimes it is me overthinking a lot; though the common thread is that I know that the Atelier series is similar to the Persona series in terms of time management, meaning I have an allotted amount of time to go through the story.

With me having a busy life, and always swapping between 3-4 games (dictated per mood), clearing one game can stretch months for me. Especially on stressful days, I sometimes love to grind a bit and explore combat mechanics and I really don't need the stress of a timer counting down (though I am still grinding down on Persona 4 Golden). I heard that some Atelier games (or at some point) they dropped the stringent timer, though I do not know which are the games to look out for.

Also it seems that the Atelier series has subthemes (with the Ryza series (I'm most interested in) being about SECRET) and Ryza has me piqued (but I am also open to others)

TL;DR: Which Atelier game you would recommend (to pick up in a sale) (please only recommend those that don't have any time constraints) and what sets Atelier games apart from other JRPGs (so there are no unwanted suprises).

Thank you so much for your help and time.

(The original thread can be found here, but I think this forum might be more lively, due to Sophie 2 being just released. Feel free to comment on whichever thread you like)

EDIT1: I'm hoping to pick one of the recommended games up in the hopes it gets discounted during the STEAM JRPG sale coming up: https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/4145017/view/3133946090936871350

[Laughing kookaburra]

if you hate time limit game over get mysterious DX pack because it's 3 games in one
after that if you like this kind of game get Lulua then Ryza and maybe sophie 2.

[Zagreus]

Originally posted by Laughing kookaburra:

DX pack because it's 3 games in one.

3 games in one seems a bit excessive, also I really can't make out anything beyond, why are the others more recommended over the others? Also it seems the DX titles cost way more in a bundle than a single title.

[Ryuukaze]

I always recommend Ryza to newcomers now. It's very approachable and was really, really well done. Ryza 2 is the obvious one after that.

After that, I'd go with the new DX titles and from there you can pick through the back catalog as you like.

[Zagreus]

Originally posted by Ryuukaze:

I always recommend Ryza to newcomers now. It's very approachable and was really, really well done. Ryza 2 is the obvious one after that.

After that, I'd go with the new DX titles and from there you can pick through the back catalog as you like.

Thanks so much, just to confirm, Ryza is also without a time limit, right? What makes an Atelier game different from other JRPGs, just want to adjust as quickly as possible :).

[Ellye]

The Mysterious games and Ryza games have no time management aspect.

Sophie is extremely relaxed, and it's a great starting point.

[Zagreus]

Originally posted by Ellye:

The Mysterious games and Ryza games have no time management aspect.

Sophie is extremely relaxed, and it's a great starting point.

So we are talking about the first Sopie game and not Sophie 2, relaxed looks like the kinda vibe I would love to cram into the other games I am playing :).

[Gin-chan]

Other people might recommend Ryza though personally i myself do not like Ryza as much due to the change in its combat system. For atelier games i much prefer the fully turn based battle like all past entries and of course this particular entry.

Anyways... if you dont mind playing something a bit older, I'd recommend the first sophie game or just go this one since it helpfully provides a summary of the first game(Plus atelier games are not really story heavy and more like a slice of life anime in general). Or if you dont mind fully skipping some games go ahead and get Atelier Lydie and Suelle which is still probably my most favourite among the mysterious games.

And next so there wont be any surprises.. your party power progression HEAVILY relies on crafting be it attack items or items for healing/buffing and making your own weapons/armors/accesories... Levels offer minimal stat boosts which rarely helps boost the party's power much. Take heed you WILL be spending HOURS on the crafting screen by endgame if you expect to take on the extra bosses or are playing on a higher difficulty. Expect random difficulty spikes in bosses/minibosses for when you're farming for ingredients. Whenever you enter an area and the enemies seems too difficult thats a sign your equipment needs updating.

Oh and dont expect a heavy story here.. just relax and enjoy the comfy times :D

[Zagreus]

Originally posted by Gin-chan:

Other people might recommend Ryza though personally i myself do not like Ryza as much due to the change in its combat system. For atelier games i much prefer the fully turn based battle like all past entries and of course this particular entry.

Okay, so I need to think hard if I rather want to have a turned based Atelier game, or a more action oriented one. Thanks for the heads up and explaining why you don't prefer Ryza!

Originally posted by Gin-chan:

Anyways... if you dont mind playing something a bit older, I'd recommend the first sophie game or just go this one since it helpfully provides a summary of the first game(Plus atelier games are not really story heavy and more like a slice of life anime in general). Or if you dont mind fully skipping some games go ahead and get Atelier Lydie and Suelle which is still probably my most favourite among the mysterious games.

Older does not mean worse (though probably some QoL entries of recent titles won't make it in the game), though the benefit will be, that I at least, in case of a discount, won't need that high of an entry fee. Beggar's can't be choosers after all :).

Originally posted by Gin-chan:

And next so there wont be any surprises.. your party power progression HEAVILY relies on crafting be it attack items or items for healing/buffing and making your own weapons/armors/accesories... Levels offer minimal stat boosts which rarely helps boost the party's power much. Take heed you WILL be spending HOURS on the crafting screen by endgame if you expect to take on the extra bosses or are playing on a higher difficulty. Expect random difficulty spikes in bosses/minibosses for when you're farming for ingredients. Whenever you enter an area and the enemies seems too difficult thats a sign your equipment needs updating.

Thank you so much, there are other RPG or RPG-like game that put more emphasis on equipment and knowing there is a crafting system this makes sense. This is some good advice (I'm sometimes prone to not changing equipment due to sometines casually spending an evening or two with leveling)

Originally posted by Gin-chan:

Oh and dont expect a heavy story here.. just relax and enjoy the comfy times :D

On stressful days that is even preferred, and it seems the crafting system can just take the mind off the world around me for a while.

Thank you so much for all the intel, so far I put Sophie (for the weird habbit of starting in a given (sub)series without any previous titles (though since most of them are named based) at the start) and Ryza on the shortlist, though I do keep Lydie and Suelle on my mind.

EDIT: Added all three games to my wishlist, so I get a remider from Steam once they go on sale and can mull things over more.

[Laughing kookaburra]

i wouldn't recommend Ryza for an entry tittle, if you play Ryza you would find it's hard to get into the old games, well that is if you intend to play them.

and i forgot to mention : avoid Atelier Nelke like a plague.

[Zagreus]

Originally posted by Laughing kookaburra:

i wouldn't recommend Ryza for an entry tittle, if you play Ryza you would find it's hard to get into the old games, well that is if you intend to play them.

and i forgot to mention : avoid Atelier Nelke like a plague.

Thanks so much for the additional intel, I don't see myself to play each and every Atelier game, even if I like one of the picked ones; but that is something to contemplate, too. Who knows, I might love the walk into the rabbit hole...

[Laughing kookaburra]

if you are not going to play them all, try getting Lulua if you can, arguably the best game.

[Zagreus]

Originally posted by Laughing kookaburra:

if you are not going to play them all, try getting Lulua if you can, arguably the best game.

Added to the Wishlist, so I can see how the discounts turn out, if there are any!

[Tiasmoon]

Originally posted by Laughing kookaburra:

i wouldn't recommend Ryza for an entry tittle, if you play Ryza you would find it's hard to get into the old games, well that is if you intend to play them.

and i forgot to mention : avoid Atelier Nelke like a plague.

Nelke is a very good game too, but it has very different gameplay. Its a city sim anniversary title with most of the main characters from the atelier series as side characters.

[Zagreus]

Originally posted by Tiasmoon:

Nelke is a very good game too, but it has very different gameplay. Its a city sim anniversary title with most of the main characters from the atelier series as side characters.

Well, that seems to me still a title to avoid, as I would not know any of those. Thank you for elaborating on what kind of game Nelke is.

[Tiasmoon]

Its a game I would only really recommend once your a fan of the franchise. Its one of my favorite Atelier games.. even if its very different.