Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey DX – Review

Our Rating: 8/10

Atelier Mysterious Trilogy DX is a Koei Tecmo catalog full of alchemy to offer. They will truly keep us engrossed for many hours. Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey DX is part of the trilogy. Although they are available individually, Gust’s approach was to reinvent and add Deluxe editions, hence the DX, to previous installments.

Story Overview

Firis is a young woman who has never been exposed to the real world beyond the sub-surface town where she resides. Her family stays in Ertona, a quarry village where Firis works.

She can detect where you can find ores. This serves as a useful skill to have in a village where quarrying is the main source of income. Her sister Lia gets permission to leave the tunnel to go hunting, and Firis fantasizes about leaving the tunnel someday.

Life-Changing Friendship

Sophie and Plachta come to visit the town, and their lives are turned upside down. She detonates an explosion that destroys the massive entryways that Firis had repeatedly attempted to access with alchemy.

Firis realizes she has an innate talent for alchemy after getting to know Sophie. This serves as her license to visit the real world. The tribal chief permits her to wander beyond the township as long as she passes her alchemy certification tests.

Despite their parents’ lack of openness, everything goes smoothly. As soon as you leave the cave, you enter a vast new realm. It’s amusing to watch Firis experience cold wind and feel the surface of the earth for the very first time. Firis and Liane begin their adventure soon after.

Gameplay

The exploration in Atelier Firis is new. There’s no heading from one marker to another; instead, it provides you about 10x the amount of space to discover with no instructions on what to do next.

The map is initially blank, but as she navigates it, it fills up. Finally, it’s full of areas of individuals with missions, and points of interest. Once you’ve visited a location, quick travel methods are available, and requesters are simple to locate. This is fantastic because the open-world approach would have been hard to manage otherwise.

Alchemy and Turn-based Combat

Alchemy, like Sophie, is on a grid. To achieve various impacts, use different hues and fill the suitable places. We never use cauldrons this time, but catalysts grant an object additional incentive.

Combat is turn-based, as it was in previous Atelier titles before Firis. Different from Atelier Sophie, you now select the offensive and the character instantly responds. A timeframe on the right side of the display reveals who will be next, whether it’s an opponent or a team member.

DX Extras

All of the outfits that were initially available as DLC are available in the DX edition. They not only improve Firis’ appearance, but they also provide additional benefits!

To boost effectiveness and quickness, 4 additional vehicles and adventure items are added. 7 new baddies and boss Palmyra has been upgraded in the DX edition. There are also 2 fresh playable characters (Shanon and Heintz), new soundtracks, and two new zones to discover.

The Good, the Bad, and Overall Experience

Chronologically, Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey is the second of the trilogy. The title takes us on an adventure with Firis, during which we meet his sister Liane. They both grew up in a small village. But thanks to their knowledge of alchemy, they were able to travel to Firis and become masters of this magical art.

The protagonists in video games typically live in small towns before venturing out to face life’s real difficulties. It’s the cliche with a different setting, but the RPG foundation is still there, with more emphasis on item combination than anything else.

Battle Improvement

Battles have been enhanced in several ways, making them more worthwhile. There are no battle stances, and the defense now allows you to select an ally to defend Firis.

To do so, a small amount of the chain bar’s energy must be expended. This also functions as a trigger to the Chain Burst. When the bar is full, the player can use skills and/or items to execute combos among allies who have consecutive turns before an opponent. Overall, this structure is more functional than Sophie’s.

Final Thoughts

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious has an excellent synthesis and combat system. In this open-world game, there is a strong sense of adventure, making for engaging and lengthy gameplay.