Disappointing Firis

Atelier Firis is a disappointment. No beating around the bush for this one. Read anywhere and it'll say that Firis is the most disappointing entry in the series and while I shunned them away thinking cute girls doing alchemy can never be disappointing, I have to unfortunately admit the ugly truth.

I enjoyed Atelier Sophie (the first entry in the Mystery trilogy, Firis being the second). I was rather hooked on the combat, the alchemy was decently fun and everything else sort of blended together sweetly. Was it amazing? No but it was enjoyable enough to rekindle my interest in the Atelier series.

So how did Firis screw up so badly then? It's an old game sure but that aside, I don't know how they could have taken the formula in such a weird direction. Sophie was fun so just do more of the same with small improvements. Smaller Japanese companies like Gust love to do that after all. Releasing basically a reskin of the same game over and over again (I'm playing Ryza now, it's freaking fun, don't crucify me. Is joke is joke).

Instead of starting off in a fantasy village set in with bright, vibrant colours (I would say a series staple) and a rhythmic soundtrack, Firis starts off underground in a desolate village with a blue-grey colour pallete. And then you walk around doing some menial tasks. For one hour. With no combat. And Firis is there complaining the whole way about her shut-in life.

That's no way to start an Atelier game. From the get-go, my mental red flags stood erect. Well, fast forward a little, you get started in alchemy and you leave the village to explore the world for the first time with the promise of passing the alchemy exam set a year from now. That's funny. It's almost as if the game is running on a timer of some sort.

Jokes on me! It actually is. For a game that's all about relaxing through alchemy, the 'iyashikei' of the video game world so to speak, I have a freakin' timer ticking down in REAL time with additional drops each time an activity is performed. No longer can I walk around gathering as much as I can, no longer can I interact with the characters, no longer can I grind for the fun of it. Everything has to be premeditated and while that is something I expect when playing games like Persona, I went into Firis expecting more of what Sophie did.

Let's pile on shall we. The combat has completely been stripped. Follow up attacks are rarely triggered, skills cost too much to use, Firis for some reason requires people to stand guard for her, animations are unnecessarily long with no fast forwards. What the heck happened? Why do I have to bog myself down through this stretched out combat sequence? Because gamers like traditional turn based combat?

The world is bland owing to the age of the game. Graphics aside, the world isn't densely populated nor beautifully decorated. To have the whole theme of the game being about 'seeing the world for the first time', I did not buy into it. Firis is a country bumpkin sure but you cannot convince me that a random pond in the middle of a clearing of trees should be worthy of my awe. This is like Trails' Nord Highlands all over again.

Now the game does have an interesting approach to the story, I must admit. At any point, as long as you get to the capital city with 3 seals of approval (minor quests), you can choose to skip forward to the day of the exam which encompasses the final part of the game. Completing the exam results in the ending of the game. You can then choose to get the other character endings in the post game.

The exam itself is difficult however. To pass you'd need high quality ingredients, knowledge of the game world (enemy types, weaknesses, item functions, recipes, etc), a high enough level to not die to the boss(es), and an overall appreciation for the characters since the payoff for the exam is granting Firis the freedom she so desires. This requires time and dedication. A commitment to the game that only you yourself can provide.

Unfortunately, I could not do it. The game was too bland, too bogged down, too basic and too dated. It was nowhere near what Sophie offered and I quit the game after failing the exam twice in a row (I did not put in the time so passing was never an option). I rarely quit games nowadays but I could not bear to waste anymore time on this.

I have since watched the endings on YouTube and I must say that I did not miss much. Now I'm not opposed to starting Lydie and Suelle (the final part in the Mystery trilogy) but the price of the game is too damn high to justify giving the Mystery trilogy another go. I will eventually but not for now.

The review scores aren't lying.

Side note: I got my hands on a special order of Atelier Ryza for the Switch (completely sold out where I'm at with no restocks). This time, I had a much better feeling about it. I'm about 20 hours into the game and it's actually super fun. I am really digging my time in Ryza. But of course, my thoughts on it will come after I beat the game. And preorder Ryza 2. And beat that. Until then!