Developer/publisher: Gust/KOEI.
Platform: PS4/Switch/PC.
Official Site: https://www.koeitecmoeurope.com/ryza2/
Release date:
12/03/20
(jp), 26/01/21
(eng).
Well the sequel to atelier Ryza is here... didn't hear much positive when it came out
in japanese but that didn't stop me from trying it out myself and for the most part I had fun!
unfortunately the type of story Ryza 2 is trying to tell is very hit or miss
and well I did have a few complaints about it this post isn't spoiler-free
can a sequel be worse than the original? yes it can.
Pro's
- Exploring is fun! story was interesting to say the least.
- Battle system is slightly more engaging than last time... I actually like it more sans core item.
- Fii a cute!
Con's
- While the story was interesting it felt like a forced sequel, the ending is to be desired as well.
- Big thicc brain energy, Ryza is bimbo countryside alchemist.
- Most of the NPC quests aren't really memorable.
- Lack of optional bosses.
- The way to relearn old recipies and the skill tree system was balls.
- Gust for the love of sterkenburg get rid of the core item system. :(
 |
| Fiii a cute! |
because Tao might be able to help figure out what this mysterious egg-like antique is
which was apparently in the brunnen estate all this time needles to say Bos's dad sent a request.
New city being nice and all i'm once again glad Quicktravel unlocks around the time I was actually
begging it to as its just too big to run around without a reason idk maybe i'm just spoiled...
At some point in the main story you get a mount that looks like a carbuncle yes... I thought
it looks like a carbuncle from FFXIV this was also quite early game which was nice.
Exploring is pretty fun buuut still has a problem much like in the first
that you just know you gonna have to come back here later which isn't a con mind you. >_>;
Shortly before I had to make an air drop I sorta lost motivation and took a long break
the progression system of the game doesn't really help because while some sub events
are nice, most of the main plot was pretty disconnected from city life
which could be seen as a breath of fresh air from adventuring....
One day I litereally came back to almost two hours of events before it let me do anything.
 |
| The camp menu changes as you advance the story. |
Story is actually fairly interesting but sometimes it did start to seem that this
is one of those ~forced sequels~ aka a sequel we didn't really need but got anyway!
I thought that for the most part it was fine and it was nice to see everyone again...
and this game does have slightly better character events than the original
but not by much I think the kurken islanders were fleshed out much better
than some of the NPC's in this game Madam maid being the only one that was entertaining
idk about the others Dolaria was kinda eh same for Karina, Rune and Rook were meh
also Cucarissa who was that again? nothing like Jonna from the first game.
In terms of main characters... not much improvement either Ryza is still more or less
the same but a bit of a ditz?! especially considering she didn't pack up before she set out to
the capital but eh can just make stuff again. That's kind of a big thicc brain moment if you'd ask me.😅
Also sarding?! I have several questions! if that isn't a extra thicc brain moment I dunno what is.
That aside...
Tao be like careful who you bully in middle school cuz oh no he's hot now!😳
he's also less annoying and cooler than in the first game, I actually use him in my party now!
Patricia or Patty for short is kinda cute? she seemed like someone that needs to be protected
but can actually hold her own and is pretty badass in combat so that was nice but part
of her story does feel similar to Klaudia from the first game I dunno if that good or bad.
Klaudia well... she no longer uses a flute though and now uses a bow instead
she's grown a lot and is even in charge of a branch of her fathers company instead!
Though she's a bit clingy and easily jealous... but she recognizes some of her behavior and doesn't
like it which I guess is a plus? rather she's self aware and not become total yandere for Ryza.
Clifford's a treasure hunter but I wasn't really feeling it with him... its not that like I dislike him
but i'm sorta meh about him and never saw many chances (if at all) to put him into my party.
The majority of the game my main party was Ryza, Tao and Klaudia
which is kinda funny because I barely used Tao last game.😅
 |
| He may not be bad but he had his moments... guess this was one of his charms? |
which put me on edge for some reason, the tavern lady Zephine was pleasant to meet from time to time.
Romy... is just Romy out of all character events hers were the least interesting.
Bos... he seemed like the most consistent character to me, his events were ok
but they seem to hint that if there is a Ryza 3 he will definitely join up then.
Serri is of the same race as Lila she's mysterious and cute, I like her design a lot
buuut it seems she actually really hates alchemists and hasn't quite gotten over the past
the worst part is she's mostly friendly but hides her hatred behind it not that
its easy to see whatever is on Serri's mind she's a complicated character to say the least!
Then there is Lent... who upped his edge 900% not that I mind haha
but still it made me go m'boi what happened?😟 They let him off easy for being so on edge.
When you do find out WHY he's like that he literally ends up being the dumbest guy in the game
I guess Lent is really all brawl but no brain well ok he learned from it but god why is he so dumb?!
Alchemy system is more or less the same I guess, you still unlock recipies within recipies
which is all fine and dandy, you gain SP to unlock recipies or other upgrades in a skill tree
because I guess Ryza lazed around too much these three years so she gotta thonk.
Its innovative to say the least but I liked it better in Ryza1, ah yes those were the days.
My only problem is... why does she have to make her gathering tools again?!
also making them is a pain cuz you only have bimbo mats early on which means you
gotta remake them again later anyway with better sub stats and if that wasn't enough...
Yea you can't get by just with that if you actually want decent items and gear.
Nope why can't just make a really good scyth/axe/bomb rod etc? we have
to make an even better
one later? it feels like going in circles... i
don't mind wpn/armor/acc upgrading but yea
here we go farm gems again so we can dupe the good shit so i can actually make the stuff i need.
Going in circles in ryza 2? its more likely than you think.
With the above in mind, this game is like having ADHD trying to explore while
synthing items/questing and viewing sub events... it can all get a bit much
and much worse than in ryza 1 where it atleast properly paced itself or atleast I think it did.
Some of the systems do not help at all! I actually start to feel terrible
if I play this game too much and have to really pace myself like: story/explore or sub events first
Go gem farm so I can finally synth and dupe to my hearts content.
Those palm trees in the underwater ruins sure don't like me anymore...
Atleast they were nice enough to give us the rope and the whistle automatically
but enjoy making them (better) and travel through the areas again for better and more mats?!
yep that's right some items won't even drop till you have the right effects on your gathering item.
I actually preferred it in the Ryza1 were you could combine scyth and axe into one
and iirc mats weren't locked behind a higher tier version it was just a convenient upgrade.
Even more questionable is the whole skill tree/SP system
to relearn what Ryza already should know, which might make it clear
gust had no idea how to go around having to use the same protagonist for two games. By endgame you should have enough from completing ruins and synthing
but it also means SP keeps on accumulating which cannot be used.
Gust really didn't think that through didn't they?
 |
| Jokes on them because fishing was kinda useless in this game... |
Combat is much improved from the first game, the CC system somewhat less annoying
I actually like the combat more now! also we no longer have to sacrifice items for CC so now
we get CC points during combat just like tactics level and then we can use items....
Oh well still not really happy with this cuz we can't just start throwing
bombs right off the bat like in ye olde ateliers. The leveling was more balanced
than the first game as you level decently as you explore the various ruins and advance the story
it never felt like I leveled up too slow or too fast, it was just right.
The story bosses were pretty good for the most part as well its just that
this game doesn't really have any minibosses only slightly bigger normal mobs
which is kinda disappointing since Ryza1 atleast had the elemental spirits
yet here there's only 1 superboss and a recolor carbuncle which makes it really disappointing.
Special attacks get unlocked at lvl 50 but tbh at around 35 would've been better I guess
there's also the core drive which let's you use a special attack after using
a combination of items which was kinda eh like if the item system wasn't
bad enough then there was this. I didn't actually use this at all till after mirage forest
however I like the idea behind them but there just isn't many reasons to use
some of the combinations during regular gameplay.
I also wish i got it on switch because some trophies are annoying, like using all fatal drives of
characters I don't use in my party... yes I have oneitis Ryza, Klaudia and Tao all the way!
The last thing I was doing in the game was raising the puni to collect all furniture/decorations
this feature was also in the original but I always forgot about it. The fun part about it
is how this puni size changes depending on what you feed it. It will also bring back
a variety of items and it isn't innocent puni-kun even kidnapped a goat! or stole a chair
from one of the elemental spirits presumably after beating them up.😂😂😂
I want to mention that there was a trophy for unlocking core element but unfortunately that was
also one of my last trophies but idk what this actually does and I sure didn't miss it in my time
playing the game, not sure what else there is to do except for improving gear and DLC.
Also what is up with Klaudia becoming a valkyrie huh?!
Overall this game was quite easy on normal the only boss were I was unprepared for was the ruins
beast but thankfully I managed. It was probably also a sign I should get some better gear sooner
rather than later and I promptly did which lasted me well into the fire ruins
then I made an armor that lasted till endgame. I couldn't make creamina's or any of the
better ingots till late game but thankfully thanks to the development system you can make them
buyable items at Dennis's shop. Yea I was one of those who couldn't find better Arknite.
 |
| Big mood... |
about the legend while also reuniting with old friends but idk it sometimes felt sluggish and as I just
mentioned the momentum was off but when it did get going it was great! it just had a slow moment
which happened again after completing the fire ruins, a time of rest sure was appropiate but
apparently whenever there is such a time of rest you also get a new bunch of sub events
and well both points this happened I felt overwhelmed cuz all you can do is
watch side events of which were a lot of, you could also synth or do requests buuut
that doesn't help with event overload at all honestly only half of them were good, there
was some padding as well where every single character had to visit the atelier
to check up on Fi. After mirage forest the story also goes downhill
I couldn't tell what gust was trying to do anymore. I tried to focus on character
events and synths before finishing the dragon palace ruins and last dungeon but
boi there was a lot to sit through atleast I was OP enough that final boss-sama didn't faze me.
The ending had something bittersweet to it but the last dungeon felt rushed
the last boss doesn't even have a memorable theme he just looks dangerous. |
| Sums up this game perfectly lmao. |
I really do miss the days of arland/dusk and some extend mysterious where
you just got a simple turned based combat and can just use items without restrictions
but I guess people retire, new people join the company and things end up like this
because they're trying to innovate and try new things cuz the old doesn't work idk whatever
most of the combat be like normal attack and then chain skills till you get more CC so you can use item.
Gust wtf... well atleast items don't run out and you don't need to hold a button or sacrifice something
to use CC so yea its better now. I don't like the core drive system as it pretty much
breaks the game and by the time you get the best ones there's hardly any interesting mobs to use
them on (without DLC) most of the time on normal I was strong enough to destroy literally anything
in my path. I looked up a guide and found there's even more battle items you can get
via evolution link but some bombs, elixer, astro clock, N/A and Apocalypse is quite enough.
Yes even for the super boss, but I gotta hand it to him or it? as he/it was tough and I felt like
I truly did master the combat system once he was down too bad there just isn't anything
else to test your stuff on if you managed to do all this before DLC came out.
have their own little story which in turn connected to some of the main story atleast
this lived up to ''lost legends'' bit of the game's title which made exploring
and trying to figure out the plot actually fun I wouldn't say said plot it was bad
but it was a ayy lmao are you serious?! type of plot and like I said I don't dislike
the ending at all cuz I think there's meaning to it sometimes you have to let go I guess?
IDK this doesn't seem like atelier at all and do think they rushed the ending, makes me wish
there was some sort of true end but alas it is what it is? its just something bittersweet and sad
but what pisses me off is that they barely bother discussing what info they found throughout
because i'm sure that if they did this game wouldn't have the ending that it has
well... its not like they didn't try gotta thank Empel for that.
So well... there are some improvements but there are also noticeable drawbacks
and I cannot fully blame gust because this game was made in the middle of a pandemic
so they probably had to cut more corners than they should or would have.
Then again... it feels this sequel only came to be because the original atelier ryza was so popular
and gust is just running with it and try to expand its world even though that was supposed
to be a one off game, yes they said it would but hey when your new game
sells more than a few of your old games combined this result of trying to expand it is normal.
Maybe they shouldn't have focused so much on fanservice, certainly could have done
without wet clothes or water reflection from rain puddles in the streets.
Which are still valid improvements graphic wise but still... oh well.
I liked the first games story for being to the point and everyone being involved
and at the very least they did try to keep that vibe except characters like Clifford
don't add much and he just joins because its convenient or better said why the hell not?he did pitch in with ideas for the ruin search so its not like he was useless...
 |
| I'm sorry but you're benched FOREVER you masochist! |
of Serri, right? Cliff and Serri really basically just use Ryza going around as an excuse lmao.
That aside I really REALLY wish they gave us a new MC...
cuz I just wasn't feeling it having to do the same recipies like they were new
nor did it ever seem Ryza was getting smarter or improving the ending doesn't help at all too.
Ok there were also new recipies but it was just not the same! One can hope gust learns from
this game and the next atelier whether its ryza 3 or something entirely different because the
direction this series is heading is questionable. Look I do find the story interesting to say the least
but I still don't fully know what gust was trying to do also that ayy lmao moment after bone palace.
The only consistent characters in this game were Klaudia, Tao. Bos and Patty
I especially liked how self-concious Klaudia was of her clingy-ness. Bos wasn't
necessarily anything special but he's learning... Tao is an improvement in every way
and well Patty she's okay I guess but didn't get too attached to her cuz outside of the story
she's not really involved and pretty much only tags along on their adventures cuz of Tao
so I really think her character is kind of wasted? atleast her character event was satisfying
Patty and Tao are so cute together, I ship it so much! In all honesty it was pretty obvious
Patty's situation is not that different from Klaudia in the first game.
Clifford wasn't a treasure hunter but a masochist instead... i'm sure Reyfer is laughing at him
I did like how he tried to convince Fi to join him only for Cliff to get rejected time again.😂
Lent was just dumb... in a cute way but still stupid. Serri is the only one of the gang
that slowly grew on me but I didn't get too attached to her either.
But enough about the characters there's really nothing more to be said.
 |
| Serri really did grow on me... |
After all the atelier games I played this one was kind of bad! but not that bad. I don't like
saying that cuz there were some things I liked but overall sorry that's gonna be a no from me gust.
(But thank you for making Tao more likeable and attractive I guess! that was a necessary improvement.)
For the most part I still had fun but I still question a lot of the gameplay designs...
this game did not fall into the necessary sequel category and really I prefer my atelier games
with a new protagonist within its own subseries with the old protagonist still being around
either as a teacher, a support role or maybe not at all! because the way gust handled Ryza
being the protag again was awful and makes no sense having to learn
the same recipies that she should be knowing to begin with. Ryza can't really grow
because she already knows so much BUT doesn't actually use all her knowledge that well.
Then the ending happens and well... overall she really didn't gain much from this at all...
I guess its big thicc brain energy or something but Ryza didn't seem like she was getting smarter
but maybe it shows she has a lot to learn? its just sad they ended it like that
I really expected something a little more you know? I know comparison is a thief of joy but
if you compare Ryza to Rorona or Sophie, Ryza really is a bimbo countryside alchemist.😅
I don't want to spoil the ending but... to have an alchemist choose ordinary life over furthering
alchemy is kind of weird which could have given this game a much better outcome.
They make this big emphasis on the journey and unforgettable memories
but this sounds much more like a normal rpg than an atelier game to me.
On its own Ryza 1 passed as an atelier for me but this one nope...
I could have accepted Ryza 1 as a stand-alone game but Ryza 2 makes it complicated.
the story is just okay I guess, sub events are quantity over quality with only a few of them
being actually good in terms of character development.
So if you're up for that then by all means give it a try? its just as an atelier its kind of disappointing.
For a score i'd give it a 6.2/10 it just doesn't have the well rounded plot of the original
and I don't like to see my atelier protagonists give up... unless they are going to finish this tale
in a sequel. Whether or not a sequel happens, right now I do not really care because this game
left me kinda unsatisfied even though I understand what they tried to do.
Don't get me started on DLC/season passes... okay I think I have said enough!
Ryza1 was fine but i'm honestly going to recommend atelier firis over this in terms of open world because there's plenty to do, the story was nice and it doesn't hurt its own protagonist
and there's variety of optional boss unlike this game which seems to prefer fanservice.
I do not really like this game that much but I did have fun with it while it lasted
which is enough so for now I will walk away and wait & see what gust does next.
Shame to see you didn't like this one that much but its understandable, considering how it wrapped up... and how it compared to other entries though it is good to see how you try to be understanding with how it was made in a pandemic. I agree that thicc thighs won't make this game or any other that much better.
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