by Aly Hand
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is the
latest game to join the prestigious Atelier series. The seventeenth iteration of the series,
Atelier Sophie works extremely well as a stand-alone title. If you have never played any of the Atelier
games before, this one is a really good one to start with. The game begins with Sophie, a young girl who
is looking to fill her deceased grandmother's role as an alchemist. She takes advantage of her grandmother's
legacy and in the process discovers a magical talking book named Plachta who
remembers nothing of her past. From
there the story progresses as Sophie works to restore Plachta's memories and
improve her alchemy skills. Throughout
this process she makes friends and helps the townspeople. Unlike most story-driven RPGs, there is no
immediate opponent, no "bad guy" to defeat. Though there is a "final boss",
there is no in-game pressure to defeat it.
Unlike many of the previous Atelier games, there is no hard time limit.
Perhaps one of the more interesting things about the game is
how Sophie learns new recipes.
Previously in Atelier games, recipes were organized by type, in a giant
list, and the alchemist learned new ones by either discovering them or by
substituting different ingredients in existing recipes. This time around, recipes are organized in
trees, and Sophie learns new ones based off of different methods of
inspiration. In other words, what she
does effects what she learns. While this
can be an easier way of discovering recipes, there are some instances where the
"clues" the player is given are difficult to interpret, making it
hard to complete a recipe tree without turning to sources outside the game for
assistance.
The battle system is another area where things have been
tweaked from previous games. Though
there are many similarities, the addition of a synch meter and the ability to
switch between defensive and offensive modes gives a player more options for
keeping characters alive. As the synch
meter percentage rises, the in-battle characters perform automatic actions: in
offensive mode, they will perform assist attacks, and the higher the percentage
the more characters will assist, culminating in a unique attack for the fourth
character to assist once the gauge is at 300%; in defensive mode it is much the
same, with characters defending each other with a unique defensive move per
character when the gauge is maxed out.
Mastering the gauge becomes essential as the player progresses through
the game, as battles become more and more difficult.
There is one aspect of the game that is moderately
confusing, and it harkens back to Atelier Shallie. Once a character hits level 20, they cease to
gain levels and instead gain "adventure points". These points can then be spent on stat
bonuses, skill upgrades, and special abilities.
On the down side, however, the characters no longer gain these things
naturally. In both games it was an oddity,
to switch between natural level progression and player-controlled level progression
after a certain point in gameplay. The
question at hand is why, if this is such an integral part of the game, this
feature isn't available the entire time.
It is as if the developer is saying "we'll trust you to control
your character's level ups, but only after you've proven you can play the
game". While it isn't something
game-breaking or even particularly unique, it definitely takes the player time
to adjust. Like someone learning to
drive in America and then suddenly having to drive in the UK, a player has to
constantly remind him- or herself to pay attention and distribute points, lest
characters fall behind and become a liability.
Overall, however, the game was a well-crafted addition to
the Atelier brand, with pleasant characters and a clear and understandable
story. It was fun to play, and
definitely one I would recommend for anyone new to RPGs, or to the Atelier
games.
(Review code for Atelier Sophie was provided by the publisher)
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