When I was finishing up this game it has its hooks in me deeper than any other game had had in years. It's probably, honestly speaking, not a 10/10 for most people but I'm not most people. I'm better than that.
Bastante en la media de Atelier, tiene conceptos muy guapos pero Lydie me resulta la Alquimista más aburrida de nu-Atelier junto con Firis, que también tiene rol protagonista aquí.
Menos mal que Sue carrea que da gusto.
Menos mal que Sue carrea que da gusto.
This is a review of the DX version
Atelier Lydie & Suelle is the best game in the Mysterious series of Atelier games and it's not even a question. While the previous two games ranged from meh to alright, L&S injects a ton of life into this subseries and the game itself is on par with the better Atelier games in most regards. This is currently the only Mysterious game where i can say i liked the entire cast, not a single member felt weak. However, there is a caveat here in that this game's cast is mainly made up of returning characters, even moreso than any Atelier title, which i feel vindicates how i feel about the overall cast of this trilogy. What's good here however is that i feel that the new characters can hold their own even without the support of the returning characters. Lydie & Suelle are fun to be around with and is just another example that multiple protagonists is usually better than just having one. The twins bounce off each other so well so i was definitely invested in their struggle.
The alchemy system in this game is basically the same as in Atelier Firis, except it's objectively better, as it's now much easier to get those bonus tiles since there's no more weird lines you have to line up, something that made Atelier Firis' alchemy rather tricky. In fact, i went back to Atelier Firis to see if i was just being bad or if the alchemy system there kinda sucks and you know, i'm feeling the latter on that. Tbh, even after all this time, i'm still not completely sold on this trilogy's way of doing alchemy but i can say i easily had the most fun with that method in this game. The combat in this game resembles that of the latter two Atelier Dusk games as well as Atelier Lulua and i really liked the combat in those games so it's natural that i would like it here too.
This is one of the few times in the series where i have to give praise to the world design. This game's "gimmick" is the various worlds you visit inside paintings, which allowed Gust to come up with more creative world designs. In the grand scheme of things, it's not super amazing but it did allow for some more "out there" world concepts and it even when it's simple, i still found myself really liking. The Starlight Plain, for example, is exactly what it says it is: a vast plain underneath a very starry sky. But the visuals there combined with the music (Atelier music wins again btw) made it become a favorite among the series. It sucks that half the OST just isn't on YouTube.
Out of all the "third games" in Atelier, this one feels the most like a conclusion. A lot of character arcs set up in the first two Mysterious titles are brought to their natural conclusion in this game, whereas usually character arcs are contained to whatever game they started in (which makes sense why the upcoming Atelier Sophie 2 is a midquel). This does have a slight personal negative tho because if it were up to me, i'd say skip Atelier Sophie and maybe Atelier Firis (i say maybe cause i still found it decent) but then you wouldn't get the full experience out of this game if you do. I mean, it's Atelier, so it's all pretty simple, but still. This game also has some weird missing QoL. You can't fast travel within dungeons which becomes a bit of a tedious issue if you need to revisit areas with multiple sections. The true ending has a rather obscure requirement that is totally possible to miss without any indication that you would've needed it. Considering this game has no other missable events besides that, that's especially jarring.
Atelier Lydie & Suelle ends the trilogy with a bang, and it needed to be. While i wish the Mysterious trilogy was overall stronger, i do appreciate what the game did and i'm glad i'm able to complete the Mysterious trilogy feeling good. Especially since, as of this moment, i have played every modern Atelier title currently released.
Atelier Lydie & Suelle is the best game in the Mysterious series of Atelier games and it's not even a question. While the previous two games ranged from meh to alright, L&S injects a ton of life into this subseries and the game itself is on par with the better Atelier games in most regards. This is currently the only Mysterious game where i can say i liked the entire cast, not a single member felt weak. However, there is a caveat here in that this game's cast is mainly made up of returning characters, even moreso than any Atelier title, which i feel vindicates how i feel about the overall cast of this trilogy. What's good here however is that i feel that the new characters can hold their own even without the support of the returning characters. Lydie & Suelle are fun to be around with and is just another example that multiple protagonists is usually better than just having one. The twins bounce off each other so well so i was definitely invested in their struggle.
The alchemy system in this game is basically the same as in Atelier Firis, except it's objectively better, as it's now much easier to get those bonus tiles since there's no more weird lines you have to line up, something that made Atelier Firis' alchemy rather tricky. In fact, i went back to Atelier Firis to see if i was just being bad or if the alchemy system there kinda sucks and you know, i'm feeling the latter on that. Tbh, even after all this time, i'm still not completely sold on this trilogy's way of doing alchemy but i can say i easily had the most fun with that method in this game. The combat in this game resembles that of the latter two Atelier Dusk games as well as Atelier Lulua and i really liked the combat in those games so it's natural that i would like it here too.
This is one of the few times in the series where i have to give praise to the world design. This game's "gimmick" is the various worlds you visit inside paintings, which allowed Gust to come up with more creative world designs. In the grand scheme of things, it's not super amazing but it did allow for some more "out there" world concepts and it even when it's simple, i still found myself really liking. The Starlight Plain, for example, is exactly what it says it is: a vast plain underneath a very starry sky. But the visuals there combined with the music (Atelier music wins again btw) made it become a favorite among the series. It sucks that half the OST just isn't on YouTube.
Out of all the "third games" in Atelier, this one feels the most like a conclusion. A lot of character arcs set up in the first two Mysterious titles are brought to their natural conclusion in this game, whereas usually character arcs are contained to whatever game they started in (which makes sense why the upcoming Atelier Sophie 2 is a midquel). This does have a slight personal negative tho because if it were up to me, i'd say skip Atelier Sophie and maybe Atelier Firis (i say maybe cause i still found it decent) but then you wouldn't get the full experience out of this game if you do. I mean, it's Atelier, so it's all pretty simple, but still. This game also has some weird missing QoL. You can't fast travel within dungeons which becomes a bit of a tedious issue if you need to revisit areas with multiple sections. The true ending has a rather obscure requirement that is totally possible to miss without any indication that you would've needed it. Considering this game has no other missable events besides that, that's especially jarring.
Atelier Lydie & Suelle ends the trilogy with a bang, and it needed to be. While i wish the Mysterious trilogy was overall stronger, i do appreciate what the game did and i'm glad i'm able to complete the Mysterious trilogy feeling good. Especially since, as of this moment, i have played every modern Atelier title currently released.
Hands down the best game in the Mysterious Trilogy. Incredible improvement over the trite and dull Firis. That such a much more imaginative work came from the same studio in the literal next year after the generic JRPG landscapes of Firis is unbelievable.
Ultimately though, I prefer the art, ambience, characters and the world of the Dusk trilogy. That sense of longing, that sense of vague, uncanny wrongness despite current comforts is definitely missing. But thats not what this game is attempting to achieve - and it does achieve what it aims to.
Ultimately though, I prefer the art, ambience, characters and the world of the Dusk trilogy. That sense of longing, that sense of vague, uncanny wrongness despite current comforts is definitely missing. But thats not what this game is attempting to achieve - and it does achieve what it aims to.
I'd say the most balanced of the fushigi series in crafting/writing/combat. Writing isn't a snore, combat is a middle ground between firis and sophie, and crafting is solid. Not quite as fun as it would be in Ryza, though. If I had to pick a favorite from the fushigi series it'd be this one but not by alot.
The game's not bad, but it feels really drawn out. Also it only has Japanese voices and I couldn't stand the super high-pitched voices of the two main characters. I dunno, I just didn't find it compelling.
Definitely an improvement on the previous game but still a long way from the heights of the Dusk series, which are some of my favourite JRPGs ever. Not a great start with some initially hard-to-like characters but it's pretty good once it picks up, only to have all the wind sucked out of it by a massive, gigantic difficulty spike right at the end.
My favorite Atelier in terms of writing. Lydie and Suelle is basically a fun SoL anime, and I love it for that.
i can't stop crying aaaaaaaaaaa
Doesn't really aspire to the same heights as Firis, but carves out a place for itself with the strength of the narrative. The plot itself is basically a SoL anime, but the characters are depicted with great aplomb, with almost every scene being funny or poignant in some way. I'm not really sure why the writing in this game is so much better than in the previous two in the series, but I'll take it.
Suelle's voice acting is really wonderful.
Suelle's voice acting is really wonderful.