Been a while since I did a review, been in a gaming slump for some time now but of course, the power of thighs compels me so here I am. After 4 relatively short years Ryza's life changing adventure has finally come to a close. Its bittersweet seeing it end, being as its the reason I'm neck deep into the franchise now. I started the game the same age as Ryza and the gang and finished it being the same age as well so it wouldn't be far-fetched to say it helped my enjoyment of their development into becoming adults. Cast aside, the story felt a little rushed, they basically had to speed run the cast additions' stories while also tying them into the main story and conclude them on top of the already established plot which was done as best as they could so I'll cut them some slack. However, the gameplay is where I had the most complaints. Look, I don't mind some backtracking here and there but my god, it was like every damn mission. Like literally you would talk to a character, fast travel across the world to talk to someone else, back to the atelier to synthesis an item and then back. Near the end of the game I was starting to go brain dead which how often it was. I think the key mechanic was pretty boring as well, I'm not sure if I wasn't using it to it's full potential or what but I rarely used it, in or out of combat. The synthesis also felt lacking and I think that's because it was also reliant on the key making, a cool idea sure but wasn't really executed the best in my opinion. The open world aspect was also a cool addition but I didn't feel an incentive to explore. Also final thing, there's 11 party members and they all have their personal events so seeing the entire game littered with them was not a pretty sight, also you can't tell who's quest it is unless you look it up so you couldn't even do a specific person if you wanted to.

All in all I think it was a decent game to end the journey on but the addons hinder it a bit and feel bloated. However I enjoyed my time so much with these guys I'm content with the fact they all got what they worked so hard to achieve. Just like Ryza and the gang, the journey of life never ends, so we keep moving forward one step at a time. Thank you for all the hard work everyone at Gust, I'll be patiently waiting for Marie and what's in store next for Atelier.

Ok finally beat the first Utawarerumono.

I want to gather my thoughts some more and rewatch some scenes but it was good. I see why people hype the worldbuilding up, crazy in depth and engaging. The cast was fantastic and I was never bored when any of them were on the screen. Music was great too and really set the atmosphere.

Some negatives though, my GOD is the game long. Like idk if I'm slow at reading visual novels or what but goddamn bro almost 90 hours, because of this I feel like some sections dragged or were unnecessary but it is what it is. The ending was ok, I felt the beginning half was stronger but it wasn't bad. The final fight did have me crying though, the music and voice acting hit my soul!
All in all a pretty nice experience and I'm curious where it goes from here, a lot of set up happened for the future installments.