Games worth discovering

Why I love living the everyday life of an alchemist in the Atelier series

926 View2023-03-27

My first encounter with the Atelier series happened entirely by chance. I spotted Atelier Iris at my local game store, saw the words “Alchemic Adventure RPG” on the back of the box, and was instantly hooked. At the time, I was a huge fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, and the idea of playing an alchemy RPG was too good to resist.

That impulse purchase was the start of an obsession that’s continued to this day. I didn’t just love Atelier Iris; it changed my perception of what an RPG should be. Since it was an alchemy game, I expected some crafting, but the crafting system was more complex than anything I’d ever seen. Even though there was an overarching story, there was a huge focus on character relationships and everyday life.

Characters occasionally do some world-saving, but most Atelier games have stories that are smaller and more intimate. In Atelier Totori, a young girl searches for her missing mother. Atelier Shallie follows an alchemist that hopes to save her village from drought. Even though some characters are antagonistic, the series doesn’t have any true villains. Instead, conflict comes from outside sources, like natural disasters or political disputes.

These slice-of-life narratives aren’t the only unique thing about Atelier’s storytelling style. The mainline series is split into shorter subseries. Games in a subseries don’t always have the same protagonist, but they do take place in the same world. The Mana Khemia series is set at an alchemy school, while the Dusk trilogy takes place in a desolate, dying world. Some of these subseries span decades, allowing players to watch the characters and world evolve over a long period of time.

One of my favorite Atelier characters is Sterkenburg “Sterk” Cranach, a stern-faced man who’s always dreamed of becoming a knight. When the knighthood is abolished, Sterk loses his sense of purpose and struggles to forge out a new place in the world. At first, he continues to call himself a knight and hunts down the former king that ended the knighthood. Later, he takes on jobs that are knight-adjacent, serving as an escort to a princess. Eventually, he manages to establish his own version of the knighthood, which he dubs the Citizen’s Guard.

The stories and character arcs definitely add to Atelier’s appeal, but what really drives these games forward is crafting. In fact, most gameplay revolves around crafting in one way or another. When characters explore the world, they’re usually searching for crafting materials. Completing quests unlocks new crafting recipes. Crafted equipment and items play a key role in battles.

While systems for crafting vary, nearly every game requires alchemists to synthesize items at their atelier. Since items can’t be crafted on the fly, players have to plan ahead and make the items they need before they venture out to the overworld. That kind of prepwork might sound tedious, but crafting the necessary for a boss fight or a big expedition can be incredibly satisfying.

Part of that satisfaction comes from the flexibility of the crafting system. Every craftable item has a base recipe, but that recipe can be customized and enhanced. With a little experimentation and creativity, alchemists can create superpowered items with godlike abilities. It’s possible to forge accessories that heal characters once per second or build bombs that steal the stats of enemies. The hardest battles in the game feel easy with the right items.

The Atelier games have so many qualities I adore, from the low-key stories to the complex crafting, but the series is so much more than the sum of its parts. It always makes me grin when characters stop by for a chat while I’m in the middle of a crafting project. It’s hard to top the excitement of discovering a brand-new location that might be filled with crafting materials. I love the recurring characters that pop up in nearly every game, like the ghostly Pamela or the bald blacksmith Hagel.

There’s plenty of variety between games and subseries, but each Atelier game still has that same magic quality that made me fall in love with the series. I definitely have my favorites, but every game is worth playing, especially if you enjoy crafting. Whether you start with Atelier Iris, play the Atelier Marie remake, or jump in with the latest title in the series, Atelier Ryza 3, the Atelier games offer an experience you can’t get anywhere else.

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