Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
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  1. CGMagazine
    Mar 31, 2017
    55
    Atelier Firis: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Journey is a dull, flat story filled with insipid characters, delivered through thoroughly monotonous gameplay and dragged out over the course of an interminable amount of time. Steer clear of this trope-ridden snoozefest.
  2. Eurogamer Italy
    Mar 31, 2017
    70
    Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey is the eighteenth chapter of the Atelier jRPG series, developed by Gust. The game features for the first time a vast open world, ten times larger than previous Atelier: Sophie, and even though there is a return to the controversial time limit, its implementation is definitely softer and it does not come as an issue. There are some minor problems on quest tracking and the graphics seems too old for the platform, but the game is eventually deep and satisfying for jRPG lovers. It is a good turn for the series but there are some lost chances here.
  3. 4P.de
    Mar 21, 2017
    60
    Gust opened the world, but it still lacks a more interesting story and better visuals.
  5. God is a Geek
    Mar 19, 2017
    70
    Atelier Firis tells a bright, fun tale in a somewhat restricted world.
  6. Push Square
    Mar 17, 2017
    70
    Atelier Firis makes huge strides forward with its lively open world, but it also takes several steps backwards in other areas. Reintroducing the time limit forces you to play the game at breakneck speed, which means that much of the world is ignored until over 20 hours into the game. Once you break away from the time limit, however, you'll discover a brilliantly diverse world that you can get lost in for countless hours, where you'll be free to properly enjoy what is ultimately a solid, but neglected battle system.
  7. XGN
    Mar 16, 2017
    60
    The latest addition to the Atelier series is a pleasant return for long term fans. The game has a good fighting system, but for newcomers the game might be quite difficult. Additionally, the time limit will not please everyone.
  8. 3DJuegos
    Mar 15, 2017
    70
    Another fun JRPG from Gust not very innovative in any way but interesting enough for fans of the genre.
  9. ZTGD
    Mar 14, 2017
    70
    Atelier Firis is an ambitious entry in the long running series, with many new mechanics and a larger than ever world map to explore. Unfortunately, the inconsistent performance and a poorly implemented alchemy system hinder the overall experience greatly.
  10. RPGamer
    Mar 14, 2017
    50
    I had high hopes for a lot of the new ideas being introduced, but sadly Atelier Firis breaks my heart in a lot of ways. As someone who loves to get lost in big open worlds, I struggled to enjoy this installment with the same intensity that I've had for the Atelier series over the years. Firis feels like a larger step backwards than Sophie did, and I can only hope that the third game in the Mysterious subseries will fix the blemishes, because there are some great ideas here that just needed smarter execution and more polish.
  11. Hardcore Gamer
    Mar 14, 2017
    60
    With some tuning of the initial time mechanic and a rework of the characters, Atelier Firis could have been the best the series has seen. Still, it can boast the best world the franchise has offered to explore, and that is saying something.
  12. TrueGaming
    Mar 7, 2017
    70
    A new enjoyable installment in the Atelier series that sometimes makes you feel lost due to the sheer amount of new ideas you have to digest at once.
  13. IGN Spain
    Mar 7, 2017
    70
    Atelier Firis shows us that the important thing is not the goal, but the journey to reach it. However, we do not have here a revolutionary game in any respect compared to its legacy.
  14. RPG Fan
    Mar 7, 2017
    65
    The clumsiest Atelier title since Rorona, Atelier Firis lacks the heart, soul, and polish of its predecessors.
  15. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Mar 7, 2017
    70
    While fans of the franchise and the new Mysterious series will undoubtedly appreciate this new entry, newcomers may find many of its elements too tedious. Atelier Firis is an undoubtedly good attempt at an Atelier game but may prove to be too niche for others.
  16. TheSixthAxis
    Mar 7, 2017
    70
    I loved Atelier Firis. It features my favourite group of characters in an Atelier game, while the vast, open world environments add something unique over the rest of the series, with a huge amount of options and quests to explore. Unfortunately, it isn’t until you pass the time restricted first half of the game after dozens of hours of playtime that you’ll truly be able to appreciate any of this. Combining timed quests with free exploration is an interesting idea, but its flawed execution ruins leads to some awkward pacing. Atelier fans and curious newcomers will still have an amazing time, as long as you don’t let the intimidating timer put a damper on what should be a magical experience.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 54 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 54
  3. Negative: 13 out of 54
  1. Misheki
    Oct 7, 2017
    9
    Its my first Atelier game but i'm absolutely loving it, the graphics while not the best in the world are still quite appealing to my eyes andIts my first Atelier game but i'm absolutely loving it, the graphics while not the best in the world are still quite appealing to my eyes and the game play is enjoyable. All though the Combat system is a bit Robust its still very enjoyable to fight monsters and gather the resources for what I feel is the main thing of this game Alchemy. Its very well done and the way you make new items through Alchemy is well worked out and fits with the theme of the game.

    The time limit is a bit annoying in the beginning as you feel like you have to rush to the end but later on after your first recommendation you get the feeling you can take it a lot slower and in my case I started to enjoy the game a lot more. I haven't completed it yet but I'm about 10-20 hours in and I'm having a lot of fun!

    Pros:
    - Alchemy is well worked out
    - The open World setting is a plus to me
    - The Characters are quite funny
    - The story is a change of pace from the 'Oh god the world is going to explode!' kind of theme

    Cons:
    - The characters can be quite flat at times
    - The Time Limit system is a bit of a hassle
    - It takes a bit to get out of the tutorial area and could have be done quicker in my opinion.    … Full Review »
  2. Dubeau
    Aug 9, 2017
    6
    About 20 hours into the game. I really love the alchemy part. Making things is really fun and exploring too. Combat has a turn base mechanicAbout 20 hours into the game. I really love the alchemy part. Making things is really fun and exploring too. Combat has a turn base mechanic and is well done. I don't dislike it but it could have been a bit more strategic. The levelling doesn't offer any choices. The story seems conventional but not too bad. The music is ok but the voice overs for the main characters are absolutely atrocious. As far as female voices go, they couldn't choose a more hysterical manner to do it. This game isn't that bad and quite addictive once you get pass the underground area. I give it a 75% and hopefully they could do better in some aspect of the next game.

    Update: After you get pass the lake sequence the game becomes much more harder, and require dull grinding. Missions, synthesis and combat becomes really boring. And there is so much backtracking in certain areas. The humour is getting a bit better but otherwise I totally lost interest in the repetitive aspects of the game. I am downgrading this to 60%. Game uninstall before the ending.    … Full Review »
  3. tomvs123
    Jan 5, 2018
    8
    This is another great Atelier game and fans of the previous games should definitely pick it up.

    For a quick introduction, the Atelier games    This is another great Atelier game and fans of the previous games should definitely pick it up.

    For a quick introduction, the Atelier games are about daily alchemist life. The best parts of these games are the alchemy (crafting system) and character interactions while going about your daily work. Atelier games have no definite end, no ultimate bad guy, and no epic story line, so these games aren't for everyone.

    Each new game gets a new set of characters and minor changes to the gameplay and crafting. Although Firis gives a surprise with a huge change to gameplay: it has turned into a semi open-world game. This game gives you an entire world map to explore (with loading screens between zones) with random NPCs peppered throughout.

    The primary goal for Firis is to go on a journey to take and pass an alchemy exam. It is a little more involved than it sounds, but is definitely not enough to fill out the whole game. You'll spend the rest of your time doing odd jobs (quests) for people you meet on your way and completing the storylines of the other characters who can join your party.

    There is a time limit (deadline) for reaching your destination and passing the exam, but it is easily attainable within the time limit. It's a good idea to spend time exploring and meeting new people on your way. If you don't complete their quests and storylines before you take your exam, that's no problem. You can continue them afterwards when there's no time limit.

    In my case, I spent most of my time with the game after I passed the exam. There's no time counter, but I estimate I spent 20 hours before passing the exam and 40 hours completing events and crafting after the exam.

    The game premise reminded me of Atelier Ayesha in that you had one main quest (of saving Ayesha's sister), and then the rest of the game sort of fell flat with uninteresting side quests. Firis doesn't have this problem and all events and quests outside of your exam are interesting enough to keep the game going. Although like all Atelier games, things sort of fizzle out when you run out of quests and events to partake in.

    All of the characters are well acted (Japanese voices) and well written when compared to other JRPGs and are entirely believable within their world. Although, being about the daily lives of these characters (and nothing epic) helps everything be more grounded and believable.

    There's a few reappearing characters from Atelier Sophie (the previous game), and I recommend that you play it first, although it's not required.

    As for the crafting (alchemy), it's still the best crafting system I've used in any game, but it's very similar to the previous games (with So if you got your fill of it already in one of the other PS3 or PS4 installments, you won't find much new here.

    And like Atelier Sophie, obtaining most everything and seeing most events is relatively easy and doesn't require a guide like some of the older games in the series or other low-budget JRPGs.

    When you complete the game, you get a music player, picture viewer, and audio comments from the Japanese cast. It's a shame that there's no subtitles for these. A model viewer would have been nice, too.

    I did encounter a few minor bugs, which is rare for an Atelier game. Some gathering spots are inaccessible or accessible only when your character is at a certain angle. There's a few issues with flashing/missing textures and clipping of NPC objects. Fishing sometimes results in a victory animation, but no fish. And in some cases, you can alter the landscape, but if you go into a cutscene, it shows the old landscape. None of these caused any major issues, though they did break my immersion slightly.    … Full Review »
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