Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey

 PlayStation 4
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
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  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 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 itemsIts 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.    … Expand
  2. 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 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    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.    … Expand
  3. 17_jrpg
    Aug 18, 2017
    9
    Like predecessor, this game also has a wonderful design of the whole game, an interesting and funny story, as well still feels like tradicional JRPG. There is little progress from the predecessor. The alchemy system is the same, but the battle system is new. They returned the battle system they used in Arland series, but I was hoping that they will return the battle system from Mana KhemiaLike predecessor, this game also has a wonderful design of the whole game, an interesting and funny story, as well still feels like tradicional JRPG. There is little progress from the predecessor. The alchemy system is the same, but the battle system is new. They returned the battle system they used in Arland series, but I was hoping that they will return the battle system from Mana Khemia series. A gameplay is good, new time management is interesting.

    Conclusion: It's a little advance from the predecessor, but still a good Atelier game and a good JRPG. I hope they will make the new sequel of Mysterious series even better and that they will return the battle system from Mana Khemia series.    … Expand
  4. 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 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 absolutelyAbout 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.    … Expand
  5. OneManCast
    Apr 30, 2021
    6
    The biggest disappointment of the Mysterious Trilogy. It has lovable characters, but their setpieces aren't on the same levels as Sophie or Lydie/Sue. A poor implementation of the time limit (so easy that I had over 50 days left) and its battle mechanics are poor.
  6. GigaChadDMC2
    Jun 17, 2022
    10
    OPEN WORLD.MOE.KINO
    >Best main character
    >best exploration
    >best yuri
    >best level design
    >best graphics
    >best music
    >best combat
    Cope Ryza and Sophie chuds

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. GameCritics
    Jan 25, 2018
    90
    Another year, another fantastic game in the Atelier series. Wonderful characters, an expansive story, a great big open world to explore… never once has it felt like this series has rested on its laurels. I see similar themes and callbacks to earlier games, of course, but fundamentally each Atelier series looks at what came before and builds something new and beautiful atop it – and Firis is no exception. I feel like I say it every year, but I honestly have no idea how they’re going to top this. And yet, I’m fairly confident that they’ll manage it somehow.
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  2. 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.
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  3. 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.
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