Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land

Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is a committed effort by Koei Tecmo to further grow the series and find a new audience. It means that some of the Atelier traditions have been firmly and, on the back of the Ryza series, likely permanently behind. But this new direction is wonderful in its own way. Yumia’s ambitious scope, sense of adventure, quality party of characters, and typically gorgeous music and art direction make for an exciting new chapter to the series.

Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is a charming open-world JRPG and a worthy addition to the Atelier series. While it may not break any new ground in terms of narrative or combat innovation, it excels in being a fun game and an excellent entry point for newcomers to the franchise.

Atelier heroines have come in many varieties over the years. Students, heroes, shopkeepers, adventurers, and civil servants have all appeared in the series so far. As a parkour potion princess leaping through her open world, Yumia fills the alchemist role while stretching the mold, offering something new, much like many other aspects of her game. As the Alchemist of Memories, she offers an excellent start to what I hope will continue to be a fun new trilogy, or longer, for Atelier fans to enjoy.

Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land takes the series in a direction that will appeal to fans of open world JRPGs, but may leave fans of previous Atelier games scratching their head. It also has numerous technical issues on the Switch. It’s still a fun adventure, it just leaves room to improve in its inevitable sequels.

Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land brings a fresh twist with a protagonist who isn’t immediately seen as a hero but doesn’t fully explore that concept. The expanded world, new mechanics like a motorcycle and gun, and dynamic real-time combat add depth to the gameplay. While the Switch version has some technical issues, the beautiful art style and excellent voice acting make up for it. It’s an enjoyable addition to the Atelier series, though it could have used a bit more depth.

In most respects, Atelier Yumia is an impressively ambitious and strong new entry for the long-running series, blazing a trail to parts unknown much like its titular protagonist. Things like the darker story, action-heavy combat, and increased focus on exploration gameplay all work well in its favor. The only major complaint is that this was clearly designed with much stronger hardware than the Switch in mind, and while its performance here is just about acceptable, it’s very far from ideal. At any rate, we’d give this one a recommendation not only to long-time Atelier veterans, but also to fans of other vast JRPG adventures such as the Xenoblade series. Atelier Yumia is a bold step forward for this franchise, and it stands as a strong indication that the Atelier series has a lot of life left in it yet.