Developer: Gust, Koei Tecmo
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch (2)
Tested on: Switch 2
Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack – Review
Koei Tecmo and GUST certainly aren’t strangers to revisiting entries in their long-running Atelier series -we’ve taken a look at Atelier Marie Remake and Atelier Mysterious Trilogy DX in the not-so-distant past- but their re-releases typically bring older Atelier titles to modern audiences. That isn’t the case with the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack, which brings together a trio of very recent Atelier games -the last of which only dates back to 2023. The Ryza trilogy, as these games are colloquially known, is a very popular sub-series within the Atelier franchise, but do these enhanced versions add enough substance or is it too soon to try and sell them again?
Two of our fellow reviewers already covered the Ryza trilogy in depth when the individual games originally made their debuts: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout in 2019, Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy in 2021, and Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key in 2023, respectively. Those reviews still hold up, and so we’re going to refer you to the individual reviews for each game. Here, we’re going to look if the so-called DX releases are indeed the definitive editions for these games, and if what they add makes them worth picking up -especially if the “regular” versions are already sitting pretty in your library. Full disclosure: before getting up and close with the DX versions, our only experience with Ryza is Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout. That gives us a good reference point for directly comparing the first game, but the two later games are, in fact, new to us. Revisiting Kurken Island in that first game felt unexpectedly comforting, though—like paging through a well-loved book.
If any of these games are completely new to you, here’s a quick summary of what you can expect: the Atelier games are a long-running series of JRPGs featuring female protagonists. The series has been going strong for nearly thirty years now, but within this lineup of classic JRPG gameplay, the Ryza trilogy in particular stands out. Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout is the best-selling game in the series, not in the least thanks to its charismatic lead, the titular Reisalin Stout. In terms of gameplay, each of the three games included here follows the series’ blueprint to a tee, combining classical JRPG gameplay, including dungeon crawling and turn-based battles, with alchemy and crafting -hence the Atelier in the title. The Ryza trilogy sets itself apart through its likeable cast, well-written stories and -perhaps most important- high degree of accessibility. Whether you’re new to the Atelier series or JRPGs in general, the Ryza trilogy offers a fantastic entry point.
Taking a page from Persona 5 Royal, Ryza‘s DX trilogy in particular adds a boatload of new content to what was already a very packed set of games. Apart from all previous DLC, the DX games introduce additional stories and new playable characters. The latter includes fan-favourites that were in the original releases as NPCs, like shop keeper Romy and Kurken Island guardian Agatha. As someone who only played the first game originally, seeing the cast grow over three titles made this return feel more like a reunion than a replay. More content and more variety are always nice to have, of course, although none of these games were particularly suffering from having underpacked rosters. New players likely won’t notice the additions at all, with the additional stuff seemingly included to entice returning players rather than filling out gaps in the stories. The QoL updates include improved visuals, a more stable frame rate, and better legibility, and the impact of these feels far more significant than the “tacked on” content, at least in the case of Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout. Admittedly, we can’t entirely rule out confirmation bias. As we replayed Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout, we found ourselves thinking “huh, this is new”, but in the other two games, we didn’t have that same reference point, and it’s very likely that some of the new content simply blended in instead of standing out as much.
Coming in at €39.99 each for the standalone games or €89.99 for the trilogy pack, these newer versions are significantly cheaper than their original releases, especially when you factor in all of the included DLC. With each game taking around 30 hours to complete the story, and easily double that if you’re taking on the side stories and new content, that’s a very attractive package… provided that these games are, indeed, new to you. For existing fans, it’s a different story, as there is no “upgrade” path, despite the DX games supporting save files from the original. If you’re a hardcore Ryza fan, then you’ll have to begrudgingly shell out again for the new content. While that will sting, at least you already have a good idea of the quality of what you can expect for the base games.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the DX games offer up the definitive versions of the Atelier Ryza trilogy. If you’ve been on the fence about picking up this fantastic trio of games, then this re-release serves as the perfect excuse to finally take the plunge. And we do mean it -these are fantastic entry-level JRPGs for newcomers, but veterans alike will fall in love with Ryza’s whimsical world and captivating stories, even if the gameplay is on the easier side. The only real negative here is that anyone who’s looking to pick up the games for just the new content is going to have to do so at full price. Had there been an “upgrade” option for, say, €9.99, then this would have been a perfect Atelier release.
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