Developer: Gust
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Platform: PS4, PS5, PC, Switch
Tested on: Switch
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream – Review
In 2016 we reviewed Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book, which proved to be a stellar entry in the Atelier series. We set out with Sophie and Plachta to battle monsters, to perform alchemy by combining items, and of course, we also made many friends along the way. At the end of the previous game, it was clear that Sophie and Plachta’s tale was not over, as Sophie wanted to become a real licensed alchemist, while Plachta was still looking for her human form. Now, after waiting six years, we finally got our hands on Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream, which might just fulfill both Sophie’s and Plachta’s dreams. We were quite entertained, and we even saw a few new additions to smoothen out certain kinks.
Story
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream picks up where the original game ended. Sophie is heading out to become a licensed alchemist, while both Sophie and Plachta keep searching to restore Plachta to her human form. In strange visions seen by Plachta, they are led to a mysterious tree in the middle of a forest. While at first the arrival at the tree is slightly anticlimactic, they soon find themselves being sucked into a wormhole that leads to another world. When Sophie is discovered by inhabitants of this world, as she lies unconscious at the tree on their end, she soon learns that she finds herself in a dream world where a chosen few are able to try and accomplish their dreams before being sent back to where they came from.
As Sophie ended up in this world seemingly alone, even though Plachta also got sucked into the wormhole, she discovers that one of the inhabitants is also called Plachta. While very different in appearance, this world’s Plachta also happens to be an alchemist, and it soon becomes clear that both Plachta’s might be connected, or might even be the same person. In the dream world, time doesn’t follow the same rules, and all inhabitants are from different time periods brought there together. Sophie, the dream world’s version of Plachta, and other new characters set out to uncover the mystery behind the dream world.
Even though the story is brought in a pleasant way, with many cinematics, we did find the pacing off at the beginning of the game. You’ll be going through roughly an hour of cinematics and dialogues, while only being able to collect a handful of resources and do one battle during that initial hour. We would have loved a bit more action during the introduction.
Graphics
As we have tried the Switch version of the game, we are fully aware of the limitations of Nintendo’s hybrid console. Nonetheless, the game looks quite good, it’s fun to explore the colorful and vibrant world, and the character models are on point. That being said, we are starting to notice certain dated designs in the series, such as an endless number of invisible walls and a lot of texture popping during cutscenes. We are slowly starting to think that the series could use Switch-specific titles and some that are polished for a next-gen experience on the PlayStation 5, as this would allow the developer to properly polish the experience. Nonetheless, we get more of the same Atelier content in this installment, with reoccurring enemies, original character designs, and so on.
Sound
As always with the Atelier games, the sound design is superbly handled. The game has a great cinematic backdrop, which is only enhanced by the stellar voice acting. Of course, the voice acting follows a somewhat typical anime format with a lot of overacting, but it works for a lighthearted series of games such as this. The sound effects are also adequate and they are perfectly suitable for the actions that occur onscreen.
Gameplay
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is a very typical JRPG experience, in which you explore the world around you, battle monsters, gather materials, craft, and ultimately level up your character and progress the main storyline. Those who have already played other series in the Atelier franchise will pretty much know what to expect, as Atelier Sophie 2 doesn’t stray away too much from the series’ standard mechanics. We see slight updates in the crafting mechanics, and the combat segments have become slightly more dynamic, as you will be able to go into battles smoother with shorter loading times. The loading times when going to other areas in the world are dreadfully long, however.
As mentioned above, the game consists mainly of crafting and battling monsters outside of the meaty story content. The crafting portion of the game is still very reminiscent of older entries in the series where you have to combine items in your atelier to then ultimately create a new item. You’ll have to mix and match different items or resources to eventually get something new, and the quality depends on what materials you used for this. The crafting can be done via a sort of minigame where you place the materials on a grid, and the better the placement, the better the item you’ll get.
Combat still follows a turn-based format, but it feels a bit more dynamic. Attacking a creature in the overworld will trigger the battle immediately without having to load a separate combat event. Combat itself is still done via the traditional mechanics of the genre, where you can opt to perform regular attacks, use items, utilize skills, etc. Strategy is also a key component here, as you can have characters work together, or even opt for more powerful duo attacks.
Conclusion
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is another solid entry in the franchise, and it’s clear that developer Gust is trying to modernize the series one little step at a time. Even though we did very much enjoy this new adventure for Sophie and Plachta, we do feel that the series will need to make a few bigger changes to stay relevant or to prepare itself for some ‘next-gen’ entries in the series. That being said, we are looking forward to the next story, and we love that after this many years this franchise keeps bringing lighthearted entries in the JRPG genre.
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream - Review,
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