I only bring in this hypothetical just because it was a previous game’s feature the dev team excluded this time around.įights are ultimately more frenetic and for the better, but the inclusion of one previous feature would have made a world of difference in general. Something to indicate combatants’ turn order would have made a world of difference.

Equally so, the level of demand in combat does not parallel the levels of demand in any of the game’s other systems.

It’s okay to start here, but bear in mind that you will miss out on a great deal of the charm that makes Ryza so unique and likable when compared to the other Atelier main characters.Īn argument can be made that the combat extremes play into the way the game provides the player with options on all fronts. This clip does a decent wiki-level job of describing the events leading to this game, but, as expected, much of the nuance for the story and characters does not come through. While this is Ryza’s third game, this title attempts to make this entry a workable starting point for newcomers by providing an introductory video that recaps the previous two games. The creation of this key allows Ryza to use the energy from different regions to create other keys to unlock region-specific secrets as well as temporarily power up characters in battle. Once there, she muses a recipe for a mysterious key.

Along with it comes these voices and flashes that just appear in Ryza’s head, coaxing her to her cauldron. This time, some islands (yes, islands) appear right off the coast of Kurken Island. Still, any length of time with Ryza can’t pass by without some dangerous adventure popping up.

End notes