I do love the Atelier games. My descent into the world of Atelier games began with Mana Khemia on the PS Vita and hasn’t slowed down since.
Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings DX is the “complete” version of the original game, including the majority of the DLC from that game as well as some original content all bundled in. It is the third entry in the Atelier Mysterious tetralogy, and continues to build upon the formula of the previous games.
The game features twin alchemists Lydie and Suelle Marlen as they work to create the greatest atelier in the kingdom of Adalet and unravel the mystery of paintings created through alchemy. You can switch which twin you control at any time back in your workshop, but the differences are purely cosmetic.
Crafting is a huge part of these games, and this features my second favorite alchemy system in the Mysterious games. It becomes an increasingly complex puzzle as you work out what items to add and what traits and properties to try and pass over to a new item being created. Items come with properties with associated colors and symbols, and hitting certain amounts of these during the process will result in more powerful items being created. It does mean a more involved and slower process when trying to create the best possible item, but I think it remains fun throughout the game.
Combat is pretty fun as well. It starts out as a standard turn-based system, but changes things up a little bit once you’ve unlocked more than three characters. Three characters are on the frontlines and have full access to special moves and items, while the reserve characters have special techniques that will trigger when certain conditions are met by their frontline partner. This does end up meaning that certain character combinations are more viable than others, so it does end up meaning that final teams end up looking pretty similar. It’s still fun, but it would have been nice to be able to try out more pairings without feeling like you’re missing out on damage you could have otherwise done.
The story is serviceable, though it’s never been the biggest focus of the series. Character events can feel like they trigger too rapidly sometimes, and you end up seeing a lot of them back to back if you focus more on alchemy or just advancing the main plot rather than doing each event as it pops up. You can get rewards from triggering certain events, but it still ends up feeling a little bit slow at times between chapters.
The locations in this game are big enough to be fun to explore without being overwhelming, and you’re never more than a few button presses away from your atelier if you somehow get lost. Everything is bright and pretty to look at. The Mysterious Paintings you explore are a particular high point, as they allow you to explore locations you wouldn’t normally see in the series such as a haunted forest, a crystal palace, and underwater world, and more. If you’ve played the original on the Nintendo Switch and are now coming to this one, you’ll be pleased to notice a massive improvement in frame-rate when visiting the paintings. The original had issues with slowdown in these areas, but these have been mostly resolved in this version of the game.
This is a really fun game overall, and was my favorite in the Mysterious series until Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream was released. It’s just a fun, relaxed experience. Being the last game in the Mysterious series chronologically, it might not be the best place to jump in at, but it’s a good sendoff and satisfying to see character arcs that have built up over the last several games come to a close.
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