Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout

Cute game
Thighs
Lovely characters
Thighs
Addictive collector
Thighs
Fun alchemy/crafting system
Thighs
Ryza is cute
Thighs

Oh, and thighs.

The thighs are just a front to trap you with the elaborate and fun (and autistic) crafting system

Atelier Ryza 1 Review (66 hours in):

I recommend this with one caveat: If you don't want to grind for the end boss, watch a walkthrough on YouTube and save your money. Good games are play-balanced so that by the time you reach the final boss, you usually don't have to grind to beat them. This game requires a lot of grinding for the end boss, and there are a huge amount of things the game doesn't explain adequately (nor does the Internet). Note: I did not finish the game, and according to Steam achievement stats, neither did 77% of the other people playing this game. Consider this fair warning.

Negative things - if you don't like them, find another game:

- GAME DOES NOT PAUSE IN COMBAT !!! It's NOT turn-based !!!
- Can't run from battles
- Run is not fast enough (can only synth fast-run items in late game)
- Game doesn't save run or zoom settings
- Cannot zoom out far enough
- Camera is awful (stay zoomed out or get hit from behind, especially in caves)
- Not enough carried inventory space, and no synth items to increase space by first major boss fight (only good stuff is in late game, and it's insane to max out)
- You do NOT have ANY healing for first battles in forest (you die immediately with just one hit point in a fight)
- Invisible walls where you should be able to jump upward / downward (longer time to traverse level)
- Not all quest items are adequately identified - some are just items you pick up later in the game, not synthesized items
- Some quests have you scratching your head as to where to find the target (fairy creatures by weazel sanctuary)
- Some quests and main story cutscenes will not activate unless you take the long way to get there
- How to activate Extra Orders is not clear at all, even in the online manual - had to look it up on Google, and still having trouble activating them for the quests (even with the giant monsters)
- The party AI sucks (Lent doesn't use his multi-hit skill nearly often enough) - GO BACK TO PLAYER-CONTROLLED TURN-BASED PARTY FIGHTING
- The synth system is not good (compared to Atelier Sophie's method with a synthesis formula book and a cauldron-based synthesis grid)
- Exploration notes are practically maguffins because they're not explained properly - you have to find all landmarks to complete a region, THEN you can MAKE exploration notes on the atelier map
- The map systemS suck - you have one (down dpad) that shows you most of what you need (but only your current map region), but the other map (dbl square on Xbox controller) shows all the quests per region for all map locations --> This needs to be combined into one big map that you can see ALL the stuff and navigate to ALL the regions - I hit the wrong map button all the time
- Switching between gathering items sucks - yes, you can obtain different items by switching the gathering item, but doing so with MONSTERS MOVING AROUND SUCKS (see dragon temple entrance) - and then add the numerous camera issues, the slowness on the gathering item's swing, and the heavy penalty for the monster attacking you first
- Selling items for quests (two of them) is a royal pain - you can choose to sort by quantity (most in your container) or by quality, but NOT BOTH, which is necessary for quickly getting of low-grade items and keeping the high-grade items...and you need to sell 2000 for the first quest, and 4000 for the second quest
- You can't get to the higher areas without a special jump item, and it isn't revealed until near the end of the game
- MAJOR PROBLEM: Items cannot be used if the item level is higher than a character's dexterity, and you CAN'T RAISE DEXTERITY (have to synth low-level healing / KO items for anyone but Ryza)
- CANNOT BUFF OR FORGE ARMOR (unlike in the Sophie series)
- The overpowered end boss is a two-stage fight with no healing or carry-over of AP, so you have to start over from tactics level 1 (unless there's some item that starts you off with a certain amount of AP per battle)
- To beat the overpowered end boss, you need to do a TON of synthesizing to up your armor stats - it's too much of a grind for me - this happened in the Sophie series as well
- When you Game Over, you respawn in the atelier, but you lose random items from your atelier basket, and that's not acceptable (time to reload)

This game series isn't for everyone. I love the story, but the mechanics just suck (and the Sophie series wasn't much better in this respect). If you love grinding synth recipes, you'll love this game. If you don't, move on to something else. There's lots of chances to insta-kill yourself too (especially with the special island that comes from DLC), so you have to understand the mechanics VERY well to flourish in this game. Again, 77% of players never finished the game according to Steam, and I'm one of them - the final boss wiped one of my players right before the 2nd stage, then wiped out the rest of them, having 15000 HP and I'd lost my main hitter with no ability to raise them out of KO. When I went to synth recover KO gear for another crack at the end boss, nobody but the main character had the Dexterity to use them. I got tired of banging my head against the spiked brick wall, watched the end from a YouTube walkthrough, and now I'm moving on. YMMV, but you've been warned.

Great casual play RPG.

After just 3 hours of gameplay, I’m completely hooked.
The atmosphere is extraordinary. It’s all about exploring the world and finding your own path, which is a refreshing change from the tragic, dramatic, or heroic motivations we usually see in games.
The characters are adorable. You want to see them thrive and grow as you learn the fundamentals of the gameplay.
The alchemy system is, of course, well-designed and very enjoyable.
Combat doesn’t lag behind either—it’s worthy of a great JRPG.

I had a lot of fun with this the focus on crafting to get most everything is quite a breath of fresh air on how to progress, I do like the combat but I will say that this is not really a turn based combat game as it seems to frantic most of the time and you dont really have turns you have times which can get really annoying at points.
I also think that it could do with more post game stuff as while Battling the Greater Elementals and the final boss is a good challenge it feels a touch small all things considered one would think the post game would have some interesting quests and such playing on the new state of the island and its inhabitants

Esse foi meu primeiro jogo da série Atelier, gostei bastante. O jogo apresenta ênfase em crafting e gathering com um sistema complexo e interessante. O combate achei bastante único, uma mistura de turnos com tempo real. O preço cheio é meio salgado pelo que oferece, mas como entra em promoção com uma grande frequência basta ter um pouco de paciência.

It's ok but not much more.

- Story somewhat dull.
- Crafting a bit grindy and generally requires less thought than earlier Ateliers (just stack quality and add traits after you are done)
- Combat rather primitive (very basic semi-active style)

Gets a positive score because the game doesn't have glaring flaws and because I bought it at a 70% sale.

very addicting chill out fun.

Since the first time I played at an internet cafe, I've been amazed that Ryza is so beautiful, I've been addicted to playing for a long time, hahaha, it makes me want to lick my thighs 😳😋

Very chill and relaxing JRPG that you can lose yourself in a couple hours at a time, put it down and feel content with what you've accomplished

It has a slow but enjoyable story. And really scratches the hoarding itch. The crafting takes awhile to get use to but is enjoyable once your use to it.

：）

If I could go back in time I'd tell myself to play this game.

I mean, I'd probably first warn myself about shitting my pants at that one business meeting. Everyone at work started calling me "Turdy Trevor." The embarrassment I felt rotted my marriage and my wife divorced me. My children have blocked me on all social media. Life has been total and utter shit since I shat in my pants and I will do everything in my power to prevent it from ever happening.

But yeah, then I'd totally be like "definitely play Ryza man, great game!"

Best Financial Decision I've made in 2024 🌚

Dont think I'll ever play another game, where I'll spend 2 IRL days crafting, without progressing the story or doing anything else. I swear, this 999 Qual item is the last one, my party member might have 1000+ atk, but its really necessary for these enemies that get one shotted-

First ever atelier game I've played. It is very fun and addicting if you're into laid-back exploration and crafting. Nothing beats spending literal hours in the alchemy synthesis menu trying to craft new stuff. Main protagonist Ryza is also thicc and cute.

10/10 would recommend. This game made a good impression for their atelier franchise on me. Already picked up Ryza 2 and 3, can't wait to see more thicc Ryza thighs.

The game's characters, story, and combat were fine and enjoyable for the time I've put in it so far. However, I am experiencing infinite loading screens at random whenever changing to a different area. I searched online and it seems to happen some other players as well.

I cannot figure out why. I've tried a clean reinstall. I've tried verifying the integrity of game files. I've tried fullscreen vs. borderless. There were other strange attempts at solutions I found like plugging in my controller instead of using it wirelessly. Nothing worked. My PC should be more than enough as it exceeds the recommended requirements. My configuration, and others online that I've found, are just broken for some unknown reason.

Don't let this review deter you from getting the game in terms of finding a comfy JRPG to play. Just hope that whatever is plaguing a very small % of users, which unfortunately includes me, means that the game is unplayable.

I've never had an issue like this before with any other JRPG I've played on Steam, so this is a first for me. It's a bit sad since I wanted to play and continue with the Atelier Ryza series but oh well.

Chill game, nice story. Smack trees for fruit, smack monsters for stuff, mix everything, make bomb.

mix stuff get stuff. fun

As I get older I tend to gravitate to the more "comfier" games as people put it.

The atelier series is a franchise I've tried to get into since my teenage days, and at the time I could not get into it for the life of me. I loved JRPGs but I found myself wanting to play other games instead at the time.

I spent the last 3 months playing through the entire Atelier franchise starting with Rorona, and having finished Ryza 3, I wanted to post this here and say that Ryza 1 is a great starting point for folks who are looking to get into the series. The whole Ryza trilogy is my second favorite save for dusk, and its the best starting point for folks who are looking to get into the series and want something with a modern feel to play.

The atelier series overall is not known for it's grandiose stories, but as the game's marketing puts it, its very much a slice of life RPG. You spent a lot of time watching cutscenes that dont really contribute to the overall story, but you get to know these characters and get to see them grow and evolve as people more in depth than your conventional JRPG, something I found refreshing.

Other than that, the game's crafting system is the main point of this game. You can craft everything from weapons/armor, usable weapons such as bombs, items for quests and the list goes on. The crafting system is REALLY addictive and I couldnt get enough of it across the whole franchise. IMO the crafting system in the Ryza trilogy is the best the series has to offer, and the easiest to understand (sorry mysterious trilogy fans).

Also, the soundtrack is just beautifully put together. Loved all of it.

If you're looking to get into the series, start here. It will take more than 2 hours to really get the game going so if you're on the fence get it on sale. As someone who in my early days could not stand the series, it has become my new favorite so even if you played it before in the past, its worth a shot trying again.

This is the first time i experience such a laid back jrpg. This game is fun and I like Lila's Gyatness thicc and Ryza's Thighs!!!!!

Final Verdict: 75/100

Player Opinion Steam Review

This is my first Atelier game. Ended up being a really comfy and fun game, I was pretty engaged with the crafting and rebuild system. Helps that there isn't a time limit mechanic (I heard all other Atelier games had that) so I can just craft at my leisure.

- Characters and story are fine, can't think of anything bad about them since the story is relatively low-stakes most of the time. Except Tao maybe...
- I actually like the game's soundtrack a lot.
- Battles are ehh... OK? I played on Normal and I'm not sure if it's supposed to be an easy or a hard game. I didn't really get to feel out the ATB-ish combat system because you can really dominate a fight with some high level items you crafted. Was one-hitting miniboss enemies by the time I got to the final dungeon...
- It kinda sucks that some materials can only be obtained thru enemy drops, and there's only 1 of said enemy in an area so you have to enter and exit to make them respawn. And that's if the materials actually DROP in the first place due to RNGs.

It's a 7/10 game, get it on a sale if you're like me and want to try out the series!

Ryza thighs FTW!!!!!!!!

But in all seriousness, as my first entry into the Atelier series, this was certainly an enjoyable and comfy game.

The story is a bit on the average side, but it gets slightly better as you progress through it. It's not the most groundbreaking story ever but the characters are likable and everyone has their own moments to shine. The side quests also adds to the charm of this game, it makes the world feel lived in and it's a nice change of pace whenever you want to take a break from progressing through the main story.

The main thing that kept me coming back was definitely the Alchemy/Synthesis system. I've always been a fan of games that allow you to craft items and have those items be used as materials for other items. There is quite an addicting gameplay loop to be found in trying to synthesize the best weapon/armour/accessories.

My main gripes about the game is the lack of explanation for most of the core systems in the game. Things such as how to activate Extra Skills, the optimal way to synthesis items (by morphing it from the lowest possible recipe for more levels for item rebuild), how Travel Bottles work and most importantly, direction on crafting essential gathering tools for traversing the map. While I'm not too bothered by it (seeing that I even 100% it), having to search for it on external sites is still a bummer. This isn't an issue for people who are willing to take the extra time to synthesize each and every recipe.

In terms of combat, this is my first time seeing this type of real-time-tactics-turn-based system. I wasn't a big fan of it at the start, since between the Tactics Level, Order Skills, Core items and magic skills, it can get quite overwhelming. However, it started to grow on me as the game went on, though I wouldn't go as far as to consider it one of my favourite battle systems, but it is certainly unique.

Give this game a try if you like gathering, battling and crafting items.

gem baguss

Love this game! I returned to Steam just so that I can play this game on a SteamDeck. Drop the quality to low and be ready to lose hours of your life!

Really fun, would recommend.

Cozy and fun to play. Nice for before bed play sessions.

Music (Does it fit the setting? Did I notice it? Did I enjoy it? Would I listen to it outside the context of the game?)
6/10 - Not bad but unremarkable overall baring a few exceptions

Sound design (Guns go bang, bombs go boom, enemies go bleurgh, and I go yay!)
8/10 - Does what it is supposed to do, but in terms of ambiance especially, feels slightly barebones

Art Direction (Do the visuals match the theme? Does it read well? Is it enjoyable to look at?)
7/10 - lacks artistic statements, but still very decent

Graphics (Quality of game's geometry, textures, shaders and such)
7/10 - A little simple at places, shader could use a touch of bloom here and there.

Scenario (The plot, is it understandable? Does it surprise? Does it feel like it has a point?)
7/10 - Clear and to the point, original enough, but not revolutionnary though.

World Building (How well the world is crafted and how it is delivered)
6/10 - Only what is pertinent to the main scenario is explained, the rest of the world is entirely blank, I'm not even sure they named the capital of the country, they just say "the capital", hard to feel immersed in a world when the devs didn't take the time to make us feel that it's there just beyond the limits of the game's map

Characters (Their writing, acting and visual appeal)
6/10 - Good friends though their personalities can all be reduced to a single sentence. Unbearable NPCs (plot relevant, but still) and a lack of charismatic antagonist. There is some decent character progression though.

Gameplay (Mechanics and balance)
9/10 - Very solid and enjoyable, would need some QoL here and there, and way more clarity in some areas of the alchemical process but I suppose those have probably been fixed in the sequels.

Overall experience / Immersion / Player integration (How immesed I felt)
7/10 - Not bad, Not very immersive in a lot of ways though sadly. The side quests tend to drag on and everythings a little too rigid, also why do we even have a jump button if everything is going to be blocked off by invisible walls, what's even the point?

Technical quality (Bugs, Optimization, fluidity of controls and ergonomy of menus)
8/10 - No problem for the first two so I'll give it a gentle 8, but the controls are the opposite of fluid and menu ergonomy really isn't that great

Total
71/100 - A good enjoyable game, though there's a bit of work left before I would call it a masterpiece.

The combat is the worst of turn based combined with the worst of real time combat. The character are cute and the desing is great.
And maybe it´s my problem for using a gaming laptop, but on my pc I played Cyberpunk 2077 totally stable, but I needed to play this game windowed on the lowest quality to even be playable...idk

thicc thighs

I wasn't expecting to fall in love with Atelier Ryza.
It's the first game that I got 100% achievements (it's not like that was super easy compared to other games I really like, not at all.... xD)
Now I NEED Atelier Ryza 2

I DON'T THINK I'M HAVING FUN

Quick and Simple

Breakdown

The game is very boring, voice acting is terrible (all japanes not English, guys with female voices, Old females with little girl voices), music is terrible (The music is relentless, never ending loop that is taking away your full attention when you try to read the English subtitles), there is not even a tutorial to explain anything (I am using a controler, I was not told you can run, I was not told you can jump, I was not told where to go, there are water that if you try to dive into you get blocked by an invisible wall, so you have to walk arround all over the place trying to find a path that does not put a text on screen "cannot enter area").
Can't enjoy this terrible game.
I will refund this trash.

Well, to be perfectly honest in my humble opinion without being sentimental, of course without offending anyone who thinks differently from my point of view, but also by looking into this matter in distinct perspective and without condemning anyone's view and by trying to make it objectified and by considering each and everyone's valid opinion I honestly believe that I vividly don't have anything to say. Thank you.

its fun

太もも最高

Atelier Ryza is encouraging; It's polite, it's vibrant and colorful, and... a little jiggly.

Kurken Island (and the land nearby) has been a fun place to escape to for a few hours a day.

The music is outstanding; it's catchy, but the heartfelt tone almost renders it incapable of wearing out its welcome. The combat themes in every atelier game are fantastic, and this is no exception.

The combat itself takes some getting used to, and even once you understand what's happening, it's still a race to the correct button inputs. I'm still not sure I like the change from turn-based to real-time, but automating two of the three characters you control definitely speeds up normal encounters. It's a unique twist on their old formula, and a lot of the big flashy moves require set-up and timing. Very gratifying when you manage to pull them off.

The slow and relaxed tone of the game (outside of combat, of course) puts the character writing in the spotlight. The islanders are a diverse and quirky cast, and the dialogue spares no effort. I enjoyed each of the protagonists in their own way, and it was fun to see how they grew as the story played out.

There, I went out of my way to avoid using the word "wholesome", so I could drop it in at the end; there's no better broad summary.

fun

greatest game known to man

it was alright but prince of persia is a better game. 2/10

You're here for thick thighs and a chill ride. Not a super remarkable story, it's as simple as an adventure with a bunch of teens.
Great music, and I appreciate the option to set music for any environment you can walk in as you unlock new biomes and hear new music. This works especially well for the atelier, since you'll be spending prolly half your time there fiddling with ingredients (if you want to).
Alchemy system is addicting, and once you get how it works, you will destroy everything even on the highest difficulty. Fiddling with ingredients to get the most OP items is very fun. Slapping endgame ingredients that fills out every node in the tree just triggers my dopamine response every time. As good as it is, it is entirely optional as this game has no restrictions on difficulty. You can change it any time with no effect to achievements.
Characters are pretty basic, but they're teenagers figuring out their place in the world. It's a good starting point for the sequels.
The environment looks good for the most part, especially more unique biomes that aren't ruins. It's a shame that the interactivity with the world is pretty low, limited to gathering and using traversal items you craft later on at determined points. This is massively overhauled in the sequel, and I think it's worth playing this just to appreciate the upgrades the devs made alone.
The combat is simple. It can be a bit overwhelming at the beginning, but once you find a comfortable combo and rhythm, it's just like any other turn based RPG. Enemy variety is fairly low, and they don't have a lot of strategic interactions. Bosses can be entirely trivialized with good item management. It fits the goal of this game to be a chill, relaxed experience.

20 hr in main story questline , not too grinding if not aim for 100%achievement

the achievement itself suck yourtime as much as story mode (15-25 hrs) (all 84 sides quest & requirement to grind for quality of item )

suit for who want to spend time working on perfect crafting the item because this game others environment of JRPG is not good as other famous JRPG

40 hour JRPG tricks you into playing 30 hour menu simulator

and I love those menus

Ii had no thoughts going into this game but ended up being so happy that I downloaded it on a whim. I found the time-based fighting system to be really well done and enjoyable, especially as it's not as common in RPGs as turn-based. And while the synthesizing process occasionally felt a bit grindy, it honestly kept me interested and engaged with all the different items and skills you could make with it.

Once I beat the main story, I was excited to see that there are two more games in the series, so I can't wait to start those!

Good game, runs great on deck, does reset graphics settings on restart though.

I like very much how the combat evolved, and I also like the alchemy part.
I will surely want to continue with Ryza 2 because I saw how wonderful the story evolves.
Didn't want to see more because I didn't want to get a lot of spoilers, I prefer to be pleasantly surprised. After playing Ryza for so long, I can't wait to see the best Ryza game, Ryza 2. :)

I wish there was a mixed thumb for these reviews because I think that would probably sum up my experience with Ryza a little better. I am a JRPG and RPG fan in general, this was my first Atelier game and I felt that after a little bit of research I'd know what to expect, some crafting, some battling, some story and repeat. I don't think though I quite realised how MUCH crafting there is. I say this to try and help people like me who think they understand an Atelier game but have never played one.

Crafting is really detailed and extensive, building items though a long process where you fill nodes with items. Each item has different qualities, some have different effects (e.g Attack + etc), some debuff enemies and the list goes on. This is really great, I like the idea of creating some stupid powerful weapons and items. What I didn't enjoy though is the gathering. As you go around the world various things, be they rocks, flowers or trees, sparkle to show there is an item you can gather from there. You then use different gathering tools you've created to collect, for example your staff on a bush may get leaves, while using a bug net would capture bugs. Items and their location are tracked through your notebook. However, extremely vaguely. For instance " Oh you want that red bug you found 18 hours ago, well it lives in this field with a million bushes but only in one of them, good luck" or "Oh you want this item an enemy dropped, well they live in 5 different places, but only one of them drops it with a drop rate of 1% but we won't tell you that until your eyes bleed from harvesting the same thing for hours".

Numerous times, especially late game, I'd be aiming at crafting the best quality weapon or armour I could, only to be short a few items. But, to create those items it meant another 25 mins hitting a weasel until it coughed up the sparkly thing I wanted with it's dying breath. To be honest, I just stopped crafting end game stuff eventually, ground down by the back and forth between fields and the atelier to synthesise.

But this was a negative for ME, it could not be one for you. I can see a world where if I was a little more relaxed and patient, it would be really relaxing taking my time gathering, enjoying the world and music. It's a shame I just couldn't vibe with that part, because I really like everything else. The characters are great, I love how it looks and I really enjoyed the chilled out story (though the focus is always crafting above story).

If you can get along with gathering the I would recommend the game. As I got toward the final credits, I'll be honest, the bittersweet ending did make me realise I'm going to miss these characters and world, even if at times I felt like story and character took a backseat to me hitting a rock.

I love this series. Gameplay is fun and addicting, story is really nice for what it is, OST is amazing, characters are super likeable and the voice actors give them so much personality. The crafting system, I can literally sit there for hours just doing it. It's that engaging. Absolutely love these games. Love them so much I have 100% all 3 of them on console and i'm re 100%ing them on PC.