Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream (PlayStation 4)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): February 24, 2022
- Release Date (EU): February 24, 2022
- Release Date (JP): February 24, 2022
- Publisher: Koei Tecmo
- Developer: Gust
- Genres: Adventure RPG
- Also For: Computer, Nintendo Switch
Game Features:
I’ll go right out and say it, when I first had the opportunity many years ago to review and play an Atelier game, I was extremely hesitant. Cut to today and I absolutely jumped at the opportunity to not only review an entry in this series for the SEVENTH time, but to review one that once again stars Sophie, the protagonist that started my personal journey into this series.
The Atelier series, developed by Gust, is one of the most niche JRPG series out there, but despite that it hasn’t stopped the series from already accumulating over 20 main games, several spinoffs, and countless ports. Atelier Sophie 2 is the latest entry that comes in celebration of the Atelier series’ 25th anniversary. Shocking that Gust went with Sophie to celebrate the anniversary as opposed to Ryza who she often competes with as “best girl” in the hearts and minds of many who enjoy this series. (I’m #TeamSophie myself).
Whether you’re a veteran of the series or jumping into it for the first time, you will be able to enjoy this entry. For newcomers, the game includes an optional 5 minute video on the title screen that summarizes the key events of the first Atelier Sophie game so you can jump right into this entry from the get-go. I should note that this game chronologically takes place between Atelier Sophie and Atelier Firis in the time where Sophie (the protagonist) and Plachta (her teacher and deuteragonist) are on a quest to get Plachta out of a doll’s body and into a real human one.
This title starts off with Sophie and Plachta on their adventure before both being dragged into the world of dreams through a mysterious portal. This dream world was created by the goddess Elvira, who has the power to see people’s dreams as well as the (rather selfish) power to drag them into her world. Sophie wakes up separated from her friend but soon meets others in the dream world who help her embark on her quest to find Plachta.
Things just get even funkier from there, as time does not pass in the world of dreams which allows Sophie and the gang to run into people from the present, past, and future—giving rise to different timelines coming together.
Atmospherically, this game is as charming and comforting as any other Atelier game and getting to know the characters and experience the setting is an integral part of the journey. The journey to farm materials and fight monsters that is!
The actual mechanics of collection materials strays from the method in the first Sophie game and instead borrows ideas from Atelier Ryza. You’ll have the opportunity to create different tools to get materials that you couldn’t get otherwise. Some tools even come with their own minigames!
The alchemy system, the heart of the game, is rather similar to that of the previous title. Throughout the game you’ll have the chance to unlock recipes, each requiring the raw materials that you gather from the overworld. Once you have everything you need to create the recipe, you move to the alchemy minigame where you place the materials in a certain fashion on a grid which determines the quantity and quality of the materials, as well as what buffs are applied to the materials. Like all Atelier games, you’ll have to actually experience the alchemy system for it to make any sense.
Something that I really enjoyed about this title is the return to the classic turn based combat system that we strayed from in Atelier Ryza. The turn-based combat shows the order that each character attacks and you’re not having to figure everything out on the spot. While it’s a pretty simple combat system, there are plenty of options to give it depth—maybe not as many as in other turn-based titles—but this isn’t the title to stress the player out.
As has been a trend since Atelier Lydie and Suelle, all the voices are in Japanese with English subtitles. I do have a strange soft spot for the English dub in some of the earlier installments so I was hoping (obviously in vein) that there would be an option dub in this title as well. That said, the Japanese voices fit the characters well and it won’t take much—if any—adjustment to their voices, even if you play this title right after the first Sophie game.
In short, I greatly appreciated Atelier Sophie 2. Like prior titles, Sophie 2 is a fun slice-of-life game where the stakes aren’t astronomically high, but the story is fun and the characters are lovable. It was great seeing Sophie and Plachta on yet another adventure, one that I would recommend to newcomers to the series and veterans alike.
Verdict
- Back to the turn-based combat system
- Great side stories
- Best animations that the series has ever had to offer
- Alchemy system is easy to learn but complex enough to stay interesting
- In game tasks often become repetitive
- Graphics, although improved, sometimes feel washed out
- No English dub
- No PS5 version available
