« With so many JRPGs remaining stagnant or trying to appeal to the masses, Atelier Ryza stands tall amongst its peers as a truly amazing experience. Whether you're a fan of the series or just a JRPG enthusiast, you need to play this masterpiece. »

« Atelier Ryza knows that it’s the start of a new franchise, and it ends with the promise of more to come. It’s dangerous to assume that the developers can keep up this level of quality, but after getting through the story and a robust assortment of side quests, I’m as excited about as I was after completing Atelier Sophie. Ryza isn’t the best in the series, but it certainly has the potential to be the jumping-off point for the best trilogy yet. »

« Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & The Secret Hideout is a surprisingly nuanced, enjoyable RPG with a bevy of content. »

« The eternal darkness of recent episodes now seems destined to give way to a radiant and exciting future. »

« It has a wonderful crafting system. »

« Quotation forthcoming. »

« With Atelier Ryza, Gust took some risks, and it definitely paid off: this is, in our opinion, the best entry of the franchise so far, thanks to a quicker battle system and improved alchemy one. Don't miss it if you fancy the series. »

« Quotation forthcoming. »

« Pretty mid game, you will like if you love to scroll huge lists of items, without an useful filter or sorting tool. Also, story is boring, RPG aspects are non-existent and animations are weird, no customization of the characters, but d4mn, you can customize the roof of the atelier, meanwhile the skins are behind paywall, and they aren't even good. Map exploration and resource gathering is a dire task.. The good thing is the crafting and this it.. and people complaining about the "sexualization" are losers.. Ryza is kinda left behind by her friends at the end of the story. LMAO. »

« First of all, I'm not a pervert. It's not that I have any sexual fantasies about Ryza, since I'm not a pervert. But I should say otherwise, Ryza's thighs are really attractive to me. I am not a pervert, but speaking based on the fact, she is sexy. I'm not saying I like Ryza, but her thighs are pretty attractive, but I'm not a pervert. Lastly, after making it clear that I'm not a pervert, I have to admit that there's a part of me that wants Ryza to choke me to death with her thighs. Thigh lovers, does it really matter what the rating is? »

« Made me feel nice and calm. After a stressful day it's a nice way to unwind. Really cool combat system and alchemy system. Plus, the characters are very likable, even the least likable ones turn out to be interesting as well. »

« My first Atelier game and it was a surprising delight. The alchemy system did feel daunting but the game helps you to build up from basic recipes as the game progresses, but when you get towards the endgame the process of trying to create the endgame gear does become tedious as you are effectively doing the same recipe paths but with a higher quality ingredient, but you do this like 5+ times over. The turn-based combat isn't any different from other games of its time but it is different for an Atelier game (or so I've heard). While Ryza isn't revolutionary in this department it doesn't break a tried and tested battle system which is inherently fun. The story is slow but picks up eventually and the characters are solid. It is a laid-back game that serves as a great introduction into the Atelier series. »

« Most engaging Atelier game in the series. Definitely recommend it as a fluff and relaxing jrpg »

« If you plan to play Ryza games, be sure to start with this one. Both good games but the story is better in the first game imo. »

« Nothing to dislike about this game. Amazing for the genre. It was a pleasure going through it and immediately after bought the second because I didn't want it to end. »

« This is my first Atelier game and quite possibly my last. I've observed the series from a distance over the years but have always been deterred by the sexualisation and tedious crafting. Unfortunately my assumptions still hold true. Atelier Ryza has the stereotypical JRPG and Anime-style graphics. Whilst colourful and charming, at a cursory glance this game looks not so different from a 'Tales of..' game or ample other JRPGs. Having characters of ludicrous physical dimensions is commonplace in videogames, however the hyper-sexualisation of Atelier is uncomfortable here, especially as it's implied she's a young girl and therefore likely underage. Anyway, perhaps the game improves as it progresses, but the time I spent playing it I found mostly vacant villages, with some green forests and sandy beaches, so it's not exactly living up to its potential in the graphics department. The gameplay of Atelier is where things seem to get divisive. Long-term fans of the series seem to love the crafting/alchemy system, while I found the process of gathering ingredients tedious and time consuming. The alchemy system itself was puzzling to me and I struggled to make sense of it. We are given tutorials but they come too thick and fast early into the game. Fortunately there is basically a one-click button to do the alchemy automatically, but I could never be sure I was getting the best quality of items. I like the idea of the alchemy system, but in Atelier it seems to add an unnecessary layer of gameplay, forcing you to gather and craft to get items whereas in typical RPGs you simply collect them from shops or defeated enemies, the latter of which is much more enjoyable. Then we have the battle system itself. Modern RPGS seem to have this strange aversion to turn-based combat and I can't understand why, because this hybrid of real-time/turn-based combat in games like Atelier and FF7 Remake are not a pleasant compromise - they are the worst of both worlds. I have always seen RPGs as about strategy, not time-pressured button inputs, which is what Atelier's combat essentially is. However my biggest gripe with this game are the mechanics to progress the story - missions. These are mindlessly banal and maddeningly inane. Ranging from fetch quests to messenger missions, these come across as padding rather than immersive gameplay. I wouldn't have a problem if these were entirely optional, but I was constantly met with "collect x to continue" style of barriers in the game, so I didn't want to persevere in a game that was boring me to sleep. The story of Atelier shows some promise albeit fairly cliche and stereotypical. It falls on the trope of Atelier being filled with potential and passion but bound in the reality of living on her parents' farm. If you strip away Atelier's sexualisation she becomes a rather unlikeable character, whining a lot and being egocentric in general as she only wants to do things that benefit her directly. For example, rather than running away or whining when asked to help on the farm, it could have been implemented as a tutorial to harvest ingredients. For a JRPG it really is quite unimaginative. Overall, Atlelier may appeal to a specific fanbase, but I found it to be a mundane and cliched experience with tiresome barriers to progress and an alchemy system that bewildered me. There are many better JRPGs out there to get our teeth stuck into. »