Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Journey for PC, PS4 and PSV is the eighteenth installment of the series created and developed invariably by the Japanese Gust. The production is a completely new chapter for the franchise and sets new standards — the developers introduced numerous changes in the gameplay mechanics and give players the biggest game world in history of the series.

Plot

In Atelier Firis: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Journey, the player assumes the role of the eponymous Firis Mistlud. The girl grew up in a closed underground mining town without access to the outside world. One day, an opportunity to leave the motherland and embark on a journey into the unknown arises and the protagonist immediately seizes it. In order to be adequately prepared, she learns secrets of alchemy that will help her in experiencing the new environment. The surface world is a place where the heroine has to face previously unknown challenges. Luckily, her experience as a mining worker that let her come out in one piece from various troubles proves helpful.

The story is told both with conversations with NPCs as well as film cutscenes. It changes in the course of the game depending on the player choices. Apart the main storyline, there is a number of side quests to perform which are given to us by encountered non-player characters. It is also noteworthy that NPCs’ behavior is influenced by the day-and-night cycle.

Mechanics

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Journey is a new opening for the series. Compared to its predecessors, Gust introduced many enhancements and changes. The first one is the biggest game world in history of the series. It is divided into extensive locations such as a port town or frosty mountains. What’s interesting, the protagonist wears clothes that are adequate to the place she is in — the clothing matches the atmospheric conditions, for example. The choices made by the player can also put the plot on a different course. For example, if we see a ruined bridge, we can look for an alternate path to cross the river or repair it using the materials gathered in our travel and the alchemical skills of the heroine.

Moreover, there are places where the protagonist can light the campfire. This is where she conducts alchemical synthesis that is key to obtain new items. The gameplay mechanics known from the previous instalments of the series were enriched with a new element called Superdreadnought Synthesis. Thanks to it, we can craft giant items that normally wouldn’t fit into the protagonist’s containers. Crafting materials can be obtained from the game world itself. Elements of the environment, such as trees, rocks, and so on, are composed of materials that are necessary to create new items.

Combat is an important elements of Atelier Firis. Battling various monsters, we use varied pieces of equipment crafted by the heroine. Similarly to the previous games in the series, combat is turn-based, and in it, we not only use standard and special attacks but also bombs and poisons. What’s interesting, beats that we have to face can also be a source of some crafting materials.

Technical aspects

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Journey for PC, PS4 and PSV is powered by the engine of its predecessors. The production is characterized by incredibly colorful and pretty graphics that bring anime TV series to mind. The gameplay is set in a three-dimensional environment and we have direct control over camera placement. An original soundtrack was composed for the game.

Last updated on 13 March 2017