Support NeoGAF

[Bullet Club]

Developer: GUST

Publisher: KOEI TECMO GAMES

Platforms:

• PC (Feb 25, 2022)
• Nintendo Switch (Feb 25, 2022)
• PlayStation 4 (Feb 25, 2022)

Nintendo Life - Mitch Vogel - 8 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2 stands as a wonderful achievement for Gust and the Atelier series. What we have here is an entry that feels like the perfect fusion of the old and the new. Sophie's new adventure may not have much to offer up in the story department, but it more than makes up for this with its streamlined design, thrilling combat, expansive world, and addictive alchemy system. This is a title we'd recommend to both longtime fans and newcomers-it's one of the best Atelier releases yet. If you're at all curious about this one, we'd strongly encourage you to give it a shot.

Push Square - Jenny Jones - 8 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2 massively improves upon everything from the original game. It has a much more interesting story, plenty of heart-felt character interactions, and a ton of different side activities to keep you busy. Becoming a master alchemist and exploring this vibrant dream world is a fantastic way to celebrate 25 years of Atelier titles.

Digitally Downloaded - Matt Sainsbury - 5 / 5

Atelier remains the comfort food of video games, and Atelier Sophie 2 is one of the more comforting snacks. With so many dense and complex games releasing around one another at the moment, having something that is light, warm, and good-natured is a nice release. I don't know if launching immediately after Elden Ring and Horizon, and immediately before Triangle Strategy works in Sophie's favour, but if you can resist making those comparisons, what you'll see here is one of the most refined and beautiful entries in this long-running and utterly wonderful JRPG mainstay. The game deserves better than to be compared like-for-like with these other titles, as it no doubt will be.

---

Video Chums - A.J. Maciejewski - 9.2 / 10

Even as a huge fan of the series, I'm still in disbelief how incredible of a game Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is. It's so jam-packed with outstanding gameplay and irresistible charm that it has single-handedly become the new gold standard for JRPGs.

---

GaminGuardian - Pilar Díaz Martínez - Spanish - 9 / 10

This sequel has improve everything that the first one did bad. It have better narrative and a symbiosis between classic and news mechanics. It's one of the better games from this franchise.

---

God is a Geek - Lyle Carr - 9 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2 is a high point in a fantastic series. Gathering and alchemising materials has simply never been so compelling.

---

Hey Poor Player - Kenny McKee - 4.5 / 5

Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is, without a doubt, one of the best games that GUST has put out in over a decade, and it's once again renewed my faith in what the company has in store for the Atelier series as a whole.

---

NookGaming - Isaiah Parker - 9 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist & The Mysterious Dream is both a love letter to the series’ past and a bold step towards its future. I was thoroughly impressed by the game’s ability to merge gameplay found in Ryza with the gameplay of the older titles without ever feeling as if it needed to compromise either. Nearly every new element it introduced felt like a logical evolution of past ideas, to a point where I’m surprised that some of them had only been introduced now. Although it has a small number of cracks holding it back slightly, Atelier Sophie 2 was an absolute delight of a game, and easily my new favorite in the series.

---

RPG Fan - Des Miller - 90%

Atelier Sophie 2 is an incredibly high quality and wonderfully crafted follow-up to the original, and one of the best Atelier games to date.

---

TheSixthAxis - Miguel Moran - 9 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is an absolute gift. Sophie is just as charming and inspiring as ever, and even though the story tacks on more dimensional time-travel drama than I would've cared for, it's just as touching and cozy of an experience as the first Atelier Sophie. Gathering, crafting, and battling are all plenty of fun too, and flooded with enough layers of mechanics that it's easy to pick an area you want to focus on and purely master that one element of the game. By looking to the past, this surprise sequel has delivered a promising vision of the future of the Atelier series.

---

Gamer's Palace - Beatrice Vogt - German - 89 / 100

Atelier Sophie 2 is the best game of the series so far. There's a new, fresh combat system and a beautiful world and much more to explore. Also, the technical hiccups are very small this time.

---

Bazimag - Sina Golabzade - Persian - 8.5 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream keeps all the good parts of its predecessor while utilizing the some of the new ideas from the entries that have been released between the two adventures of Sophie while also tinkering with some of the old systems to make them more enjoyable. The story, which unlike most JRPGs thankfully doesn’t go the epic and blockbuster route, is told in a way that you feel compelled to unlock its mysteries.

---

cublikefoot - Chase Ferrin - 8.5 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2 is the best in the series yet, combining the elements that made the first Sophie fun with the recent advancements in Ryza to deliver a familiar, yet modernized Atelier experience.

---

33bits - Rubén Rionegro - Spanish - 80 / 100

Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream offers us a new installment of the veteran franchise full of magic and a unique visual style. Although it is true that it does not contribute much within its own universe, its game rhythm respects the novice player through simple tutorials and explanations. It will not disappoint us whether we are regular fans or not.

---

GameSkinny - George Yang - 8 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2: Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is an improvement on all aspects of its predecessor.

---

GameSpew - Kim Snaith - 8 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is yet another enjoyable game from Gust and Koei Tecmo. Even if you don’t get fully invested in the story, the adventuring alone is enough to keep you playing. A great alchemy system accompanies a fun battle system, all set in a world that’s a joy to explore – with a cast of characters that you’ll undoubtedly enjoy spending time with. If you’ve enjoyed Atelier games in the past, then you’ll love this one too.

---

Hobby Consolas - Alberto Lloret - Spanish - 80 / 100

Atelier Sophie 2 is a very entertaining title, with an audiovisual section superior to what we have seen in the series and that, together with the playable novelties and its entertaining story, place this delivery among the best of the gust role-playing saga. That is no small thing for a 25th anniversary, although it arrives untranslated and some tasks are repetitive.

---

IGN Italy - Majkol Robuschi - Italian - 8 / 10

Gust and Koei Tecmo return to the Mysterious universe of Atelier, featuring Sophie and Plachta in a new adventure. This additional chapter revisits the old trilogy's mechanics in a new light, fixing the past issues and introducing some new interesting ideas to an already working formula. Presentation is stronger than ever and the new cast, albeit the stereotypical writing, grants some well-paced and relaxing Atelier experience without compromises of sort. This is what the Mysterious trilogy should have been and Gust knows it for sure.

---

NintendoWorldReport - Alex Orona - 8 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2 does not reinvent the wheel nor blow me away as far as RPGs go, but it did lull me into a peaceful, coma-like state of gratification. This game severely lacks intensity or high stakes and I think that's kind of the point. It's a warm bowl of soup when the weather outside is frightful.

---

Gamepur - Junior Miyai - 7.5 / 10

Much like the alchemy process itself, Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of Dreams is flawed, but with time you can find a lot to love about the game.

---

Spaziogames - Francesco Corica - Italian - 7.5 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2 is a game created with longtime fans of the series in mind, but it hasn't forgotten the lessons of the latest chapters and still shows the will to innovate its gameplay.

---

The Games Machine - Marco Bortoluzzi - Italian - 7.1 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2 follows in the same vein of its predecessors, refining the general formula while mantaining it pretty much intact. It's still a good comfort game, but it could use some work when it comes to combat and story.

---

PlayStation Universe - Timothy Nunes - 7 / 10

Atelier Sophie 2 does a lot of things well, keeping pace moving forward at a relatively good pace. At the same time, it leaves plenty of opportunities to grow as there are some franchise issues that remain in place.

---

Chicas Gamers - Raúl Pinto - Spanish - Unscored

Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemyst of the Mysterious Dream is a turn-based RPG where alchemy plays a main role. After the adventures of the previous Mysterious, we are heading for a new journey filled with adventures and with the objetive to find our old friend Platcha, while we discover a really beautiful and very well designed world. We will have to face all kinds of enemies with the new mechanic of twin actions, which will make combat too easy. Finally, our tour will be full of beautiful musical pieces will brighten our mood.

---

LadiesGamers.com - Yvonne van Geloven - Loved

There really is too much to tell about Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream. As always, new abilities and additions keep unfolding, even when you are many hours into the game. Like greenhouses to sow seeds tied into the weather conditions. I haven’t finished the main storyline yet, but I’m having a stellar time with Sophie and Plachta.
Enough mystery to make me want to push on, waiting for a happy reunion and exploring to my heart’s content. Meanwhile, I dive into lovely visuals and a stellar soundtrack. Once again it will be difficult to decide which my all-time favourite Atelier game is!

---

Rice Digital - Pete Davison - Unscored

Atelier Sophie 2, unsurprisingly for the newest installment at the time of writing, feels like one of the most refined, polished entries in the series to date. It gets underway quickly, it allows experienced players to get right into the meaty stuff without scaring new players away, its characters are likeable and interesting and its mechanics are solid. Plus it looks lovely, sounds great and is just generally satisfying to play. It’s a game that wants you to enjoy it — and it makes a point of placing minimal barriers in the way of that enjoyment, right from the moment you fire it up for the first time.

 

[SEGA_2012]

Thanks for posting, OP. Good scores.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Playing Atelier games in order from Rorona DX and I'm in Totori DX NG+, will be a while before I get to this one...

 

[Deerock71]

I like these, because they're straight-up turn-based RPGs. I like Ryza because THICC, but I prefer these as games.

 

[SF Kosmo]

I haven't played any of these games so nice first two on Dreamcast. Am I missing out?

 

[Kataploom]

Haven't played these... I think now I should

 

[Captain Toad]

So odd they went back to this one. I played the first, but not the other two in the series. Is this taking place after all those or directly after Atelier Sophie?

I don't remember anything from the story anyway. Something about a flying, talking book. Other than that, all these Atelier games plots have melded together in my mind.

 

[jshackles]

I never played the first one, the only games in the series I've played are Ryza 1 and 2 but I really liked those. I'm guessing that like Ryza 2, this is a direct sequel? I'm guessing I'll be lost if I haven't played the first?

 

[RuneFactoryFanboy]

I had never checked out the series before, but I'm playing through Ryza 1 right now and I've been addicted to it for a solid 70 hours so far. Consider me a new fan of the series.

I am concerned with many of those reviews saying this games "Strikes a perfect balance between old and new", which I hope doesn't mean more complicated crafting and time limits. Granted I have done zero research into Sophie 2 so I really have no idea.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Walter Matthau]

I never played the first one, the only games in the series I've played are Ryza 1 and 2 but I really liked those. I'm guessing that like Ryza 2, this is a direct sequel? I'm guessing I'll be lost if I haven't played the first?

"Those of you who didn’t play the first Atelier Sophie (which is available on Switch eShop in 'DX' form) need not worry about the story, as there’s a helpful recap you can watch if you want to get caught up on the broad strokes."

- https://www.nintendolife.com/review...ophie-2-the-alchemist-of-the-mysterious-dream

 

[Cao Cao]

I think Sophie 2 is weaker than 1 but better than the other games. I like to break the game early, already made 999 Seeds

 

[Deerock71]

Just want to compliment you on a nice thread. Will purchase physical. Thumbs up!

 

[JayK47]

I am really enjoying this so far. I can't remember the last time an Atelier game pulled me in this much. Interesting setting and characters. Combat is pretty good. And alchemy is addictive. A great addition to the series.

 

[Kadve]

Been wanting to get in to this series but there are so many i dont even know where to start.

 

[MadchesterManc]

Really enjoyed this. Plays well on the Switch and is pretty much Mysterious trilogy gameplay with a fresh lick of paint.

Been wanting to get in to this series but there are so many i dont even know where to start.

Modern Atelier games generally come in a trilogy. You could start with Arland (Rorona, Totori, Meruru) or Dusk (Ayesha, Escha & Logy, Shallow) or Mysterious trilogy (Sophie, Firis, Lydie & Suelle) There's also a town building spin-off called Nelke & the legendary alchemists which was surprisingly decent. You also got the more recent Ryza duo too. Plenty to play but so long as you keep within the same trilogy you should be fine if playing through them. There's also earlier games on PS2 but I'm not sure you wanna go back that far

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Been wanting to get in to this series but there are so many i dont even know where to start.

Adding to above, the other question to ask is "Are you fine with time limits?"

If the answer is no that will cut out Arland and Dusk trilogies. Personally I never found them to be restricting but some people have massive hangups about time limits period.

 

[JayK47]

Most of the newer games do not have time limits. I can't remember the last game that did. I think the town building game did, but that was an excellent spinoff. I think you could jump in at any time and if you enjoy it, you can grab more. This game has a quick refresher from the previous game. I do not think you are going to miss much in the story if you did not play other games. Each game is pretty good about having an isolated story and in many cases all new characters. Only now are they doing sequels with previous characters like Ryza and now Sophie.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Y0ssarian]

So odd they went back to this one. I played the first, but not the other two in the series. Is this taking place after all those or directly after Atelier Sophie?

I don't remember anything from the story anyway. Something about a flying, talking book. Other than that, all these Atelier games plots have melded together in my mind.

Directly after Sophie. There's a recap at the start of the game

Based thread

 

[Cao Cao]

I finished it recently, game was good but it was WAY too long. Finished it after 60 hours and it should have ended after 40 hours...
Thats why I have to rate it worse.

 

[Deerock71]

I'm playing this on my OLED Switch...and I really have to give it up to Gust! I'm used to their games having a shimmery look to them, but it almost feels like they found some type of GAO solution that they've implemented on this game. It's absolutely beautiful!

 

[Y0ssarian]

 

[Spirit Icana]

Here's the only good one

I don't agree with this being the only good one, but MAN, I missed out on this one! T_T

It looks like my cup of tea, too!

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[JayK47]

I finished it recently, game was good but it was WAY too long. Finished it after 60 hours and it should have ended after 40 hours...
Thats why I have to rate it worse.

It really is too damn long. I am still playing it and they overdid it. I was having fun with it early on, but they really made it too grindy. Unlocking alchemy is very tedious. At some point the developers switched from making tight 30 hour games to making 60+ hour games that feel bloated and padded. it is made worse in this game since the levels are puzzles with the different weather effects and not as fun to explore. Even the combat can be drawn out with the shields. Bosses with shield that keep regenerating draw out the battles. It seems like a lot of the additions to this game are meant to take up more of your time.

 

[JayK47]

Finally finished it. I was enjoying it at one point and it has one of the better alchemy mechanics. So in the end, I was having more fun doing alchemy than anything else. Overall, it was too long and grindy. I appreciate the difficulty, as previous games have been too easy. The final several battles were brutal and I had to improve my gear to proceed. But that meant chasing around the whole game looking for ingredients or enemies to trigger recipes. I still didn't get all recipes and I have a feeling some are locked behind New Game +. The story was interesting, with the whole world being a fabrication and the characters were all pulled from different times. So I recognized some characters from past games and there were 2 Plachtas, etc.

 

[ANDS]

Any reason to play the first one? Or is story so slight that you're only playing these for the gameplay (like Dungeon Crawlers where story is tacked on more often than not).

 

[JayK47]

They reference it a lot since the main character is the same and you spend the first half of the game tracking down a character from the first game. They do a recap, so you should be fine skipping it.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.