Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key Review

thesixthaxis.com:

Another Atelier trilogy is coming to an end this year, and this is easily the most meaningful finale the series has ever seen. Where most Atelier games have slotted into thematic trilogies with differing protagonists, we’ve seen Reisalin “Ryza” Stout grow up through multiple games, breaking out of the monotony of childhood while discovering alchemy, then uncovering mysteries as an experienced alchemist. Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key brings Ryza and her friends back for one last summer, and just as they’ve grown and matured, the game itself has come to be even more polished and refined than previous entries.

Atelier games are typically easy to jump into blind since almost every one is a standalone experience, but Atelier Ryza 3 relies on your connection to the characters and their experiences. A brief recap movie of the first two games might help jog your memory if you’re a returning player, but new players will likely struggle to engage with a story that’s so tightly structured around the ideas of reflection, growth, and change for our protagonists. The sudden appearance of artificial islands, strange self-materializing keys, and a mysterious voice in Ryza’s head lead to her gathering her companions from the last few years together to investigate these mysteries, and along the way they come to reflect on how far they’ve come and where they might go next.

Atelier Ryza 3 is kind of like Fast & Furious 9 – stay with me on this one. As the game progresses, seeing almost every key character return into action a little older and a little wiser hits hard, and the long-simmering growth and development for Ryza as a protagonist across multiple entries helps create one of the most emotionally impactful