Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key is a cozy follow-up for this JRPG franchise — Hands-on impressions

gamepur.com:

The Atelier Ryza series may have started as an alternative franchise from the mainline Atelier games, but the upcoming new entry Atelier Ryza 3, fleshes out the series’ lore and fully establishes the world as if it had always been designed to stand on its own. I was given a chance to go hands-on with the game’s opening hour and was very pleased with what I saw.

Related: Atelier Ryza 3 delayed by a month for an extra round of polishing

The chunk of the game that I got hands-on time with covers the very start of the story and leads up to the beginning of the primary questline, covering the basics of the gameplay that are really solid such as crafting, exploration, resource gathering, and a slow sense of progression that keeps the momentum going just enough to maintain your interest, but never moves so fast that you can’t take in the small details. I also adored the cozy starting islands where the main character lives, which are utterly gorgeous and remind me of warm summer days on a Greek island, somewhere you can’t help but enjoy yourself and never want to leave.

Unlike other titles in the Atelier Ryza series, Atelier Ryza 3 kicks things off with a battle and gets you right into the core of what most JRPGs live or die on. Combat is simple yet effective, with a turn-based system that utilizes skills and additional attacks based on your timing and skill rather than auto-battling mechanics. This new method of combat took me a while to get to grips with, but once I did, I could see that this is going to be a game I could easily sink 100 hours into.

As you’d expect, Atelier Ryza 3 slowed down a bit after this initial confrontation. The core gameplay revolves around gathering resources, protecting yourself