Which Atelier game should I start with?

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u/kindokkang 1d ago

I'm just gonna shill for Dusk subseries even though it's not what you're interested in. Just as a warning, most Atelier games aren't going to have a strong story. Atelier is focused on slice of life with characters having fun and doing things together. I would say you will always walk out of an Atelier game with a favorite character. Ryza has the most concrete story, with each entry expanding on the last, but even then I found it pretty lackluster and the story was carried by the cast and their bond with each other.

The setting of the Dusk series is a dying world, but it's not grimdark. It's surprisingly beautiful and charming in a way I can't describe. The cast has to rely on being communal to make the most of what they have, and that really made everyone stand out. It's kind of hard not to fall for the characters since they're all so eccentric despite the circumstances, you wouldn't even know that the world was dying if the game didn't tell you that at the beginning. I loved how everyone was able to enjoy their lives despite the circumstances.

The combat in each game varies a little from the last, but it's standard turn base stuff. The fun of Atelier in general is crafting busted items to blow up the enemies. If you like Ayesha's combat you'll probably like the rest combat of the rest of the games.

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u/A_Monster_Named_John 1d ago edited 20h ago

Seconding this recommendation. I haven't played the other two Dusk entries, but Ayesha was the first Atelier game I tried, and it just completely hooked me. I'd agree that the game's sepia-toned vibe did a lot to carry me along. Along with the great art style, the game's got one of the most well-put-together OSTs I've heard in years.

As a fan of more-traditional JRPGs like the older FF games, Suikoden, Skies of Arcadia, etc... one thing that definitely improved my experience was turning off the character voices. This helped me keep the game's more shrug- (or cringe-) worthy elements at bay. The general story was fine but, for me, the game's greatest strengths are (a.) how well it paces out the main character's growing understanding of alchemy (without holding your hand all that much) and (b.) its impressive level of open-endedness for exploring/progressing, learning about side character's back stories, etc... More than a lot of JRPGs I've played, this allowed the player to actually role-play instead of locking them onto a linear path.

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u/8_Pixels 1d ago

I'm gonna be the odd one out here and not recommend you start with the older games. Like any series that runs for many years the older games are missing a lot of quality of life stuff and I personally find it easier to engage with older content when I already have a fondness for the series. I know some people find it hard to go back after getting used to the newer QoL stuff which is 100% fair but I find it easier to overlook any issues like that when I'm already invested in the series.

So with that said the Ryza trilogy would be my recommendation to start with. If Yumia is anything to go by it seems like they want to stick with the combat systems introduced in Ryza so it's a good entry point into the "modern" Atelier games (older ones have more traditional turn based combat which I do actually prefer honestly). Really though they're all great and you can't go wrong no matter which you pick

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u/scytheavatar 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yumia does not seem to be well received and I am not sure they will stick to its direction especially if the new Resleriana game does better than they expect.

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u/eruciform 1d ago

Yumia is not a good representative of the series. They broke the long running pattern of chain crafting that suffuses every game in modern times. Pick any first of a series arc on modern platforms other than the Marie remake because that is based on a game so old that it predates what has been the main pattern for decades. Rorona, Ayesha, Sophie1, or Ryza1.

I have some community links to pros and cons articles for specifics amongst those: https://eruciform.com/games/atelier/

Tl;dr: Rorona for global time limit but structured, simple crafting, turn based; Ayesha for unstructured global time limit, complex crafting, turn based; Sophie1 for no time limit, most complex puzzle like crafting, turn based; Ryza1 for no time limit, somewhat complex but more streamlined crafting, and ATB combat

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u/FunAffectionate8583 1d ago

I have started the series last year and I decided to start at Ryza, then ryza 2 and 3, then Yumia and reslerania. If I truly need more I would like to try Sophie 2 but I think it is already a lot to do, especially when you see my backlog.

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u/vieoree 1d ago

Honestly if you like one Atelier you'll pretty much like them all. My advice is to play the earliest released of whatever series you can and just work your way up the release timeline.

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u/Stokesyyyy 1d ago

You can start wherever you like to be honest, none of the games are linked story wise except for sequel games like ryza

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u/VashxShanks 1d ago

Every sub-series is linked story wise, just like Ryza is. Every game has a different main character, but it is the same world, and you'll often meet the main characters of the previous game in the game that comes after it in the sub-series.

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u/Stokesyyyy 1d ago

what I mean is the story isn't a continuation. It's not like you need to play the games in chronological order of release doesn't really matter

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u/VashxShanks 1d ago

I am not following, if they the story isn't a continuation, then why did you say "except for sequel games like ryza".

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u/Stokesyyyy 1d ago

You really don't get it? Nevermind.

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u/Megidolan 1d ago

I started with Atelier Rorona on PS3 and I love it but I honestly would not suggest you to begin with it as it has some mechanics more in tune with its older siblings and can be quite frustrating for some, especially with you don't like the stress of time limits or min maxing items and equipments.

So I would recommend you to start with one of the trilogy starters (more on that later): Atelier Ayesha, Atelier Sophie, Atelier Ryza or Atelier Yumia.

To make it simple, must games come in some kind of trilogy, or same world where one kind of happens after the other. You don't lose much by playing one in the middle or end but you do lose some nice references and appreciating how some characters developed.

Back to the recommended games, all have its pros and cons and to avoid making this super long, I'd go with Ryza as this is a game that brought a lot of people to the series, so I think it's a nice balance to show how the series is. The protagonist is very charismatic, you do have a nice enough story in the middle of the game and there's even a DX version coming with all DLC what some other bonus.

You could also play Yumia but while I have it, I had not the time to play it and while people are liking it I've heard some complains that it goes a bit too far from the series.

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u/markg900 1d ago

Ryza 1 or Sophie 1 would be good choices IMO.

Ryza is where the series got a big budget increase along with some more traditional JRPG elements. Battle system moved from classic turn based to a faster paced ATB system. The battle system takes some getting used initially but I find it fun once you figure it out.

Sophie 1 is a great first game if you want a more original style of Atelier games. Its fully turn based combat and unlike some of the older games it has no time limit.

Regardless I would start at the the first game of any Atelier series you pick. For example Ryza 1 if going with that series, Sophie 1 for Mysterious, Rorona for Arland, and Ayesha for Dusk.

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u/stallion8426 18h ago

Story-wise, all games are more slice of life so plot isnt going to be a main focus.

I highly recommend starting with Rorona DX or Ayesha DX though. They do have time management, but since you played Persona youll be fine here.

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u/Snowvilliers7 18h ago

You should be fine with either game, any title is a good start but the most recommended are the Ryza trilogy and the Mysterious series (Sophie 1 & 2 -> Firis -> Lydie & Suelle).

If you choose the Ryza games I would ask to wait until November for the DX versions to release which comes with a lot of new content plus every DLC like the season pass and cosmetics.

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u/by_baxtli 1d ago edited 1d ago

If you're fine with any console (with emulator of course) I would recommend you might as well play it from the very beginning like I did.

The first series is Atelier Marie and Atelier Elie, I would recommended to play the PS2 ver, it's JP only but the only one with fully translated English patch. I've finished it on my phone. It's a collection ver of the 1st and 2nd games

Since it's a game with very simple graphics, your crappy laptop would still able to play it flawlessly. Hell, even your phone would be able to

There's also Atelier Marie remake on Switch, haven't played it, but I heard it's a faithful remake

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u/iksdistek 1d ago

Ngl bro that marie remake is ugly as shit to me

I’m personally starting with dusk whenever my JRPG fatigue wears off after Trails Azure but I agree that the ps2 games look lovely

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u/A_Monster_Named_John 1d ago

When it was on sale, I bought the 'plus' version of the Marie remake, which includes a port of the original PS2 game as a bonus. I haven't gotten to it yet but am thinking I'll try the original version first. I'll be honest that my purchase was made in part because I'm holding out hope that Gust will eventually consider re-releasing more of the PS2 titles, especially the Iris and Mana Khemia games.

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u/by_baxtli 1d ago

That Marie remake art style isn't to my taste either, that's why I don't bother touching it.

I do like cute things, like I've enjoyed many NIS games which filled with cute art style, but even that, Marie remake is too cute for me

And what a coincidence! I'm currently playing Azure as well, but currently plagued with fatigue, so I rest with playing the new Story of Seasons game

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u/VashxShanks 1d ago edited 1d ago

First you have to remember that the Atelier series is divided in to sub-series, and those sub-series are connected by world, story and characters. So Atelier Firis for example is part of the "Mysterious" sub-series, so the story goes Sophie 1 > Sophie 2 > Firis > Lydie & Suelle. You could start with Firis, but then you'll see characters from Sophie that you have no idea about, and you'll basically get spoilers for Sophie's story.

If you want a quick and detailed breakdown, check this "Where to start with Atelier" guide thread (Link).

I want one with a good story and memorable characters, the combat would be the 2nd most important.

Well for that I would recommend you start with the Dusk Trilogy:

Atelier Ayesha ➔ Atelier Escha & Logy ➔ Atelier Shallie

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u/CarlosPenaJr 1d ago

If you don't like time managment, something that was pretty strick at early games, up until Arland arc (the 1st trilogy from PS3 era), I recommend trying Mysterious arc (the one that begins with Sophie) or Secret arc (Ryza's trilogy), as they don't use that system and are pretty newcomer friendly.

But if you don't mind that system or even like, almost every game is a good one to begin, so I would recommend you trying the remake for Marie, as its the 1st game of the series, so you can get the gist of the franchise as its begin with some implements from todays era.

I do got some material of the franchise in my channel, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrnCJ6RjWu12nmR-YYD4eXl-5MJaAYrNc

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