PlayStation 4 Critic Reviews

Go into this game with an open mind, and allow the game’s pleasant charm, sweet characters and storytelling, and light, graceful approach to JRPG action to wash over you, and you may just find yourself as in love with the utterly refreshing and pure experience that Atelier Lydie & Suelle has to offer you.

The map aside, this is yet another great title in the Atelier series. The stakes are high, the characters are likeable, and the gameplay is as good as it’s ever been. Every year I approach the newest Atelier game with a little trepidation – will this be the year they screw it up? Will the streak finally end? But for at least one more year, the answer is no. Gust has again delivered another fantastic JRPG that does the series proud.

As someone who's played every game in the trilogy, I must say that Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings ties it all together in a masterful way. I'm excited to see what Gust has in store for their next trilogy of delightful adventures.

Being the third and final installment on the "Mysterious" trilogy, this game offers a title which takes the best from the recent games and mix it with some features from the "Arland" trilogy, making a game which improves in graphic, playability and content.

Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings is the kind of game that’s best played when one just wants to sit back and relax for a while. Its lack of urgency combined with its liberal use of bright colors, upbeat musical tones and exceedingly optimistic characters make for an experience that can’t help but inspire a faint smile.

Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings has allowed me to rediscover why I fell in love with the series in the first place. And though I did find the lack of characters and inconsistent translation frustrating, just about everything else blew me away.

There’s a charming story and intricate systems that help make it one of the best entries to date. I can’t think of a better way to help celebrate 20 years of this long-running series.

This game is true to the Atelier series, and while including plenty of fan service, the game makes sure that newcomers have an idea of what's going on. While it lacks in many departments, the great finale of the trilogy more than makes up for it.

While it lacks the visual depth of a modern day PS4 game, it definitely fills that void with beautiful art and gameplay that deserves more respect than I had originally given it. It is one of the most charming and easy going JRPG games this console generation has seen, and I will certainly be crafting cute items for days to come.

Here's wishing that the next episode will reintroduce the open-world component.