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This Week in Games - Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey

She's naive, she's cloying, often whiny, and at one point actually screams that she hates her parents and runs out of her home. And she's the protagonist.

At this point it's very hard to criticize an Atelier game for not having a high-stakes plot or anything that usually defines JRPGs. That, in my opinion, is what makes it a special series: you are not some destined hero going on a journey to save the world. You simply follow a young alchemist through her/his everyday life, as well as the everyday life of their companions. Heck, usually half of your party members are shop owners themselves! Just normal townspeople that happen to know how to use a weapon. And that's the tone it's been handling for several years now.

But it's definitely not for everyone. Creating items in order to finish menial tasks that are only important for, say, the farmer next door, might understandably not offer the thrilling experience of defeating a demon lord. But I'll defend to the death an Atelier's game desire to tell a slow-paced and light-hearted story, with the "higher" stakes only surfacing by the very end.

I tried a few of the atelier game here and there and they never connected with me, it feel like there only selling point is that there console JRPG in days where there's pretty much none of those anymore. 15 years ago they would have been the type of game to hit the bargain bin as soon as they'd release.

The low key stakes and focus on item creation is fine by me, I really liked the al khemia games and loved recettear, but it just feel like the dev but as little effort as they could in every aspect.

I tried a few of the atelier game here and there and they never connected with me, it feel like there only selling point is that there console JRPG in days where there's pretty much none of those anymore. 15 years ago they would have been the type of game to hit the bargain bin as soon as they'd release.

The low key stakes and focus on item creation is fine by me, I really liked the al khemia games and loved recettear, but it just feel like the dev but as little effort as they could in every aspect.

Shin Megami Tensei, Legend of Heroes, Tales, Neptunia, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Xeno series etc...yeah I think JRPG's are still alive.

I already resigned myself to the fact that the Atelier series will never be fully appreciated by the West which can never seem to tolerate slow-burn progression in even your typical JRPG. Just look up threads with people whining about how X game has "pacing" problems. Let's not forget the same idiots who think it's a legitimate issue for a game to be "too anime." How Western gamers have become so ethnocentric, I'm still figuring out to this day.

Why bother localizing them if they're always regarded as B grade games by both reviewers and gamers in the other side of the world? I say they should just cut their losses and be like the Shining series and stop releasing them to people who hate this kind of RPG. Which doubly sucks since Blue Reflection is another promising gem that will be shat on by the usual peanut gallery who think "West is Best" in everything and therefore will never leave Japan.