The Atelier series began in 1997 with Atelier Marie: Alchemist of Salburg, and stayed in Japan for the next 7 years. In 2005, Gust teamed up with a publisher to get their games to an international audience, starting with Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana. Followed the next year by Atelier Iris 2: Azoth of Destiny, and the year after that with Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm. These games stand in sharp contrast to what the series would be from Rorona onwards. They were closer to what was commonly seen as JRPGs, with a linear story and heavier emphasis on combat rather than laidback exploration and item creation. In 2023, I started covering every game in the series released in English, and this is a compilation of those reviews with a few minor edits and some extra overall thoughts on the trilogy at the end.
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I eagerly await the next episode!
I…think you messed up the timeline. Iris from 3 really is Iris, from 2. Iris from eternal mana eventually died and was reborn as the child Iris in 2…which ten grows up to be the protagonist Iris in 3. All three of them are reincarnations of the Mana goddess Lilith. One of the main themes os Atelier Iris 3, and the character Iris in it as well, is the cycle of rebirth. I'll admit that they protrayed those plot points so poorly that left many people confused. I think that also tarnished your experience with the story and the third game in general. I also think you were a bit harsh on some characters and the egeneral plot of the third game. As cliche as it was, there most definetely was a story there and it was miles better than the first game's. I think the reused assets in the forms of the same dungeons can get to you in that way, but there story is absolutely there if you don't let these issues distract you.
I also find it super funny how much you gushed about 2's combat and then soft trashed 3 while admitting it's basically the same system…with the added classes which even you admitted it's great. lol
Iris 3 digging more into how the MC gets crafting ideas is a fairly important step. This was the point where they started doing more than flat purchases and storygates/linear paths. Mana Khemia was the next step where they made enough skits that missing a few would be normal.
Blades felt like running out of budget without balancing the combat.
Remaking the series? ……nooooo don't do that.
The best thing for Atelier Iris would be to make a sequel that ties the "Mana as physical beings" setting together. Maybe have it be the story that leads to Al-Revis/Mana Khemia's Academy being set up, or why Mana of super complicated concepts were becoming more of a thing. You could have it be a digimon or SMT sort of plot where the development of civilization reflected the birth of new Mana, and how each was exploiting the other. Even if the ending is plain enough, we already know from Mana Khemia 1 that whatever gets done here is not remotely perfect, and there's a lot of themes to cook from that.
Great video! Thank you for the hard work. Atelier Iris 3 was my first Atelier and I actually like ir. Maybe because it was the first one haha.
Honestly the class system in 3 is my all time favorite. It allows customization while still keeping the characters wholly unique. Usually if a game has a class system the characters become completely interchangeable. Having the classes be unique to characters fixes that problem, and no one else ever tries it.