Note: I have spent 100+ hours on the game on PS4 (Chinese version released back in January), bought this in steam to support the developers, hence the low hour count. [b]tl;dr : Scroll down to blue text for a quick summary.[/b] For those who are new to the Atelier Series of games,you should check out my review on the previous installment of the series [url=http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198040879146/recommended/527270/]here[/url], many aspects are similar and carry over to this game. [u]I'll get straight to the point here, the main aspects which Atelier Firis [b]differ[/b] from Sophie:[/u] [list] [*]Instead of choosing a location on the world map and "fast-travelling" there, the [b]whole world map is now connected by paths[/b] which you'll walk through. (Some sort of fast-travelling is still available, and other methods of transport can be unlocked later in game.) [*]Each area of the world map is now [b]much larger[/b] than the previous game, and is one single large area,...

UPDATE: Excelent port, I finally discovered what happened. This game was using my Intel HD to render the game -.- .... not my NVidia .... plx add a select your video card on options ------- This is my first atelier series game and i liked it o/, great game, great world, many items to craft and the time limitation is a good pressure. BUT!!!! the port... the cursed port.... it is sooooo good that I want to cry of despair and burn my notebook, but playable on [u]"SHADOW_TYPE_LOW" in 1280x720[/u] -.-" on [b]i7-4710 2.5GHz, 24 GB RAM, NVidia GTX 860M 2 GB.[/b]. Recommended because of the game not the port (trash port), if you have patience and endurance to lag, buy this game.

Do you like filler episodes or chapters where the characters just bond with each other instead of fighting their archenemies? No? Then this game's not for you. If you're looking for cute girls doing cute stuffs while blowing monsters into crafting ingredients, then look no further.

Port Review There are good things and bad things about this port. I decided to lean to the negative side because the graphics do not justify the high requirements for this game. Also there are PS4 graphical features missing. I'll reevaluate this review if KT/Gust ever releases a patch to address some issues. If you don't have a PC that exceeds recommend requirements and have a PS4 then the PS4 is a better option even though it has frame-drops as well. Pros: - Variable frame-rate. If you have a high refresh-rate monitor and a very powerful video card you can play this game above 60 fps. - Synthesis does not have performance issue present in Atelier Sophie. However, load is so low during Synthesis that powerful video cards may trigger power saving mode and drop below 60fps. Workaround for Nvidia cards is to set "Power Management Mode" to "Prefer Maximum Performance" in Nvidia Control Panel. - Supports 1440p and 4k resolutions. Cons: - Really demanding game. The system requirements...

The game is workable and if you have ever played an Atelier game before you'll get more of the same except a few tweaks. Familiar faces are back and the plot is more towards the characters than any big world-ending problem, so don't expect an epic tale of heroes ala Final Fantasy or Tales of (again, nothing new to the Atelier franchise.). If you haven't played an Atelier game just know that its a Turn-based JRPG with a big focus on item construction, you live or die based on how well you've prepared your items, which you make from items you collect in the world. There's a relatively large depth and variety of items and associated traits you can gather and make, and really this will be attractive to powergamers and those who like crunching numbers to get the most OP characters ever. I love the Atelier franchise and I've gotten every one of their games since the PS2 era (Iris is the first I can remember), but this one I cannot recommend because of how amazingly bad the PC port is. The...

How Atelier Firis could turn to be the last Atelier game I play. In my long history with Atelier games I never was disappointed by any of them until Firis, and they never were so ambitious as Firis is, but not this, or lack of polish, or not the best port are reasons for my disappointment. So what's good about Firis: 1.it's the open world in nature, for the first time in the Atelier game 2. Complexity of alchemy is a notch down from Sophie, but in general alchemy feels better in Firis. 3. Character endings are back 4. The world is nice and monster design is great. 5. It's a huge game 6. learning alchemy and taking an actual exam of it is an interesting idea. 7. Many interesting characters with their stories. 8. Chain quests what's not so good: 1. Localization is poor 2. Quest descriptions for many quests are wrong past the first step 3. A game is way too demanding on hardware and runs poorly 4. There are some glitches. the ugly: 1. No real fast travel for 30-40 hours, depends on ho...

http://omoteura.com/atelier-firis/ for full archeivement and guide(it's in japanese) [link above are the guide to 100% archeivement]=beware it is in japanese Don’t let the game’s convenience mechanics fool you, though. Atelier Firis definitely makes it a point to be particularly inconvenient at times. Perhaps the biggest example of this is the fact that you have to go hunt down characters to swap them in and out of your party even after you already met them. Pros +Open world exploration +Custom item creation top to bottom +Fun, quick battles +In-game music customizable +Easy to understand alchemy +Choices that matter +Endless replay value +Colorful, interesting characters +10 ENDING+(be sure to save and do the character side quest seperately) +Huge amount of content Cons -Slow movements -NPCs mostly static -Return of the dreaded time limit -Support Guard only protects Firis - Side characters seem a little blander than those in the previous titles. - Side characters seem a litt...

Fun game if you like crafting/collecting. It is a pain to control with just a keyboard. A controller makes the game much easier to play.

[h1] Pros [/h1] - Portable Atelier! - Sophie and Plachta - Animations on the characters feel very, very smooth - Far more open worldy than Sophie resulting in less time spent at loading screens - Fast travel on the map - Fast loading times (installed on SSD) - PS3 controller support [h1] Neutral [/h1] - Lack of graphical settings: You get resolution, screen mode selection (windowed, fullscreen etc) and shadow quality. That's it. [h1] Cons [/h1] - Performance issues. Bad. Just bad. GTX980 can't maintain solid 60 FPS at 1920x1080 all the time. Some areas just run at below 40-50 fps, and in some fights you might experience fps drops as well. - Unable to run at 4k with stable 60 fps like with Sophie - Shadows are flickering all over the place and disappearing randomly If you want a smooth gaming experience from this title. Wait till performance issues have been fixed. Rig: i5-3570k @ 4.2GHz 16 GB RAM Asus GTX980 OC Strix edition Win 7 64-bit

Ten Life Lessons I Learned from Atelier Firis 1. Imagine past your boundaries. 2. Appreciate your roots. 3. What you seek, is within you. 4. Those reluctant to help are the most helpful. 5. You'll always find someone "better" than you at something. Emulate them, or get over it. 6. Staying on the path is safe, straying from the path is profitable. 7. You never have enough time. 8. You never have enough bombs. 9. Excellence is visible, and striking. 10. Life choices, yours, matter.