Atelier Sophie: Yeah, I bought it

I finally caved in and secured the whole Mysterious trilogy, despite swearing up and down that I wouldn't. But let's be honest, dear fellow gamers: you know me enough to know that I just cannot resist RPGs — and heck, I know myself enough to know that I just shouldn't make such lofty non-purchase claims.

Anyway, I expected the worst from Sophie after reading a couple of scathing reviews, starting with my fellow blogger Kina's run report; but my gaming instinct was unswayed and compelled me not only to purchase that game, but also to play it right after said purchase. And heck, it was right on the mark as usual: I've been playing Sophie for a good 8 hours, and enjoying it for just as long.

 The things I dig:

— Pint-sized harvesting areas. I have a thing for teeny-tiny dungeons since I played Hyperdimension Neptunia; so Sophie's zones, which are several notches smaller than Lydie&Suelle's, are a blessing in disguise as far as I'm concerned. Sure, there's no exploration whatsoever; but I'd gladly trade the discovery thrill for harvesting ease.

— Respawning materials and foes. Oh, the joy! The absence of respawning was one of my biggest regrets in L&S, as it forced me to exit areas once I was done looting them; but this time, I can forage and fight to my heart's content, as everything respawns at the speed of light. I often find it hard to stop myself from plundering zones in an endless grinding loop, which should surprise absolutely no one.

— The simpler quality values. Item quality is expressed by a letter from S to E and a word (average, worthless, etc), instead of a combination of a number from 1 to 999 and a letter from S to F like in L&S. This might seem infuriatingly simple to Atelier veterans, but it's just perfect for a noob like me.

— Clearer synthesis grid. I already loved L&S' grid, but I love Sophie's even more. Everything is based on matching item colours with grid colours; squares that reduce or raise colour values, which played a huge role in L&S, are nowhere to be found in Sophie. Maybe they'll pop up later; but for now, I relish the simplicity and straightforwardness of synthesis in Sophie.

The former reservations that were swept aside: 

 — The fighting system. The consensus seems to be that Sophie's fighting system is too slow and complex for its own good — and for an Atelier game; but after selecting the Easy mode upon starting and toggling the Skip feature to speed up battle animations, I found combat to be perfectly bearable, and even entertaining. It probably helps that I hardly ever change stances and don't bother targeting foes with a Warning once I'm strong enough to endure their attacks.

 — The graphics. They looked ugly on screenshots, and they look just as ugly in motion: dark subdued colours and blocky shapes, i.e. everything I hate in video games. This was clearly my biggest reservation, especially after emerging from L&S' dazzling colourful world; but fortunately, I manage to forget the graphics entirely as I play. I also find myself unexpectedly drawn to the skies, which are some of the most gorgeous I've encountered in an Atelier game. I'm especially starstruck (indeed) when gazing at the sunset and starry night skies.

In brief: so far, so good! I have no trouble at all unlocking recipes, to my utter relief and delight; and since I'm focusing on recovering Plachta's memories instead of clearing side quests, I'm progressing much faster than in L&S. Stay tuned for fresh run reports, dear fellow gamers!