Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings DX — Is it worth it?

Finishing out the DX entries in the Mysterious Trilogy is Atelier Lydie & Suelle DX. After the large zones and exploration focus of Atelier Firist, Lydie & Suelle DX is closer to the structure of earlier series games, with smaller zones and city that acts as a hub. This is also a good game that builds on some elements of the previous two. It has the most refined alchemy of the bunch, plus the ability to switch between two characters. Just like the other games, the base version of Lydie & Suelle will be removed from Steam, and owners of that version will need to buy this one to get access to the new additions. There’s not much of that here, though, so is it worth it?

Atelier Lydie & Suelle DX concerns twin alchemists living with their father, who runs an alchemy business. Unfortunately for them, the dude is a flighty deadbeat and they often go hungry. Their alchemy shop doesn’t get many customers, and their dad often makes them do the brunt of the work. But things change when a new alchemy ranking system is set up in their kingdom. The game’s structure is focused on the girls getting their shop’s rank up, with their goal to become the best in the kingdom. To do this, they find a mentor and discover the strange ability to go inside paintings and gather materials.

The painting gimmick is a fairly good idea that adds something to separate Atelier Lydie & Suelle DX from the rest of the series. Characters from the previous two games return. Still, the characters here make the game more interesting than many others. Suelle, for instance, can be rude and snarky, and isn’t a typical Atelier protagonist — much unlike Lydie. Even some of the people around, such as their father and the suspicious Mireille, give the dialogue a bit more bite than other games.

Painted love

The combat and alchemy are both very much in line with previous games. Gathering areas make their return here. While they’re not as large as the zones in Firis, they’re a massive improvement on the ones in Sophie. Much like Firis, Atelier Lydie & Suelle DX is worth playing for anyone who likes the Ryza games and wants to check out more of the series. I don’t like it as much as Firis, but it’s a good time. This DX version makes fewer changes than the other two, though. The only brand new Set featured imagething you’ll find is a questline that allows you to unlock a new painting tied to Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists.

It also has the battle speed up feature and photo mode, but it’s hard to recommend that owners of the previous version double dip for the DX version. On the other hand, there’s also quite a bit of DLC included in the package. Much like Firis, there are two new party members, who are major characters in the story already. Additionally, you’ll have eight costumes, background music packs, item sets, and an additional area.

I’m pretty sure Atelier Lydie & Suelle DX‘s original release had the most gameplay-based DLC, which is accounted for here. New quests, recipes, events, and the like can be found as well. The new content isn’t much, but Atelier Lydie & Suelle DX is a good Atelier game and there’s quite a bit of DLC included. Newcomers will find a lot to like about this package, but for people who already own the base game and its DLC, it’s probably not worth it.