Firis Mistlud lives her simple life within a small mining village, concealed within a cave and cut off from the outside world. Firis’ wanderlust begins to be too much to bear, and she dreams of seeing the outside world that her sister so often enjoys while hunting. A surprise visit from a face series fans would be familiar with sparks a chain of events that sees Firis on the path to becoming an alchemist, able to handle herself in the wilds, and earn her freedom. She has one year to become a respected alchemist before she must return.

The characters don’t evolve past their archetypes, and even though the game and series aren’t as much about the story, it’s frustrating to see so little to invest in. Being a genre that can usually succeed at that on some level, if I’m supposed to be investing in the journey of this young woman, I’d like to see her grow from her experiences. Annoying voice acting brings a level of irritation to the audio design, and childish sounding clips repeat ad infinitum, turning Firis in particular into a character I didn’t care to spend time with.

"The series has in the past been called out for fan service, and while there are undertones of that within Firis’, dare I say, “Kawaii-ness”, it’s never overbearing in that regard."

Even within the simpler story the game intends to tell, I had a hard time getting past the caricature levels of personality exhibited by the cast. Firis is the wanderlust young girl with lots of naivety. Her sister Liane, the doting big sister who is way too interested in Firis’s well being. Sophia the peppy senpai, teaching the ropes. The series has in the past been called out for fan service, and while there are undertones of that within Firis’s, dare I say, “Kawaii-ness”, it’s never overbearing in that regard.

Firis’s, and thus your ultimate goal of the journey is to pass the Alchemist license exam, master your craft through practice and experience the world ahead. The larger world marks the biggest change to the series. As Sophia drills into your head during the prologue, Alchemy is about inspiration. As Firis explores the world, talks to people, collects new materials and levels up her abilities, new recipes for alchemy will become apparent to her. Having different areas to explore and find new materials within is a welcome addition, and brings a lot of variety to the otherwise wearisome adventure.

"The strategy in getting the most out of your mixing becomes the central system of the game, but I soon found it becoming tiring."

Alchemy is the core of the entire game, and how you’ll resolve most anything from quests to battles. Most any useful item is a sum of the pieces of the environment, from simple flowers and dirt to gemstones and fruits, taken back to your home Atelier to conger up anything from healing items to bombs to quest items. The strategy in getting the most out of your mixing becomes the central system of the game, but I soon found it becoming tiring.

Quests often follow a chain system, where you’ll make choices on how and when to solve them, using your alchemic skills. While these can vary in context, in content by nature of how you solve them, they’re usually fetch quests, limiting engagement and rarely offering an interesting challenge.

Though the idea of variety being the spice of life is a nice one, the end result will usually be a repeated cycle of talking to as many people as possible, picking up everything you come across, and fighting whatever you feel you can get away with. It all feels without much purpose, all intended to feed back into your alchemy. LP dictates how far you can go into the world before tiring out, mandating that you return to home base before you receive penalties such as lower material yield or even passing out. The inventory of Firis as she gathers her materials is already fairly limited, and more naturally suggests to the player when enough is enough. The LP restriction becomes a cheap way to cost the player time on the in game clock, and doesn’t feel earned.

"The system of adding an additional item as a catalyst to change how the board is laid out can add additional layers, but the end result is still just a run of the mill crafting system. In a post Minecraft world, this no longer sets the Atelier series apart."

There’s only so much to experiment with before you’ve got a pretty good setup. Perhaps for a quest you don’t particularly care for the quality of an item you’re giving away. The system for crafting is deep enough to be compelling on a surface level. Deciding on your items compared to your other ingredients, arranging them on the grid, matching colours to receive bonuses, and arranging it all to pull out the best effect can be fun. The system of adding an additional item as a catalyst to change how the board is laid out can add additional layers, but the end result is still just a run of the mill crafting system. In a post Minecraft world, this no longer sets the Atelier series apart.

When exploring the field, Firis and her party can come up against monsters, though the battle system is one of the most basic I’ve encountered. Atelier Firis does very little different in battle over a classic Final Fantasy, being turn based with basic attacks, special moves that drain MP and team shielding.

One interesting change against other battle systems is that attacks with an area of effect are clearly bordered out while targeting, and though any enemy outside the immediate blast radius isn’t as hurt, they do get hurt nonetheless. Battles tie back into the Alchemic loop by making items your most powerful forms of attack, for example, hurling a bomb. You can’t rely on them as limited use items, but you’ll likely always be able to replenish at the Atelier.

"Battles tie back into the Alchemic loop by making items your most powerful forms of attack, for example, hurling a bomb."

Running through the whole game is a somewhat dated feeling engine, even if it’s not entirely bad looking from an art style perspective. Character models have the most polish, somewhat reminding me of the Tales series. Animations falter, with stilted movements repeated constantly, and sometimes no lip syncing at all. Environments keep some of the colour the characters exhibit, and once you leave the starting town it becomes brighter. Textures in the places you visit never get too sophisticated, but at least you’re moving at a fast enough clip to not get to repetitive.

Barren almost feels like the word for Atelier Feris: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey. The core alchemy system has some depth around it thanks to the many materials and ways to mix them with catalysts. The environments it takes you to are colourful and nice. But the combat has few interesting ideas and systems work against you to feel like busy work. There isn’t enough substance to this concoction to really go deep.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 4

Super Bomberman R

Your first thought is probably, “Konami is making a game that people actually want?!” Yes but it’s surprising to see it be Super Bomberman R and that too exclusive (currently at least) to the Nintendo Switch. Regardless, our favourite bomb-thrower is back in his 2D grid-based domain with a 50 stage story campaign. Multiplayer is the main appeal of the series though. Super Bomberman R features eight player competitive play for the old-school masses who simply want to blow up their friends. Look out for it launching with the Switch on March 3^rd.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Arguably the most hotly anticipated Zelda title of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Nintendo Switch’s flagship launch game. Link returns in a Hyrule far larger than anything seen till now and will once again face the forces of evil. How is everything connected to the Ocarina of Time, if they’re indeed connected at all? Dynamic weather, wide-ranging landscapes, looting mechanics and a new Zelda are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Breath of the Wild which releases on March 3^rd for the Switch and Wii U.

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey

The Atelier story may be unfamiliar to most at this point and Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey won’t really change that. However, if you’re looking for a solid JRPG series with enough alchemy to make Edward Elric’s head spin, you’ve come to the right place. Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey will feature a time limit like the previous game and you’ll be gathering items and synthesizing them together with Catalysts changing up their bonuses. Those interested in combat can take four party members into battles and see abilities and tactics change depending on the weather and time of day. Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey will arrive for on PC, PS4 and PS Vita on March 7^th.

Lego Worlds

The sandbox exploration title featuring the lovable Lego art-style is finally out in March for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Lego Worlds has actually been in Steam Early Access for a while and impressed us with its sheer variety of worlds, vehicles, NPCs and more. Plus you can ride dragons, encounter Bigfoot (and incinerate him accordingly) or just cross the sea in a grand pirate adventure. It releases on March 7^th with a Nintendo Switch release also coming in the future.

Nier: Automata

Break-neck hack and slash action, open exploration, side-scrolling platforming, overhead bullet-hell battles – Platinum’s Nier: Automata nearly has it all. The explosive action RPG turned heads with its demo in December and the awesome combo-ridden combat and expansive locales have us salivating. You can even venture out into the world to find your previous corpse and animate it to fight for you. Don’t even get us started on the boss battles. It’s out on March 7^th for PS4 in North America.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands

The recent open beta presented a new region and challenges but the consensus is clear – this isn’t your average Ghost Recon. Set in Bolivia, Ghost Recon: Wildlands features an open world to explore with vehicles and multiple tactical approaches to completing objectives. Go it alone with AI teammates or rope in three friends to bungle missions together. Partake in higher difficulties and prove your mettle as a Ghost, ideally after the open beta when Ubisoft tweaks the AI some more. The possibilities are endless when Ghost Recon: Wildlands arrives on March 7^th.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew

The oft-delayed virtual reality title from Ubisoft sees you (and your friends) occupying the eyes and ears of the USS Aegis. A story campaign is included, taking place after Star Trek (2009) but players can also engage in randomly generated missions as well. The main hook of Star Trek: Bridge Crew is that each player of a total four can take on a different role. You could occupy the Captain’s chair while someone else serves as engineer. Star Trek: Bridge Crew finally arrives on March 14^th for PS4.

Styx: Shards of Darkness

Cyanide’s fantasy stealth sequel sees the return of Styx as he infiltrates Körangar to find out more about the alliance between Dark Elves and Dwarves. Cloning, traps and invisibility return along with ropes and grappling hooks for traversing to higher areas. Co-op support has also been added, allowing you and a friend to sneak together. With a new engine and higher production values, Styx: Shards of Darkness could a decent time-waster for stealth fans when it arrives on March 14^th for Xbox One, PC and PS4.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Shepard is gone but the intergalactic journey of exploration continues. Mass Effect: Andromeda follows a new crew helmed by Pathfinder Alec Ryder with the player assuming control over either Scott or Sarah Ryder. Conflicts with new enemies called the Ket, an improved Mako, larger levels and open world activities to partake in, improved movement, revamped combat mechanics for switching classes and load-outs on the fly – the only real criticism at this stage is how long we have to wait. Mass Effect: Andromeda releases on March 21^st for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Toukiden 2

There’s a new Toukiden out in March and no, it’s not Age of Demons. Taking place two years after the events of Toukiden Kiwami, the Slayers return to do battle against the demons. With a focus on open world exploration, you’ll now engage in battles seamlessly, identifying which regions to assault based on their hazard levels. Hunting Grounds also make a return along with a new day and night system, customization options. Those suffering from a Monster Hunter hangover take note – Toukiden 2 arrives on March 24^th for PS3, PS4, PS Vita and PC.

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard

Gauntlet meets Norse mythology in Vikings: Wolves of Midgard. Travel the world as a hulking male warrior or a nimble shield maiden, battling ice demons and growing your Viking village with rescued survivors. Combat is complex with different abilities like projectiles, charging attacks and much more. Each character has their own unique attacks and the sheer beauty of this frozen wasteland makes it worth a look for its co-op. Vikings: Wolves of Midgard is out on March 24^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix/Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix

Okay, so Final Chapter Prologue may have been a venerable mixed bag of sorts for the Kingdom Hearts faithful on PS4. But with the release of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5/2.5 Remix this March, you get a lot more Kingdom Hearts goodness for your buck. Along with Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix as playable games, you get 358/2 Days and        Re:coded as cinematic retellings. Will they help you understand the whole convoluted mess of a story? Probably not but both HD remaster collections arrive on March 28^th for PS4.

MLB The Show 17

Have you seen those hair textures? You must have seen those hair textures but regardless, there are plenty of other reasons to check out SCE San Diego’s MLB The Show 17. There’s the Retro Mode which throws the action back to the two-button controls of yore and Road to Show, a branching storyline mode packed with excitement. Want a team of Legends and All-Stars? Diamond Dynasty’s got you covered and we can’t wait to see how this all looks when MLB The Show 17 releases on March 28^th for PS4.

Strafe

Old-school Doom/Quake action meets rogue-like mechanics in Strafe. This pixelated first person shooter from Pixel Titans pays homage to the granddaddy of all shooters while featuring randomly generated levels, gore that constantly remains in your surroundings and tons of replay value. Strafe also supports Oculus Rift for those who want to frag out in virtual reality – it’s out on March 28^th for PC, Mac OS X and PlayStation 4. Now if only Glory Kills could be patched in post-launch…

Has-Been Heroes

Frozenbyte’s rogue-like RTS/turn-based strategy hybrid is something different. It follows a team of heroes as they escort some princesses to school. Baddies lie in the way and along with collecting tons of epic loot to vanquish them; you’ll need to think on your toes amidst the constantly approaching enemies. It’s an interesting mix of strategy and action, one that we didn’t expect given the studio’s last major release Shadwen. Has-Been Heroes releases on March 28^th Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch.