Years ago I considered myself an avid aficionado of JRPGs, but even then there were series I never got around to. Some simply had the misfortune of non-existent localization and it seems Atelier is one of those despite growing ever prominent since those days. Which makes me jumping into it with Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana quite amusing since it's one of those entry that don't exactly represent the franchise at large.

Our story opens in media res with a brief glimpse of pivotal characters and seemingly our two main characters – Klein and Lita – as they discuss “this was where everything began”. Looking back on it that statement is kinda overblown, but we also get to see their initial meeting in a forest where Lita assumes Klein needs saving from a falcon. Little does she realize he's an Alchemist capable of governing Spirits to do his bidding, and not long after they come across each other again later as she more-or-less ropes him into joining the Galgazits. They're kind of adventurers for hire who take jobs at the local tavern. And with hints of mysterious monsters called Growloons appearing around the region our little adventure is afoot with both Klein and Lita having mysteries to unfold.

Above is a rather weak summary, but that's the best I can do since this is one familiar story if you're experienced with the genre. At the end of the day it's about a villain who has a misguided notion of “saving the world” in his own way. It concerns elusive Alchemists and nature of Mana Spirits in the world... somehow making the matter even worse because what he's attempting has already been tried and it didn't pan out. Our characters also don't really break the mold and what you see is what you get. Klein is that good-meaning, but somewhat dense protagonist who finds his determination, Lita is a hot-blooded brawler with an obvious crush on our main dude, Delsius is a swashbuckling lover with a dark past, etc. Few exceptions notwithstanding, when you delve into those backstories, characters are very straightforward. Playing on archetypes does make this a more lighthearted and adventurous game than one might expect. Sure, there's gravity to events, but threat is never looming over everyone and wacky characters have that localized way of putting a smile on your face.

I'll get into it more later down the road as it pertains to mechanics as well, but I was surprised how much completely skippable sidequests add to the game in terms of character development and fleshing out the world. Oddest thing? It's not about the main cast, but rather store owners you interact with in the game. Blair and Veola respectively stand out with so much to them I was surprised they didn't have a bigger role to play. Seeing their arcs through by putting in effort towards crafting was well worth it. There's also a handful of longer sidequests like ghost Pamela on a quest to find her body or fellow Alchemist Rurona who embarks on multiple quests as you stumble across her.

Something that struck me as strange about Eternal Mana's setup is how it almost gives you this impression it's a directionless, or more open if you will, JRPG. While there are hints of that in some sidequests sprouting up along the way this is still a fairly conventional affair. Game simply happens to have elements you don't exactly expect like bigger focus on crafting as well as Klein's Mana Synthesis which is its own separate thing.

So how does Eternal Mana actually play? Well, Klein travels across cities and dungeons whacking objects that seem suspicious in order to gather Mana from them. Remember, he IS an alchemist and short of directly extracting Mana from items in your inventory this is the go-to method. Different kinds of objects will give you different kinds of mana, color coded for your convenience. Dissolving an icey rock, for example, will net you blue and brown Mana. You then use those resources in this game's standout feature – Mana Synthesis. Separate from crafting it lets you, well, synthesize items in and out of combat. You discover specific formulas over the course of the game, but fill in the gaps between simple healing jar, damage causing comet and shields meant to absorb 50% of incoming damage. You can stock up on the synthesized items beforehand so you can just use them in combat rather than synthesize them on the spot? If Mana cost is the same, what's the difference? Well, now we're getting into combat.

Hate to sing the old tune yet again, but combat also airs on the familiar side. Noticing a pattern yet? You'll have more than three characters throughout the game, but that remains the number of active combatants. You can rotate them in and out with the backup crew although being in the back row does not have any curative effects. And this isn't the kind of game where you're soft-forced into using certain characters for certain enemies. Only Klein has his Synthesis command while everyone uses the good old Attack, Skills, Items, Defend, etc. There are no combined attacks or even outright spells in this turn-based JRPG since characters are driven entirely by skills as far as unique characteristics go. Whenever you level up you get points to assign to said skills eventually leveling THEM up as well. There's a matter of assigning Mana spirits to characters for additional stat/skill growth as well. If you want to min-max your characters you can do it here + three equipment slots they get, but Eternal Mana is on the easy side making it redundant.

It feels jarring to bring up game's Mana Synthesis in a brief synopsis like I did above, but that's because the mechanic itself is very simple. Find artifact blueprints, get enough Mana to synthesize and do so. Where game truly shines is with conventional crafting you have to get couple of storekeepers to do for you. Some items are fixed recipe, some have ingredients you can switch out and others will forever remain a mystery unless you try out combinations on your own. Bomb recipes, for example, will never go beyond basic level unless you play with usable ingredients. This systems is directly fed by all the items you find from enemy drops and out in the world making a great little ecosystem. Crafters involved will gradually reveal more and more recipes as story progresses, their store rank goes and as you craft more items from the available ones. There's a massive blunder with the system, however – Eternal Mana never actually requires from the player to get involved with it. Sure, there are some instances where you have to craft to progress, but this are very obvious items that will be spelled out for you, but choosing not to will feel like you're missing out on a huge feature. Even more so because the game is so easy you'll practically never end up using crafted items and just save them for future crafting. Doubly so because Mana Synthesis will cover all your needs be it healing or damage. Maybe this design decision was driven by accessibility?

In terms of production values one has to keep in mind this came out in 2004 on PS2 when further 3D visuals were becoming all the rage compared to PS1 jumbled polygons. And yet I'll say something perhaps controversial as these visuals were and still are perfectly fine. Pure 2D with higher fidelity better hardware would allow. You can tell no bank was broken, but the aesthetic completely itself. I would raise objection to character artwork as it clearly dates the game more than anything else. Soundtrack. Well, any game that has multiple overworld tracks depending on the region gets my voter. Now that I think on there's unique tracks for every location and I can hear some as I'm typing this out.

Final Thoughts and Rating?

At the end of the day Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana is just alright. Maybe my opinion would swing in either extreme if I was more familiar with the series, but as it is this turn-based JRPG has us stepping into the shoes of Klein Kiesling and his alchemical ways. Coming across a fiery girl called Lita takes his world journey for a spin as mysterious monsters are showing across the world and signaling its end. Acquire Mana Spirits, artifacts to synthesize and parlay with crafters across the world to produce items as well as reveal their hearts to you. All in all, a rather familiar JRPG with some features you'd expect to be entry-defining yet they're not. Perhaps if players had to interact with the extensive crafting system that may have changed? As criminal as it may sound some may skip this pivotal aspect.