For our first game on our 6 Games Like Atelier, we look at Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis. Vayne Aurelius happens to be son of the world’s greatest alchemist but that doesn’t mean Vayne cares to follow his father’s footsteps. Vayne just wants to live a life away from people having only his mana, Sulpher, at his side. However, when Vayne is invited to join an academy known as Al-Revis, it seems as he must go and become an alchemist himself. Little does this young alchemist-in-training know, his whole world is about to change once he enters the life his father once had.

Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis is, in many ways, a mirror of the Atelier series. If you’ve played an Atelier game from the long running franchise then you know how Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis plays. Players must balance making items, going on school missions for grades and going into combat. One of the main differences between the Atelier series and Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis comes in the form of combat which has characters able to switch out with each other as reserve members as well as use burst mode for stronger attacks. While Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis may be very similar to Atelier titles—made by the same company, so it makes sense—that doesn’t mean Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis is any weaker for it. We do recommend the PSP version for portability but the PS2 version plays and handles just fine as well.

In a fantasy world there lies a giant tower where Humans and Reyvateils—created females who connect to the tower—and live in various sections based on class. Lyner Barsett happens to be a knight to one of the guardians of the tower and alongside his father, Leard Barsett, they attempt to protect the tower when it’s suddenly hit by unknown viruses. However, neither Lyner nor Leard are able to stop the threat as it attacks the core of the tower. Ordered by the tower’s administrator, Shurelia, Lyner is tasked to head to the lower levels of the tower to search for a crystal that could stop the threat permanently. Lyner troubles continue though when he crash lands but is luckily saved by a Reyvateil and thus begins his adventures proper…

Made by the same team as the Atelier games, Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia has a lot in common with the series. Players control Lyner as well as several others as they explore the tower’s various levels and environments. One of the main side mechanics of Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia is diving, where players enter the Reyvateils heart’s to learn more about them and given them new skills in battle. Speaking of battles, they consist of turn-based combat but what makes them not just your typical turn based affair is the Reyvateils themselves. These character don’t actually fight but instead act as a means of doing massive damage to the enemy or can buff the party. What’s cool is the game uses different in game music to act as the means of how Reyvateils fight and that is a pretty neat idea. Boasting some amazing sprite detail, a great soundtrack and loads of interesting concepts it’s easy to see why we have Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia on our games like Atelier series.

During the late 1920s something horrible happened to Japan. A strange meteorite falls to the earth—labeled as the Black Garnet—altering the course of mankind forever. The Black Garnet unleashes a strange virus that spreads changing people into creatures. Japan begins to mobilize and creates a special unit—Special Force Valkyrie—to annihilate the threat now being labeled as Chimeras. Thus our story starts with Asahi who has just been mobilized as a commander of one of the Special Force Valkyrie units. However, he will soon realize that among his ranks is a traitor infected with the virus.

Dark Rose Valkyrie might not be making players create items like in the Atelier series, but there is an important element that is on the player’s shoulders. Besides having to go into dungeons and killing enemies, players must also build camaraderie with their squad. This accomplishes better team skills but also serves as a means to find the traitor among the ranks. However, don’t go thinking you can just look up who is the traitor on an online guide as every time one plays Dark Rose Valkyrie the traitor changes. This gives players plenty of reason to play Dark Rose Valkyrie multiple times for different story outcomes. Dark Rose Valkyrie is a pretty solid game and we feel really is similar to the Atelier series thanks to its combat and multiple reasons to play.

Alto is a young amnesiac who was found by a young girl named Lisette and her family. Despite having no memories of his past, Alto has found his new life with Lisette in Mithra Village to be an amazing calm one. However, Alto and Lisette’s peaceful days are shattered when a witch named Hilda uses the power of song—as only witches in this world can sing—and crystallizes the villagers. Somehow though, Alto and Lisette are spared and now seek a way to save their home and family from this doomed fate. Soon Alto will find though that his past will soon be revealed when he learns of his hidden powers.

Stella Glow may lack the same micromanaging that the Atelier games have but it does have a similar concept. Players control Alto and must focus on two aspects of gameplay. These concepts come in the form of rest period, where Alto can hang with girls raising their levels or take odd jobs, or go to battle to fight in a grid turn based system. What’s unique to Stella Glow is that Alto can activate the witches under his control to use their music to do various things to foes such as making them weaker or to strengthen the party for several turns. With this game style it becomes extremely important to avoid wasted ventures lest you want to miss game events with possible allies. Nonetheless, Stella Glow is an incredible 3DS title that you’ll want to play.

Recettear Lemongrass is in a bit of a pickle. Being the daughter of a shopkeeper, when Recettear’s father vanishes, this young girl is burdened by his massive debt. Now Recettear must make her home into an item shop to begin selling goods to adventurers if she wants to avoid having a problem with the debt collectors. Now every month Recettear must pay her fees all while occasionally having to venture into dungeons for goods to sell. Can Recettear do what her father couldn’t or will she succumb to living in a cardboard box?

Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale embodies the elements from the Atelier games. You must balance out when to sell items, run the shop and go into dungeons to hopefully get some high priced goods. Then besides even that the game reminds us graphically of the Atelier games with cutsey art and simple mechanics that have a nice depth to it. We recommend checking out Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale. You know what? We here at Honey’s Anime now have a better appreciation for those NPC in games. If their lives are anything like Recettear now it makes sense why their prices are so high…

A good adventurer needs to eat to prepare for the battle ahead, that’s where you come in. Adventure Bar Story has players taking the role of a restaurant owner inside a fantasy setting. Your job is to create amazing dishes that keep the adventures coming back for more. If you want to accomplish this task, though, you’ll have to occasionally enter dungeons to get materials and new recipes. Regardless of the struggle, if you want to be the number one restaurant for those about to go off into battle, you better get cooking!

Our final game for our 6 Games Like Atelier is Adventure Bar Story and from the description above, you can kind of see why. While you may not be a glorious hero or warrior saving the world you are saving empty bellies by providing wonderful food. While you might think this is a game that would get boring after a while, it really doesn’t thanks to the fun mechanics and each version—meaning the phone and handheld ports—has different mechanics that aim to appeal to that system’s owner. With loads of replayability and a game that truly is the definition of fun, Adventure Bar Story will excite those who love the crafting system and battle mechanics of the Atelier series. Now if you’ll excuse us we have several heroes waiting for some meals!