Part 2: Dreams of Another "Her"

Update 2: Dreams of Another "Her"


Reminiscing of Kirchen Bell
Music: One More Time! (From Let’s Try It!)

This place is always so quiet. Hardly anyone ever comes here.

Hardly anyone’s got a reason to. Nothin’ but old ruins around these parts.

I like the peace and quiet. It’s just like being back in Kirchen Bell …

Kirchen Bell? Where’s that?

It’s my hometown!






Hate to wake you, but we’re almost there. Look, you can see the atelier now.

Oh! Right, of course. Let’s go see Plachta!

After this, the game dumps a bunch of info cards on Sophie 1’s cast on us. First…


Sophie starts the game off at Adventurer Lv 20 and Alchemy Lv 50, the maximum Adventurer and Alchemy level in Sophie 1 respectively. 200 Cole is a pittance; poor girl lost all her money in that vortex.


…But he’s very clearly not appearing in this game.


L&S takes place in Merveille, the capital of Adalet (spelled in that game with one T). By then, Julio is the captain of the royal knights and gets to beat the prince’s ass in training every day.


This is to the end of reaching the ear of her missing father. Eventually, she hears that he’s living somewhere near Adalet; you can read the last chapter updates of the L&S LP if you want to know how this plotline ends.
Speaking of, Corneria says there that Sophie has not returned to Kirchen Bell once in the intervening years between Sophie 1 and L&S, much to Monika’s consternation.


Atelier Plachta
Music: Take It Easy

Wow! It’s a proper alchemist’s workshop!

Huh? Wait a minute, isn’t this place …?

Olias knocks, and…



Eh? That voice …
That voice indeed. It’s unmistakably Plachta’s voice, and yet, it doesn’t quite sound like the Plachta Sophie knows.

C’mon, don’t keep her waiting.



… This is … Plachta’s atelier …
( … But … Why does it feel so strange?)
(It’s completely different from my old atelier … But somehow, it feels just like home.)


wait, hold up


This definitely isn’t the Plachta we know!

Uhm … Isn’t this supposed to be Plachta’s atelier?



Um … You are…?


Music: Thread of Dreams


She seems none too happy at the moment, but hey, I’d also be at least a little bit annoyed if I were in her shoes.
Fun fact: the other Plachta has a tail to help her doll body balance itself. This one just…has one, despite still being human.

Is it a wrong Plachta?

W-well, yes … She definitely isn’t the Plachta I’m looking for, but … But for some reason, I also don’t feel like we’ve got entirely the wrong person …

How many times do I have to tell you that I AM Plachta? If you don’t actually need anything, could you please leave? I need to get back to my research …

Ah! Sorry! I’m Sophie Neuenmuller. I’m an alchemist, just like you! I’m looking for someone called Plachta. We only just came here, but we got separated …

Plachta? … And you are an alchemist? Can you tell me more?

This other Plachta needs a nice, lengthy explanation. Once Sophie obliges…

… I see. So you somehow came to Erde Wiege without meeting Elvira.

That’s right … I don’t want to think about what could have happened if Alette hadn’t found me.

And you do not seem to be lying about this Plachta person …

Naturally. Atelier protagonists are, to a woman, very earnest and terrible at lying.



Huh? Why do you doubt me being an alchemist?

That should be obvious. Alchemy isn’t a trade that just anyone can master. It demands skill, natural talent, and the curiosity to constantly pursue new creations!

… That true?

How should I know?!

This Plachta’s right. In the Mysterious series’ world, alchemy is an ability you either have at birth or don’t. Fast forwarding to L&S, it’s one that a good chunk of the cast can do while others, like Mathias, can’t learn it no matter how much time others spend trying to teach them. And the setting does have scammers pretending to be alchemists, like one in L&S who tries putting grass in water and calling it medicine.

It’s also something you have to be human to do, hence why Doll Plachta can’t synthesize. She was still eminently capable of getting Sophie up to speed, though.

You call yourself an alchemist, but you have shown me nothing to prove your claim.

W-well, that’s because almost all my things got lost in the vortex … But I’m not lying! I really am an alchemist!

Well hey, can’t just start Sophie off with all the broken endgame bombs and equipment she had from her home game, right?

Then how about this? You can use the tools in my atelier to synthesize something. If you succeed, I will accept your alchemy credentials.

You want me to do it now? I really need to be looking for Plachta …



Really? You mean it?

You need somewhere to stay, don’t you? I think it’s a rather generous deal.

What do you want to do, Sophie?

… All right. It’s a deal. It’ll be much easier to look for Plachta if I have an atelier to work in. I’ll be right back once I’ve gotten everything I need!

I recommend the grasslands just outside of town. They’re ideal for gathering.

Mind if I help out? It’ll be way quicker with the two of us.

Wouldn’t exactly be heroic of me to let the new kid wander off unsupervised now, would it? Count yourself lucky! The world’s best bodyguard has your back–and he’ll do it for free!

Really? Thank you both! I’m counting on you!




Music: Nice to Meet You!
As you can tell, Alette is a martial artist of the kick and flip variety.




Meanwhile Olias has a rifle equipped with a sword, which he’s swinging around here. Yes, I know he didn’t shoot; think of it this way, he has the good sense to not blast a hole in Plachta’s roof.


And before we go gathering, it would be prudent to hit the save button–after 40 minutes of gameplay, I can finally do that!


We take this shortcut back to the Commercial District and from there, we venture into the grasslands Plachta recommended.


Wondrous field

Wow, look at all these herbs! I’ve never even read about some of them, let alone seen them!

Starting to believe this isn’t the world you know?

Hehe, a little. Right, time to get gathering!

Hm? Hold on a minute, Sophie. See that?


That’s it? This’ll be a cakewalk.

A m-m-monster? Elvira brings monsters here too?!

She doesn’t have anything to do with it. These monsters are born here.

See, Erde Wiege is built from people’s dream visions. And, obviously, people dream about monsters. So they’ve been part of this world since the start.

Checks out. I mean in real life, we dream about all sorts of fucked up shit, don't we? Still, Puni and rabbits are pretty pedestrian for Atelier monsters.

I see. I guess we’ll have to fight for some of our materials, then.

Doesn’t seem to scare you much. Guess some alchemists must do their share of fightin’.

So it seems … Not that I’m complaining or anything. Those monsters won’t know what hit them! So what do you actually want us to look for?

I was thinking of making cloth, so … silver web, rabbit fur, and any plants you can find …

Alright! Let’s get gathering!

And we can get the rabbit fur by killing that rabbit, so…


Music: Warbler

Well, well, well! Think you’re a match for us, do you?

Don’t just jump in and start swingin’! You gotta use your brain! When there’s this many of them, we gotta try and take them out one by one.

Got it! Let’s do this!



Yay, we got one!

Great! Keep it up, and we’ll wipe the floor with them in no ti–

Alette! Look out! I think you made ‘em angry!


Here’s a nice QoL improvement, we can see who the enemies are going to aggro now by pressing the R button! And in this case, just as Olias said…

Eek! You’re right! Wh-wh-what do I do?!

It’s all right! Just focus on defending yourself!



The game wants us to use Sophie’s AoE defensive buff…


(In practice, you’re probably not going to be using the solo block option much, if at all. But for extended tutorial’s sake…)



Whew … My life just flashed before my eyes …

girl that did like 5% of your max HP in damage

Damn it, they just keep on comin’! There’s gotta be a way to knock ‘em down quick …

That sounds like a job for me!




You know, we probably could have finished this battle immediately if the game had just let us chuck the Craft off the bat.


Music: Winning Streak

You know, you’re pretty good in a scrap. You really sure you’re an alchemist?

Hehe. Gathering materials can get dangerous, you know. We have to protect ourselves somehow!

There’s no way you got this good just from picking herbs. Maybe alchemists are all like this …

If you mean who I think you mean, I always figured she was a special case … but who knows?

Looking at the rest of the series? Not really. Don’t fuck with alchemists, especially ones that have a game’s worth of experience under their belt.

Ehehe, I’m not sure. My grandmother and Plachta are the only other alchemists I really know …




Music: Radiant Dew
Needless to say, the rabbit dropped some fur for us. For Cloth, we’ll get our grass here.


…and our last ingredient for Cloth is Spider Web.

Got everything you needed?

Yep! And in record time, thanks to you two. Let’s head back to Plachta!


Two Plachtas



Welcome back. You’ll find the cauldron over there.

Thanks! Time to start synthesizing!


Music: Sunny Piacere

Like with the rest of the Mysterious games, each ingredient has an array of 3x3 components of five elements. Like with L&S in particular, you get better effects by hitting higher thresholds with each element.


We start off with a 5x5 grid to play with. If these components all just go on the blank tiles, we’ll hit the thresholds for DEF+3 and SPD+3.


Like with L&S, you get an extra effect level when you place a component on a tile whose color matches it.



And like with Sophie 1 and Firis, if you place one component on top of another, the bottom one gets nullified. Space allowing, you can rotate components so that… doesn’t happen. Anyway, after doing that with this component…


You might have noticed some of the components have one or more stars. In addition to hitting higher effect levels by linking stars of the same element together…


…This also increases the element’s max effect level for the synthesis. In this case, it lets us max out the Light effect level.


You do this by fully filling out rows and columns on the synthesis panel.


Voila! And we can transfer three traits of our choosing right out the gate. Trait transfer isn’t gatekept behind alchemy level like in L&S, nor is it an effect you have to try and hit like in the Ryza games. Nor do I have to worry about Transfer Points like in the Arland games and latter two Dusk games.





Um, yep. Yep, I think so.

You figure alchemy requires intense concentration and attention to detail, and Sophie is pretty good at committing both despite Alette breathing down her neck.

Plachta, we’re done! Come and take a look!




Uh-oh. She looks like she just swallowed a bug.

Oh … Is the quality maybe too low?

… No. No, there’s nothing wrong with it. The materials around town aren’t of particularly high quality, so I wasn’t expecting perfection. Honestly, I’m impressed you managed to work with them at all. In someone else’s cauldron, no less.

Come to think of it, you did say you’d never even seen some of the herbs before.

Yeah, I guess I got lucky. I tried using it, and it worked out just like I’d hoped!

You have proven yourself an alchemist–and a far more skilled one than I expected, at that. I apologize for not believing you sooner.

There’s nothing to apologize for. I couldn’t expect you to believe me without any proof.

Thank you for understanding. As I promised, my atelier is yours to use as you wish.

Looks like you’ve gotten on her good side.

Yahoo! You did it, Sophie!

Thanks, you guys! I couldn’t have done it without you!

Oh, that’s right. About this Plachta you’re searching for … You said that the two of us are alike somehow?

Yeah. I’m not sure if I can explain it very well, but you feel very similar.

I have a theory about that. If I’m right …



Huh?! What?! But how is that possible?

You see, Erde Wiege summons its inhabitants from across space AND time.

Wait, what?!

Alette … Don’t tell me you ain’t told her …

What, you expect me to explain every little thing?

Here, you can encounter people not only people from what you would consider the past, but also people from what you would call the future. So, you see, it might be possible for there to be two of us, but only if …



Exactly. My theory is that the Plachta you’re searching for is my future self.

Well, that would explain why Plachta seemed to be drawn to the Dream Tree back in the real world. If this Plachta is any indication, she was, in fact, in Erde Wiege as a youth. Still, why didn’t she say so? It happened half a millennium ago for her, but you’d figure this experience would be unforgettable, right?

You sure that’s possible? Even I ain’t heard of anyone doubling up like that.

That’s why it’s only a theory. For now, we’re lacking in proof. Although by the same token, we can’t say it’s false either.

And the only way to prove it one way or another is …

To find Sophie’s Plachta!

Indeed. What a curious state of affairs … If nothing else, I would like to see if I’m correct, so we definitely should look for the Plachta Sophie is searching for.

Yeah … But there isn’t much we can do but go around asking if anyone has seen her …

If you’re looking for new leads, might I suggest visiting the Crystal Sparkle Pavilion?

Oh, good call. Kati might have heard something while we’ve been out.

What’s the Crystal Sparkle Pavilion? And who’s Kati?

One of Roytale’s old guards. She knows everything about everyone.

If you can catch her while she’s awake, anyway …

We should get going. We can find the Crystal Sparkle Pavilion in the Commercial District.


From the direction of Plachta’s atelier, the tavern is right around the corner.


The Proprietress and the Other Ramizel
Music: A Serving of Rest


It’s definitely a bustling establishment, but then again it’s the only tavern we know of in town.


Behind the counter is our proprietress, Kati.

Welcome! Oh? It’s unusual to see the three of you together.

Hey there, Gnome. Yeah, it’s been a weird day.

Be that as it may … Kati, there’s something we hoped you could help us with.

Is there now? And who’s that girl behind you?

Oh, right! I’m Sophie! Nice to meet you!

This is actually about her. I’m afraid it’s a little complicated, but here’s the general gist …

tl;dr Sophie didn’t come here the usual way and her friend is missing


Music: Painted Emotions

I see … And now you’re stranded here. That must have been hard …

I’m all right, Miss … Um …

Oh, how silly of me. I forgot to introduce myself. Ahem! I’m Katrina Balbastre, the proprietress of the Crystal Sparkle Pavilion. But you can call me Kati. Everyone does.



And I’m Gnome Dumortier. I just help Miss Kati out around the tavern.



Though we all know he’s the one who really runs the place …

You should also know that Kati is effectively Roytale’s unofficial deputy mayor. I thought that if anyone would be able to help us, it would be her. However …

This time, I’m afraid I’m clueless. I’ve never heard of this other Plachta person. If you’re out of options, it might be easiest just to ask Elvira herself.

You mean the Goddess of Dreams? But I thought she didn’t show herself to people …

Not usually, no. However, there is one person who knows how to find her. The first person to meet Elvira and the leader of Roytale–



Oh, the leader of this town is named Ramizel?



… No. There is no way …

I mean, we already know there’s a young Plachta from, relative to Sophie’s time, the very distant past here. The Ramizel here being a younger version of Sophie’s grandmother wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility. How many Ramizels have there ever been in the Mysterious world, anyway?

Hm? Is something wrong?

Eh? Oh, no, nothing! So where can we find her?

That’s the tricky part. She’s out of town right now, taking care of some business.

Do you have any idea when she will be back?

Unfortunately not, but I can find out where she’s gone.

I guess we can show you around Roytale while we wait …

Are you sure you’ll have time, Alette?

… Huh?



Music: Bam!

So you really had forgotten … And here I thought I told you it was urgent … Well, I suppose I can’t really blame you, given that you were off helping Sophie …

I’m sorry, all right! I’ll do it! Just don’t get mad!

Um … What kind of request is this?

This tavern has a noticeboard set up where the townspeople can post requests. They write down the details and the reward on offer, and anyone who sees one can take it on.

For example, I needed materials from a particular monster, so I asked Alette to fetch them for me.


Gust-chan cameo sighted

You mean it?

Of course! You’ve done nothing but help me out since I got here. I have to return the favor.

Let me join you as well. I would like to contribute however I can.

Thank you both so much! Alchemists have gotta be the kindest people in the world!



Sorry, but I’ve got my own jobs to see to. Later!




Damn, Olias ditched us the moment were about to do Alette a solid

Well, who needed you anyway?! Blockhead! Cheapskate!

Shall we start over from the beginning? It might be helpful for Sophie to see how everything works. That way she’ll be able to take on her own requests whenever she wants.

Good idea. Are you listening, Sophie? First, you look for requests on the noticeboard …




She has a giant robot arm that punches and shoots things for her? Alchemy 500 years ago must have been some real good shit!


So yeah, Kati’s ingame function is as the questmaster, like Lisa, Keina and Lionela in Lulua or Zephine in Ryza 2 or Horst from Sophie 1.
And it is kind of our fault that Alette’s found herself in this time crunch, so it’s the least we can do to take her job on for her.

Now it’s officially yours to turn in. See, that wasn’t so hard! The request details are all written down on the application form in case you ever need a reminder. Since it’s your first time, I’ve also noted down where those monsters can be found.

Got it. We’ll be back before you know it!

And now that we’re back in the field and I can actually gather…


Like in the Ryza games, gathering ranks have been implemented! Higher gathering ranks lets you find new materials. For whacking things with staves or picking things from the ground, you raise your gathering rank by investing Sophie’s Ability Points, which you get by leveling up in combat or fulfilling various other goals.


For every other means of gathering, you craft a tool for which you hit a particular effect threshold for Rank 2 or 3 gathering. Like with a sickle, which I don’t have yet, so no harvesting wheat for Sophie.


These floating stones enable fast travel to particular parts of field zones. I have not yet unlocked fast travel, so I can’t use these yet. Anyway, our target is in the next area, so moving on…


Combat 101

Hey, isn’t that what we’re looking for? All right, buster, say your praye–

Hold on a moment, Alette. Let’s come up with a plan before we go charging in. I think we should make use of our numerical advantage and fight as a team.

A team, huh? I like the sound of that!

She keeps cool under pressure, just like Plachta … All right, let’s do this together!


Music: Whisp

Now it is time to show off our teamwork.


And one of these special commands is having someone in the rear switch places with whoever’s getting aggro’d and take the hit. Where in the OG Mysterious games you could only have someone else in the front line take the hit for the protagonist(s), Sophie 2 lets you do this for anyone. Well, so long as you have enough TP and someone in the rear guard.



Thanks, Plachta! I was nearly toast! That sure looked like it hurt, though …

I’m perfectly fine .. Although I would prefer not to take many more hits like that.

Next, let’s try out a combo attack!

I agree. Listen carefully, you two. Here’s what we do …

Pressing L lets us pick a rear guard partner for a Twin Action, and…






And Sophie and Alette swap places, though the battle’s already over. Twin Actions are some good shit–they do more damage than normal AND they have reduced MP usage! Anyway, most combat in this game revolves around Twin Actions and another soon-to-be-introduced mechanic.



That was awesome! We were totally in sync!

You can always trust Plachta to come up with a plan!

Hehe … Anyway, it seems we have what we need. We ought to report back to Kati.




I’ll take the time to note that stats are ridiculously high across the board in Sophie 2. At level 20, Sophie in this game has much higher stats than she does in L&S, where she joins at level 25 and storywise is described as quite possibly the most powerful alchemist alive. And this is without any gear to really juice up her stats! By endgame, it won’t be outlandish for some party members to break 1000 in certain stats.

Anyway, Equipment Cost: we don’t have any items yet and had no time to synthesize any before coming out here, but as with Sophie 1, each party member has their own inventory. Each item has an Equipment Cost value attached to it. You can tell from the numbers here that Alette can only carry a very limited inventory while our alchemists can carry and use four items of my choosing. Certain items also are only usable by alchemists and can’t be equipped by the others even if their Equipment Cost allows for it.

Now, back to town…


Whereabouts

This looks like everything I asked for. Good work, you three.

With Sophie and Plachta helping, it was no trouble at all!

Perhaps we finished a little TOO quickly … Should we give you some more time to look into things?

Ha! Don’t forget, I’m the best in the business. Go on, Gnome, tell them what we’ve learned.

We have found out where Ramizel must be. She went into Near-Forest. For Sophie’s benefit, that’s the forest beyond the grasslands just outside town.

I’m afraid we couldn’t find out what she’s doing out there. I hope a map of the area will make up for it.

Thank you, but I think Alette has already given me a map …

An old one, I’ll bet. This one’s hot off the presses.



That means we have to regularly update all our maps. This version just came out yesterday. Anyway, Near-Forest isn’t far, but it still has its fair share of monsters, so take care.



Crucially, this means I can now fast-travel!



But before we do any further exploring, it would help to craft some items.




Oh, right, for Atelier’s 25th anniversary, Gust and Bandai Namco did a collab between Sophie 2 and Tales of Arise. We have three party members and three accessories, so who do folks want to get what?