In the grand tradition of the Atelier games, the series is divvied up into subseries connected by protagonists. With Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key, we not only see the end of the unprecedented “Secret” Trilogy that includes Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout and Atelier Ryza: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy, we also see the end of the story for the protagonist Reisalin Stout—“Ryza” to her friends. Throughout these three games, we've seen her grow from a curious young woman eager to explore the secrets of Alchemy to a headstrong woman who brings that same wide-eyed wonder to the world. While Ryza 3 brings Ryza back to her hometown on Kurken Island, her quest quickly expands and takes her abroad as she seeks to shed light on the mysterious island that appeared one day—as well as the curious key she felt compelled to make.

Right away, no time is spared in showing us not only how much Ryza has grown but also her friends. Lent has shot up into a towering man, scarred by his adventures in pursuit of mastering the sword. Tao is only comparatively taller but wiser. Klaudia has evolved from a young woman who hid her passions from the world to a cunning and charismatic entrepreneur. Meanwhile, Ryza is the trusted Alchemist of her village, the local wisewoman people go to when they need a problem solved. The four have endless banter as they explore their old stomping grounds, marveling at how much they've changed while their old home has stayed the same. You almost don't expect them to fit in their old hideout anymore. Likewise, we see that the families of our old friends aren't sure what to do anymore. Ryza's mother frets over her daughter venturing out into the world. Lent's father still bristles at him. Thematically, it's a rousing victory lap for Ryza and friends as we appreciate how much they've grown, learned, and changed.

And in keeping with Atelier tradition, the game is as inviting to explore as ever. Running into the wilderness and gathering all the reagents you can carry to find new ingredients is as enjoyable as ever. Ryza and company explore sun-dappled forests, dusty mining towns, and sandy shores in pursuit of adventure. Our characters wear their adventures on their sleeves: crawling through tight spaces or getting into scuffles dirties up their faces and clothes, and you can see water dripping down their models when they pop out from a swim. Even when you bump into monsters, the game is cozy—almost too much so. The battle mode is almost a hindrance to the exploration. It's about as good as in Atelier Ryza 2 with some minor enhancements, but it nevertheless feels slightly less polished. While all the individual parts of the battle system still click together satisfyingly—going from basic attacks to your skills, setting up for Order Commands, and earning points for Item Rushes while building up Tactic Levels for even larger combos—it still lacks a degree of polish.

Enemies can pelt you from offscreen, which never feels fair. And inputs still feel somewhat off. There were probably all kinds of reasons why my button presses didn't register as extra attacks or firing off skills. Maybe in the heat of battle, I didn't notice an enemy interrupting my combo with an attack, or my combo was interrupted by an enemy having met their end from a well-placed stomp from Ryza's legendary legs. But it nevertheless felt like having to fight against the system instead of fighting in it.

The item synthesis is far more fun, anyway. Even if you're re-creating new copies of the same item, there's a joy to be had. The system has allowances for people who just wanna hit a button and get a shiny new bomb to lob at Punis, but diligent decision-making can really let you make some top-tier items. There's satisfaction in mixing the finest reagents all to make a sword that's just that tiny bit better. You still buy new recipes or abilities from the Skill Tree with points earned by crafting items or satisfying villager requests, which makes it seem almost necessary to grind it out and make tons of Grass Beans or Onyx Blades before you can make proper Elixirs, but the loop of wandering the forest gathering items and hurrying home once your basket is full to see what you can make is nevertheless addicting.

What isn't addicting is the new gimmick of the titular secret keys; as you explore the world, you can find locations where Ryza can spawn new keys. These keys can be used in battle for minor buffs (at the expense of consuming a T-Level) or during item synthesis for skill improvement. While there's no doubt room for all kinds of fun tactical number-crunching, be it in battle or alchemy, it nevertheless feels tacked on, gilding the lily almost. Like the weather-changing gems in Atelier Sophie 2, it's more of a hindrance than anything because of how often you need to return to remake keys and how long you must wait before you can reuse certain synthesis points. And while there are some fun graphical flourishes, playing Atelier Ryza 3 on the Nintendo Switch is probably the worst way to go: a lot of compromises were made to get the game to work on the Switch, with pop in being vastly noticeable in wide areas. I also experienced the game hanging on me in some areas.

I'm giving Atelier Ryza 3 a “B+,” but that's a purely analytical score based on how I feel about the mechanics as a greater whole: battles are finicky, getting new recipes is a bit of a grind, and the keys feel almost superfluous. But the experience of this game is one to treasure, especially if you've got the added experience of having played Ryza's other two games. This is a lovely little game about a young woman and her friends making their last farewells to their childhood, stepping out into the world as adults. Ryza is and always will be that charming, winsome alchemist with an eager smile and boundless joy for seeing the world. And it just feels good to explore the world with her and her friends. The book might close on Reisalin Stout, at least until her anime premieres, but it'll be hard to forget her summertime adventures.