Which is the best version of the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack? PS5, PS4, Switch, Switch 2, or Steam

This week, Koei Tecmo and Gust are launching DX versions of Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout, Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy, and Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key as standalone releases or through the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack. With three games that have older and now DX versions across different console generations and PC platforms, I wanted to try and help you find which version of the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack is best to buy and play going over not only the PS4, PS5, Switch 2, Switch, and Steam versions, but also testing how the Switch version plays on Switch 2, how the Switch 2 version compares to the Switch release, the PS5 version of Ryza 2 compared to the new DX release, and much more. 

In a lot of ways, this is by far the biggest comparison feature I've done just in terms of different versions and backward compatibility testing across three different games. In addition to the technical differences, I'm also going to cover the feature differences and what you need to keep in mind across platforms when looking at the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack. Before that, here's a reminder of the different platforms and release timeline for the Atelier Ryza games.

Atelier Ryza series release timeline

The Ryza series of Atelier games has seen games across generations and with the new DX releases arriving just months after Nintendo's newest console, there are many versions and platforms you can play the Atelier Ryza games on. The release timeline is below with some context for each platform since I've tested them all on every system from day one.

• September 2019: Atelier Ryza is released in Japan on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
• October 2019: Atelier Ryza is released in the West for PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. The PS4 version feels quite lacking for this release with a lot of shimmering, 30fps target, and long load times. The Switch port on the other hand is excellent compared to prior Atelier releases and it was my main platform for Ryza. The PC port was a big step up over prior PC versions as well, but it wasn't perfect. 
• December 2020: Atelier Ryza 2 is released in Japan on PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.
• January 2021: Atelier Ryza 2 is released in the West on PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. For Ryza 2, a PS5 version was added and it is quite bad. I had to force the console to 1080p for a decent frame rate and it never felt as smooth as it should. The PS4 and Switch versions offered similar experiences to Ryza 1, and I ended up playing on Switch as my main platform for Ryza 2. The PC version of Ryza 2 was easily the best of the lot though with improvements over the first game a surprising amount of graphics and display options.
• March 2023: Atelier Ryza 3 launches worldwide for PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. Ryza 3 was a more demanding game than 1 and 2, and it suffered on Switch. For this release, the PS5 version ended up being my favorite. It didn't feel rushed like Ryza 2's PS5 version and generally was great. Ryza 3 was also excellent on PC, but it was more demanding than 1 and 2 in my testing. 
• November 2025: The Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack is released worldwide for PS5, PS4, Switch 2, Switch, and Steam with individual DX releases of Atelier Ryza, Ryza 2, and Ryza 3 featuring prior DLC and new content. Save data from the original versions do not carry over, but you get a special save bonus for having Ryza series saves on the same platform.

Looking back at the original releases, the Ryza series felt like the start of when they took Switch seriously and it shows with both Ryza 1 and 2 being excellent despite cutbacks on Switch. The PS4 versions of both were fine, but felt lacking compared to the polished experience Atelier games delivered before, though I would say the only real bad version of Ryza 1 and 2 on console was the PS5 version of 2 with it just being unstable. Ryza 3 was more demanding and it is where the PS5 version shines and excels quite a bit above the others. I remember playing Ryza 3 and while it isn't bad, it was definitely not an ideal experience. This is when I hoped we'd see a Switch 2 patch or upgrade. 

That brings us to the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack offering native PS5 and Switch 2 versions of the full trilogy as the highlights in addition to offering great value packages of the base game with DLC and new content for other platforms. While I don't have enough bandwidth to cover every version like I usually do with dedicated PC and console articles, I hope this ends up being useful if you have access to multiple platforms and are curious what to expect with the Ryza DX games across consoles and PC.

Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack contents and platform feature differences

The Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack is a digital-only release in the West for all platforms with Japan getting a physical release on PS4 and PS5 including English. There is no Nintendo Switch 2 physical release in any region and the Switch version reportedly supports English in Asia. This Switch version is why I also made sure to test the Switch 1 DX versions played on Switch 2 on this article. The Japanese site has no mention of English for the Switch physical though. The Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack bundle includes the DX versions of all three games that include prior DLC and new content together. Your older saves do not carry over, but there is a save bonus.

The PS4 and PS5 versions are a single purchase digitally with save data transferring from PS4 to PS5. I verified this myself when I tried launching the PS5 version of the games on my PS5 after playing them on my PS4 Pro. The console prompted me to download save data if I wanted to continue playing. Once I downloaded the data, the PS5 Ryza DX games have an import data option on the main menu that lets you continue from a PS4 save on the PS5 version. It is also worth noting that while Ryza 2 and 3 had PS5 and PS4 versions, Ryza 1 did not have a PS5 version until this DX release and it is the only way to play Ryza 1 at 60fps on console right now.

The Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack is a completely separate purchase on Switch 2 and Switch with no save carry over between versions. Unlike on PS4 and PS5, you cannot bring your Switch save data for the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack into the native Switch 2 version.

With the platform feature differences out of the way, I decided to tackle the console versions within the same generation followed by my thoughts on the PC version played on handhelds with my final thoughts on this release.

Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack Switch 2 vs Switch 1 differences

I still consider the first two Atelier Ryza games as very impressive Nintendo Switch releases, but I won't pretend like they are perfect. With the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack on Switch 2, not only is the resolution a lot higher, but we also see increases to texture quality, foliage, shadows, and ambient occlusion. The one disappointment is that the three games are still capped at 30fps. Based on how the games play on PC handhelds, I feel like 60fps should've been possible at least as an option for the first two games. Ryza 3 in particular is a bit too demanding in general. Maybe Koei Tecmo and Gust decided to keep it at 30fps for consistency, but it is still disappointing. 

I also noticed the Switch 2 version features some additional sharpening on the overall image. I still am happy with how it looks handheld, but docked is definitely not as stable as the PS5 version despite the Switch 2 targeting 30fps while the PS5 version targets 60fps.

If you played the Ryza games on Switch and want to replay them, the Switch 2 versions in the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack are well worth your time. Just keep in mind that unlike on PlayStation where you get both PS4 and PS5 with a single digital purchase, the Switch 1 and 2 versions of the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack are completely different purchases with no save transfer. It can detect the original Ryza trilogy saves for the bonus though.

Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack PS4 vs PS5 differences

The Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack features a 60fps target on PS5 compared to the PS4 version in addition to much faster loading. The PS5 version generally is a step above the PS4 version in other graphics options as well like filtering and ambient occlusion, but it isn't as drastic a jump as Switch 1 to the native Switch 2 version when it comes to pure visuals. The PS5 version is the only console version to deliver a 60fps experience though and that makes it the best way to play it on console as far as I'm concerned. Everything is more responsive and the improved load times help a lot even during exploration and moving around the town. The good news with the PlayStation version is that if you buy it digitally, you get both the PS4 and PS5 versions together in a single digital purchase with your save carrying over from PS4 to PS5.

Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack Steam Deck and PC impressions

Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack (all three games), like the original releases, is a 30fps experience on Steam Deck with good visuals. While you can try to play with lower settings to get better performance, the Ryza DX (and original) games don't scale too well at 720p resulting in a visual experience I'm not a fan of. I would actually suggest playing at 768p downsampled to 720p for Ryza DX and Ryza 2 DX on Steam Deck and sticking to 720p for Ryza 3 DX. Based on my testing, aside from the very long initial load that affects the PC version of Ryza DX, the performance and visuals are similar to the original Ryza games, though the DX games have a better default preset and settings based on my testing. 

As for my Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack Steam Deck recommended settings, you can play a mix of High and Standard settings, but turn down shadows and depth of field. I also recommend disabling motion blur because it is too strong. The results are good for Ryza DX and Ryza 2 DX, but Ryza 3 DX is a bit lacking visually. Thankfully, you don't need to use any external GPU fx or mod like you had to for the original games around launch.

As for the PC port itself, Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack on ROG Ally delivers a great experience with fast loading (aside from the initial load on Ryza DX), but it is again a 30fps experience there if you play at 1080p. I'm not a fan of how the Atelier Ryza games look when running below the screen's native resolution or at lower settings, but if you are ok playing at 720p on the low preset using the 25W mode, you should have a fairly good 60fps experience for the most part in the first two games and a lot of the third game. I didn't bother testing this too much since the games look very bad on the low preset compared to the default or high settings.

Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack load times across PS5, Switch 2, PS4, Switch, and PC

For load times, I decided to test all the old and new versions across every single platform. This means I tested Atelier Ryza 1 on PS4, PS4 on PS5, Switch, Switch on Switch 2, Switch 2, Steam Deck, and ROG Ally with Atelier Ryza 1 DX on PS4, PS4 on PS5, PS5, Switch, Switch on Switch 2, Switch 2, Steam Deck, and ROG Ally. For Atelier Ryza 2 and Ryza 3, I had the same test conditions as Ryza 1, but since Ryza 2 and 3 had PS5 versions even before, I also tested the different load times for the PS5 original and DX versions. This ended up taking a lot of time since I wanted to retest to prevent any incorrect results. I also had to change how I tabulate the results so that it doesn't cause readability issues on mobile. I've split up the load time results into three tables: one for each game.

For testing, the PS4 version wasted on PS4 Pro, the PS4 version installed to the internal SSD on PS5, the PS5 versions on the internal SSD, the Switch versions on my Switch OLED installed to the SD Card, the Switch and Switch 2 versions installed to the Switch 2's internal storage, and also the Steam version installed to the internal SSD on both Steam Deck and ROG Ally. I was not joking when I said I will test every version on every platform I have access to. I measured the time taken to load the game's title screen from the console dashboard and a specific early game save on all systems. 

Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout and Ryza DX load times across PS5, PS4, Switch, Switch 2, and PC

Note: All load times above are in seconds. 

Barring the weirdly long initial load time for Ryza DX on Steam, everything else went about as expected. I retested the Ryza DX loading on ROG Ally three different times over a week and I just couldn't figure out why this specific version took longer than the Steam Deck when the other Ryza DX games load quicker on ROG Ally and the non DX version of Ryza loads so much faster. Barring that, the PS5 version of Ryza DX is the fastest across the board.

Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy and Ryza 2 DX load times across PS5, PS4, Switch, Switch 2, and PC

Note: All load times above are in seconds. 

Just like with Ryza DX, the PS5 DX version is the fastest. I want to note once again that the PS5 vanilla release for Ryza 2 was a poor port and it isn't worth playing anymore. As for the rest, I still think Ryza 2 is the best of the trilogy and I'm glad I now have a good handheld console version (Switch 2) I can recommend in addition to an excellent PS5 release. 

Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key and Ryza 3 DX  load times across PS5, PS4, Switch, Switch 2, and PC

Note: All load times above are in seconds. 

Atelier Ryza 3 really suffered on PS4 and Switch. It is good to see the DX versions already improve load times from the same install location and platform. Beyond that, the PS5 DX version is the fastest as expected with Switch DX on Switch 2 coming in a bit quicker than the Switch 2 DX version. 

My takeaway from testing all the versions across all platforms is that I'm still shocked at how bad some of the load times are on PS4 when installed to a hard drive as opposed to SSD. The Switch 2 native release while a bit slower to load than expected, is still quite fast and responsive while in-game. I have no qualms in recommending it as a fine way to play the Ryza trilogy on the go now.

Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack visuals compared — PS5, Switch 2, PC, PS4, and Switch

I've done two sets of comparisons for each Ryza DX game. One covers the docked or TV experience including Switch 2 docked, Switch docked, PS5, and PS4 Pro. The second is the handheld experience including Switch 2 handheld, Switch handheld, Steam Deck, and ROG Ally. For handheld capture, I've used the Switch and Switch 2 system capture functionality since there's no other way to get handheld capture from those devices. I used Steam's screenshot tools for ROG Ally and Steam Deck. For TV or docked capture, I used my 4K capture device. I've then selected the same or as close of an in-game situation to compare. The results are below. I recommend viewing the images at full quality and not as thumbnails so you can see the differences between platforms properly. I've cropped them to highlight as much as possible, but the thumbnail compression isn't ideal.

Atelier Ryza DX PS5, PS4 Pro, Switch 2, and Switch visuals compared

Atelier Ryza DX Switch 2, Switch, Steam Deck, and ROG Ally handheld visuals compared

Atelier Ryza 2 DX PS5, PS4 Pro, Switch 2, and Switch visuals compared

Atelier Ryza 2 DX Switch 2, Switch, Steam Deck, and ROG Ally handheld visuals compared

Atelier Ryza 3 DX PS5, PS4 Pro, Switch 2, and Switch visuals compared

Atelier Ryza 3 DX Switch 2, Switch, Steam Deck, and ROG Ally handheld visuals compared

Is the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack worth it for existing owners?

If you already own Atelier Ryza games with all DLC and play on Switch or PC, I don't think this is worth it. If you play on PS5 though, the PS5 versions of Ryza DX and Ryza 2 DX are worth playing over the PS4 version of Ryza 1 and the mediocre Ryza 2 PS5 version. If you only own the base games or don't even own every game in the trilogy, I think the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack is worth it. For newcomers, this is the only version to consider if you want to play the Ryza games. I also recommend buying the whole trilogy when you can rather than a single game since there doesn't seem to be any upgrade path or bundle discount as of this writing.

When it comes to the new content included in the three games, since you can't bring over your progress for each game, it is only going to be worth it if you really want to replay all three games. If you only played the base releases before, the bundle is definitely worth it for the value assuming you want to replay the games. If you don't see yourself wanting to replay these games, I wouldn't bother buying it right now. I didn't have time to play through all three games all the way for the new content so I cannot comment on how substantial the additions are. 

Should you buy the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack on PS5, Switch 2, PC, PS4, or Switch 1?

I would say the best versions right now are on a high end PC or PS5 for playing on TV and on ROG Ally (or a similar PC handheld) for playing on the go, though you will get better battery life on the Switch 2 than the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme in my testing. The Switch 2 and Steam Deck are close, but I would go Switch 2 over Steam Deck for the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack. The Switch 1 version and PS4 versions are not worth considering unless you have no other way to play these games.

Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack issues still present on all platforms

Right now, the way foliage is rendered in some areas, the lack of good texture filtering, and not great anti-aliasing on any platform are the major issues present. I get that this wasn't planned as a remaster and is mainly an enhanced port for new platforms and to include all prior DLC with some new content, but it is disappointing to see the same shimmering grass in Atelier Ryza DX all these years after I was first annoyed by it on base PS4. This is just one example of the visual issues you will run into.

I'm also disappointed in the lack of a 60fps performance mode on Nintendo Switch 2. It delivers a solid 30fps experience, but having played the modern Atelier games at 30fps on Switch for years, I was hoping to see a 60fps option for Nintendo Switch 2. Beyond that, while I appreciate the PC port features, Gust should've added proper upscaling support for handhelds at least. The final topic I wanted to cover is subtitles. I gave up on expecting Atelier games to get dubs,  but it is disappointing to see Koei Tecmo still not subtitling everything in-game. Some spoken lines during exploration or combat remain without any translation for English speaking players. You could argue this isn't important for the story, but I expect every single voiced line to be subtitled at this point. 

Hopefully this comparison feature covering Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack on PS4, PS5, Switch 2, Switch, and PC across multiple devices helped you decide where to buy it or whether it is worth your time if you own existing versions of any of the games.

Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack launches on November 13 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam).