Atelier Ryza is really good so far, definitely feels like a big injection of energy to the series after stagnating for about a decade. Haven't gotten far enough in to do any alchemy yet, though, so I dunno how different that is.
I think I played like five minutes of whatever the first Atelier PS4 game was and have played a bit of Nelke, which is not like the other games, so Ryza is my first Atelier title to spend any kind of real time with. Seems like a good jumping on point with all the changes it has.
Aside from Ryza being THICC and that albino ridiculously-big-tiddy lady being SUPER THICCCCCCC there's nothing to put this game into the "lewd gaming" category. But I guess those designs are enough to warrant it.
I've seen some people say that this game series if kind of like the "Animal Crossing of RPGs" and I totally get it- played for a little while last night and it was very relaxing- even the battles somehow felt kind of "chill," oddly enough, despite the move away from turn-based to active-time battle. Seems like a really charming and fun series that's a bit more down to earth with the story and isn't another "teenage group saves the world" trope. At least so far.
Make sure to get the summer costume DLC outfit for Ryza while it's still free!