Mana Khemia is an awesome duo of games by the Atelier Iris people, and it is essentially an Alchemy School RPG, featuring some of the best characters theyve come up with(moreso the first one in this aspect though) and the most in depth character/alchemy systems/gathering systems. It basically combines most of the good things from the early Atelier games in the style of Rurona and the best aspects of the Atelier Iris series. The school sim aspect is somewhat Persona-esque but they arent REALLY comparable because time works differently in Mana Khemia and has more focus on the actual school aspects.
The second one has the best combat of any JRPG Ive played, and the first game is only a touch behind it. You owe yourself to check out at least the first one.
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