I haven't extensively played Nelke so don't really want to say anything there, but i highly recommend BR2 and can't recommend 1 at all. 1 definitely has its nice aspects, but 2 brings the overall package and is the quality you should expect from a Gust game post Ryza.

I've seen a few comments on combat leading to you getting OP, but like...that's every Atelier game ever. Hard starts off a bit hard, then you start putting stuff together and rapidly hit OP power levels. Sophie 2 as an example you can start making one hit kill items like 10 hours in. BR2's issue isn't really the OP it's just that being a completionist leads to ending up overpowered because there's so many stacking systems.

BR2 keeps it pretty easy to avoid fights if you're getting bored and the real time combat is a great new take on Ryza's style, imo. Almost feels like ATB, a bit.