Right here we’re once more! As a fan of the Atelier sequence I’m being handled effectively by Gust and Koei Tecmo, as a result of not solely did we get Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Recollections & the Envisioned Land earlier this yr, we get one other sport in Atelier Resleriana: The Purple Alchemist & the White Guardian this yr. Is Gust spreading themselves too skinny? Or are we simply fortunate sufficient to get one other good Atelier sport?
Atelier Resleriana takes place within the city of Hallfein, beforehand a profitable city that has entered onerous instances due to an enormous tragedy a number of years prior. You play as two twin protagonists, Rias and Slade, who’re each working to revive the city in addition to discover out what occurred these years in the past.
If the title Atelier Resleriana sounds acquainted to you, it’s as a result of it’s additionally the title of a cellular gacha sport that has since shut down. Whereas Atelier Resleriana: The Purple Alchemist & the White Guardian is technically a sequel to Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night time Liberator (the cellular sport) you don’t want any form of prior data or expertise within the cellular sport. And if you happen to aren’t a fan of cellular gacha sport mechanics, you’re in luck! Atelier Resleriana: The Purple Alchemist & The White Guardian (referred to only as Atelier Resleriana from right here on out to avoid wasting us all a bit time) is a regular JRPG with no gacha mechanics or free to play components.
What the console sport does carry over from the cellular sport are references to earlier video games within the sequence. Atelier Resleriana is an enormous crossover from the earlier video games within the Atelier sequence, with each main celebration members and characters you run into being from earlier video games, defined as being vacationers from different worlds. Whereas data of the remainder of the Atelier sequence isn’t essential to play Atelier Resleriana, it is rather enjoyable to see simply how far this goes in rewarding followers of the sequence. I used to be very comfortable, for instance, to see Totori from Atelier Totori present up (certainly one of my favourite video games within the sequence) and point out occasions from her sport and interactions along with her mentor, Rorona. One among your celebration members can also be certainly one of my private favourite aspect characters, Willbell from the Nightfall subseries. There was even stuff I felt like I used to be lacking, as a fan of the sequence – the primary character who joins your celebration is Raze from Mana Khemia 2, a fan favourite subseries from the PS2 that I haven’t had an opportunity to play. That is extremely rewarding to followers, however shouldn’t be one thing to maintain you from enjoying Atelier Resleriana.
One other side of Atelier Resleriana that can be acquainted to current followers is the gameplay, each with the gameplay loop and fight. The gameplay loop is traditional Atelier, the place you discover the world to get supplies, use these supplies in alchemy to synthesize gadgets, after which use these gadgets in fight. Nonetheless, Atelier Resleriana provides a brand new twist with a city and store administration mechanic, the place you promote gadgets in a store to each earn cash and likewise develop the city. Then you may additional improvement with investing the cash you’ve earned in addition to gadgets you’ve gathered and crafted. I at all times love the Atelier gameplay loop, and the additions right here work effectively, feeling like a pure extension of traditional Atelier gameplay. The fight can also be again to traditional Atelier, returning to show primarily based fight. Whereas a few of the actual time fight of the Ryza/Secret video games and Yumia has been good, I feel flip primarily based works loads higher with the remainder of the techniques, and it feels nice right here. I additionally love the alchemy system on this sport, which entails you choosing out the gadgets for use in synthesis (with varied strengths and traits) however then additionally having the ability to morph recipes if utilizing particular components which lets you uncover new gadgets. It’s a really enjoyable system which has lead me to spend a good period of time messing with alchemy to see what number of gadgets I can uncover.
The sport additionally seems and sounds nice, with just a few caveats. The character designs and fashions are a few of the greatest within the Atelier franchise, which is very thrilling given all the legacy characters included into the sport. That being mentioned, a few of the textures are actually tough and really feel virtually shockingly misplaced. If the group needed to spend its time on one factor I’m glad the character fashions got precedence, however a few of the environmental textures won’t really feel misplaced on a sport from just a few console generations in the past. I discovered it simple to recover from fairly shortly but it surely’s a bit jarring. The music is nice too, and likewise references earlier video games – I heard a music from Atelier Ayesha that instantly felt nostalgic.
Atelier Resleriana is in loads of methods a love letter to the remainder of the sequence. Whereas Atelier Yumia was wanting ahead, Atelier Resleriana exhibits that Gust is greater than prepared to look again on the issues that made the sequence beloved within the first place. Whereas I actually loved my time with Atelier Yumia, I feel Atelier Resleriana can be my favourite Atelier sport of the yr. It is a evaluation in progress as a result of reality I’m not fairly carried out with the sport and may’t communicate to the finished story, however I feel the gameplay and characters present simply why so many followers like myself have fallen in love with the Atelier sequence. It incorporates traditional Atelier gameplay with fan favourite characters whereas nonetheless together with contemporary gameplay concepts. Whereas this was positively made with current followers of the sequence in thoughts, Atelier Resleriana is one thing that new followers may respect as effectively.
