The people at Gust are very busy, so it seems. Atelier Lulua, the fourth game in the Arland series of Atelier games, is just out in the West. And already, an entirely new series is announced, starting with Atelier Ryza. It will launch in Japan this Autumn on PS4 and the Switch, so pretty soon. And that will make it the third Atelier game this year, as we already had Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists.
The game introduces us to Ryzalin Staud (voiced by Yuri Noguchi), a self-reliant girl who feels restless about her peaceful life and is always on the lookout for excitement. She also has a strong sense of justice and can be quite stubborn when she thinks she’s in the right. She will discover something very precious to her after being introduced to alchemy.
This first Atelier game of a new series introduces a new turn-based battle system, which will be more tense and aggressive than before. Unlike in the previous games, the new Synthesis system will be more responsive and easier to follow, or so Koei Tecmo says.
Synthesis is based on a skill tree-like system as opposed to the usual tile-based systems from the other games. Gathering items change depending on the tool the player uses, even when they have the same gathering points. Interesting, as I have indeed seen screenshots where Ryza is using an axe or hammer.
Check out the trailer, to see how good it all looks.