We’re in an Atelier renaissance, it might appear. We had been launched to Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Recollections & the Envisioned Land again in March. This November, we’ll be reintroduced to Atelier Ryza through the DX releases of her trilogy. Between the 2, say howdy to Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian.
In fact, you don’t must play any of the opposite collection to select up Resleriana’s journey. It does incorporate characters from different Atelier video games, however not in a manner that requires you to know their backstories. In reality, this recreation relies across the now defunct Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Evening Liberator cellular recreation. The Crimson Alchemist is extra of an adaptation, although, not a cellular port—totally different story, similar universe.
And the identical property, it might appear. For those who’ve performed Yumia or any of the Ryza video games, the visuals right here will disappoint. The backdrops are flat and muddy, and the colours appeared washed out all through the sport.
The battle animations are considerably rudimentary, too. The characters look pretty much as good as ever, nevertheless, and the cutscenes are positive.
I point out that up entrance as a result of it’s a bizarre hump to must recover from, particularly after exploring the vividly open world of Yumia. Alternatively, that method got here with many purposeful and technological frustrations (particularly on the Change), and people are gone right here.
So, what’s occurring within the Envisioned Land? Effectively, the sport is centered across the city of Hallfein. A latest catastrophe left it empty and in ruins, nevertheless it’s now being rebuilt. Two characters—Rias Eidreise and Slade Clauslyter—return to be a part of that. In a cool twist, you can begin the sport as both character, and your choice will have an effect on the story considerably.
The 2 shortly uncover a mysterious atelier in an unexplored cave, and we discover that Rias has a penchant for alchemy. Nice, as a result of this atelier just isn’t solely used for crafting gadgets, however for accessing dimensional paths that present crafting supplies, characters from earlier Atelier video games, and (in fact) plot improvement.
Past the preliminary setup, the Atelier video games differ from one other primarily based on how they method their three core parts: exploration, fight, and synthesis. All three are a lot less complicated than what we’ve seen in recent times, so let’s break them down individually.
Exploration is unquestionably flatter right here. There aren’t any ponds to swim in, crags to climb, or distant gadgets to shoot. Your social gathering is mainly on flat floor all through, with easy obstructions serving to stop entry to areas you shouldn’t but attain. This makes the world much less enjoyable to discover, nevertheless it additionally streamlines the sport. Considered one of my primary frustrations with Yumia was the odd complexity of determining how you can get from level A to level B, or figuring out if it was even attainable but. That’s not a problem right here; the atmosphere doesn’t intrude along with your capability to concentrate on the duty at hand. That’s a particular plus.
Oh, and farming gadgets has additionally been simplified. You don’t have to be holding the appropriate device to collect the supplies, you simply must have it. And because the instruments are upgraded, you’ll get entry to raised gadgets and new areas.
Fight returns to a straight-up turn-based system that I want, however others gained’t. As with the Ryza video games, your social gathering characters and enemies will take turns attacking, utilizing an merchandise, or utilizing a talent. Normal assaults don’t do a lot injury, however they show you how to purchase motion factors that may then be used for weakness-targeting abilities. A timeline is displayed on the aspect, and it incorporates particular area results that may add buffs or debuffs to turns. It’s necessary to ensure these land appropriately, so that you’ll need to take actions that transfer the buffs to your turns and the debuffs to the enemy turns. It may be very difficult to correctly manipulate the timelines, nevertheless it makes for some enjoyable, strategic decisions. Followers who had been thrown by Yumia’s extra action-oriented method will probably be glad right here.
That stated, fight is mostly the identical all through the sport, and the bosses appear to be bosses in “spongevity” solely. They’re not all that rather more highly effective, they simply take longer to defeat. You’ll undoubtedly need to have mastered the sphere impact, multi-action, and united assault parts to work by means of them effectively.
That leaves merchandise synthesis, which has additionally been simplified from the latest console Atelier entries. The system holds your hand a lot tighter than the latest video games, utilizing a color-coding sequence that will help you craft higher gadgets.
The final path stays: study a recipe, collect the elements, then move alongside the various results and bonuses that almost all elements present. Some elements might have the next grade, however don’t have the innate talent that you really want for, say, a weapon or farming implement. There’s a lot to craft, and some ways to do it, so synthesis can take over total gaming classes. I’ve additionally favored that about this collection; if I didn’t really feel like getting into into fight with any given gaming session, I might wile away the hours simply crafting higher gadgets for my social gathering. That feeling carries over simply positive in Atelier Resleriana, even when the synthesis system isn’t as rewarding as previously.
So, regardless of being born from a cellular recreation, Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian is a wonderfully positive entry within the collection. I’d moderately play it right here than on a telephone with in-app purchases, however I do assume the $60 asking value is about $20 too excessive. The simplified visuals and gameplay parts are a step again from the opposite latest video games obtainable on the similar value (or much less). However Atelier followers will discover lots to get pleasure from, particularly in the event that they felt alienated by the larger modifications in Yumia.
