We’re in an Atelier renaissance, it could appear. We have 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 Pink Alchemist & the White Guardian.
In fact, you don’t must play any of the opposite sequence to choose up Resleriana’s journey. It does incorporate characters from different Atelier video games, however not in a means that requires you to know their backstories. Actually, this recreation relies across the now defunct Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night time Liberator cell recreation. The Pink Alchemist is extra of an adaptation, although, not a cell port—completely different story, identical universe.
And the identical property, it could appear. When you’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 nearly as good as ever, nevertheless, and the cutscenes are tremendous.
I point out that up entrance as a result of it’s a bizarre hump to need to recover from, particularly after exploring the vividly open world of Yumia. Then again, that strategy got here with many practical and technological frustrations (particularly on the Change), and people are gone right here.
So, what’s happening within the Envisioned Land? Properly, the sport is centered across the city of Hallfein. A latest catastrophe left it empty and in ruins, but it surely’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 shouldn’t be solely used for crafting gadgets, however for accessing dimensional paths that present crafting supplies, characters from earlier Atelier video games, and (after all) plot growth.
Past the preliminary setup, the Atelier video games differ from one other based mostly on how they strategy their three core parts: exploration, fight, and synthesis. All three are a lot easier than what we’ve seen in recent times, so let’s break them down individually.
Exploration is unquestionably flatter right here. There are not any ponds to swim in, crags to climb, or distant gadgets to shoot. Your occasion 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, but it surely additionally streamlines the sport. One in every of my foremost frustrations with Yumia was the odd complexity of determining get from level A to level B, or figuring out if it was even potential but. That’s not a problem right here; the surroundings doesn’t intrude together with your means to give attention to 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 precise software to assemble the supplies, you simply must have it. And because the instruments are upgraded, you’ll get entry to higher gadgets and new areas.
Fight returns to a straight-up turn-based system that I desire, however others received’t. As with the Ryza video games, your occasion characters and enemies will take turns attacking, utilizing an merchandise, or utilizing a ability. Basic assaults don’t do a lot injury, however they assist you to purchase motion factors that may then be used for weakness-targeting abilities. A timeline is displayed on the facet, and it incorporates particular discipline results that may add buffs or debuffs to turns. It’s necessary to verify 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 tough to correctly manipulate the timelines, but it surely makes for some enjoyable, strategic decisions. Followers who have been thrown by Yumia’s extra action-oriented strategy can be completely happy right here.
That stated, fight is usually 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 only take longer to defeat. You’ll positively 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 overall path stays: study a recipe, collect the components, then move alongside the various results and bonuses that almost all components present. Some components could have the next grade, however don’t have the innate ability 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 appreciated that about this sequence; if I didn’t really feel like coming into into fight with any given gaming session, I might wile away the hours simply crafting higher gadgets for my occasion. That feeling carries over simply tremendous in Atelier Resleriana, even when the synthesis system isn’t as rewarding as previously.
So, regardless of being born from a cell recreation, Atelier Resleriana: The Pink Alchemist & the White Guardian is a superbly tremendous entry within the sequence. I’d reasonably play it right here than on a telephone with in-app purchases, however I do suppose 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 accessible on the identical value (or much less). However Atelier followers will discover rather a lot to get pleasure from, particularly in the event that they felt alienated by the larger modifications in Yumia.
