It was a darkish day for the Atelier fandom when Gust introduced that Venture A25—the twenty fifth Atelier entry—was a gacha sport. Whereas the franchise isn’t any stranger to spinoffs, together with Atelier On-line: Alchemist of Bressisle for cellular, Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy & the Polar Night time Liberator broke new floor for the collection, for higher or worse. Not solely was the sport a free-to-play gacha, nevertheless it was additionally restricted to cellular units and PCs, which contradicted Gust and Koei Tecmo’s efforts to increase the collection to a broader viewers throughout a number of platforms. With a deal with crossover characters from earlier titles buried in FOMO-infused limited-time banners, an oversaturated gacha market, and stripped-down techniques and mechanics, Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night time Liberator had an uphill battle from the beginning, and I say that as one of many few individuals who loved it.
Barely over a 12 months later, the sport went finish of service within the West, abandoning the hole corpse of a sport that also shambles on in Japan, but leaves a coffin-shaped gap within the franchise for Western followers. It’s remaining native, though the Atelier franchise is beloved by followers worldwide nowadays. May the sport be saved in any means, or is it higher to maneuver on to the subsequent factor? Koei Tecmo’s reply is a combination of each concepts, resulting in one of many higher salvage jobs within the trade. Whereas not as spectacular or on the dimensions of Sq. Enix’s Last Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn rebirth, Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian looks like a course correction, an apology, and a thanks to followers of the collection.
Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian is a return to kind in some ways. Whereas the newest Atelier collection, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Recollections & the Envisioned Land, featured a deep and complicated synthesis system with kinetic and chaotic battles, Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian takes a extra simplified method to alchemy and fight. The world is far smaller in scope, cut up into pockets and zones which might be paying homage to the PS3 and PS4 period Atelier video games. Most of the concepts in Atelier Yumia had been a daring step ahead into the long run, however Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian is a glance again on the previous, spanning the franchise in each roster and mechanics.
Not like the earlier Atelier Resleriana title, The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian performs like a correct and totally fledged Atelier sport. Gamers can spend their days exploring fields and zones, gathering supplies, combating enemies, crafting gadgets, and managing their store. All of those duties contribute to the sport’s major aim: to revive the city of Hallfein. The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian focuses on city restoration, however there isn’t any city constructing per se. Not like the final crossover title, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World, gamers aren’t choosing constructing placements or what mentioned buildings have out there for buy. As a substitute, by investing cash, finishing duties, recruiting fairies, crafting and promoting new gadgets, and so forth, the city advances in ranges as completely different districts endure enhancements. Because the districts develop, so does Hallfein itself, and the vary of outlets and retailers out there expands. Admittedly, I used to be reminded of Last Fantasy XIV’s Doman and Ishgardian Restoration tasks greater than something.
The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian’s synthesis system can also be fairly primary at first look. Nevertheless, because the story progresses and Rias learns new recipes, a bevy of branching paths open up that always change the unique recipe utterly. The colour-matching reward system is simple to know, and the onboarding course of gently introduces gamers to the alchemy system. Recipes have clearly outlined branching paths, which permits gamers to plan forward the second they unlock new recipes. Whereas the system isn’t as deep or complicated because the Mysterious collection’ color-matching or Atelier Yumia’s radius-based resonance system, The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian’s synthesis system feels proper at dwelling with the PS3-era Ateliers. Fortunately, the unimaginable variety of high quality of life modifications through the years is mirrored within the new system, guaranteeing gamers will discover it straightforward to study and simple to grasp.
The gacha featured gorgeous visuals, starting from lovely vistas to beautiful character designs. Graphically, the sport appeared each high-budget and high-quality. Whereas the character fashions in Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian match the earlier sport, the cutscene path is a step up for the collection as a result of dynamic angles and scene structure. Animations look fluid and pure, feelings are simply discernible, and conversations movement naturally with a deal with facial expressions. The locals, nevertheless, seem a lot flatter as a result of it permits free roaming concerning the zones, versus the gacha’s on-rails exploration. This flatness is most modern within the Dimensional Paths—unusual dungeons that feel and appear randomly generated. Dimensional Paths are unbelievable spots for gathering supplies, looking down augmented foes, and scouting out faeries to assist the city. They often include small, flat rooms, but they’re dwelling to among the extra fascinating and unusual locales within the sport.
On the narrative entrance, The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian is awkward, to say the least. Though it’s a sequel to a defunct sport, it additionally serves as a standalone story, specializing in the fledgling alchemist Rias and her newfound companion, Slade. Naturally, the titular Resna and Valeria make their appearances, and the story references occasions within the prior sport, however the two by no means be a part of the get together. As one of many few dual-protagonist video games within the collection, gamers can begin with both Slade or Rias, but their paths rapidly converge as their objectives align. Rias learns that her knack for alchemy can assist her uncover the reality behind a tragedy that occurred a few years in the past. On the similar time, Slade seeks to unravel the thriller surrounding the gauntlet his household left behind. All through the sport, the 2 goal to rebuild the devastated city of Hallfein—a city typically deserted by the nation’s capital following the aforementioned tragedy. Finally, the story finds its footing as a stable and emotional story about cooperation and serving to these in want.
Till the discharge of Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout in 2019, mainline Atelier video games featured solely turn-based battles. With Ryza, the builders started experimenting with real-time hybrid fight techniques, specializing in timelines much like Last Fantasy’s Energetic Time Battle techniques. Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian takes a glance again on the collection, incorporating components from former turn-based battle techniques. The multi-action system, wherein characters can tag in with combo assaults, looks like a combination of Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis and Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream. Moreover, Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland’s interrupt system makes a comeback with enhancements, and Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Work’s follow-up system soars, guaranteeing battles are flashy with fixed development. Timecards, present in quite a few Atelier video games, additionally make a return, permitting gamers to stack recurring assaults and results throughout a number of turns.
Defensive play in Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian is extra vital than ever. At any time when enemies assault, gamers can block with excellent timing to scale back injury and stop standing results. Although it’s a far cry from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33‘s energetic parries and dodging, and even farther from Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica’s rhythmic timed defensive system, it ensures fight feels extra partaking than mindlessly buying and selling blows. At its peak, fight in Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian is each enjoyable and rewarding. Nevertheless, the onboarding course of is extremely gradual. The primary few battles within the sport are a slog, as actions really feel heavier and slower than they need to, but a faucet of the L3 button speeds issues up and makes battle snappier. Moreover, it takes fairly some time to get the entire forged of six characters, and the multi-action system feels largely unused till the fourth character reveals up.
That mentioned, the battle system reveals its enamel with a notable problem on tougher difficulties, in addition to a formidable number of enemies in battle. Latest Atelier titles have left me wanting so far as battles that includes a number of enemy sorts directly. The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian requires technique and thought for every battle. Foes could also be resistant to components, bodily injury, or forged devastating standing results and debuffs. Boss battles had been the spotlight of the battle system. I used to be completely satisfied to barely scrape by as I juggled taunts, time playing cards, completely guarded assaults, arrange combos and follow-ups, utilized a dizzying array of standing results, interrupted turns, and unleashed hell with an array of finely crafted bombs that tanked stats and shackled enemies.
As I’ve talked about in virtually each Atelier evaluation, the soundtracks for every sport are extremely inventive, emotional, and thrilling items of artwork. For Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian, the OST is total very good, but it lacks standout tracks. In earlier titles, I’ve gravitated in direction of any songs composed by Hayato Asano, given his mastery of the artcore sub-genre. Sadly, Asano is lacking from The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian. Nonetheless, long-time collection veteran Kazuki Yanagawa and Daisuke Shinoda—who labored on the gacha—have ensured the sport has a stable, albeit a bit secure, soundtrack that appears like a group of all issues Atelier.
There’s a lot to like about The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian, nevertheless it’s not with out scuffs and marks that additional reveal the sport is a salvage job. The forged of playable characters is dismally small. Whereas six characters wouldn’t be a difficulty in some other Atelier title, The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian is a crossover title that options dozens of alchemists from throughout the collection. Since virtually the entire visitor characters had been playable within the gacha, the roster of six feels a bit missing, particularly when fan-favorites akin to Ryza and Ayesha present as much as assist out. Moreover, the cutscenes, though laden with unbelievable character fashions and grand vistas, function an odd yellow overlay in daylight, meant to recreate the picture of sunshine beaming down. At night time, this overlay is white, and whereas the intent is appreciated, it’s fairly distracting and a tad cheesy.
Whereas The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian is an enchancment over its predecessor, it doesn’t match Atelier Yumia’s daring steps ahead. A lowered scope and lowered stakes return the franchise to a snug place, and that’s not a foul factor per se. It serves as a glance again on the franchise. After taking a wild activate the cellular gacha path, a step again was essential to recenter the collection and proceed shifting ahead with the 2 Atelier pillars. Finally, the sport looks like a best hits album that’s lacking a few these distinctive B-sides that stood out and examined the bounds of the style. Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian is a unbelievable course correction and follow-up to the gacha, certain to appease collection veterans, and a very good place to begin for brand new gamers to seek out their footing with the collection.
