It’s Sunday (actually it just turned Monday in Japan), and Gust has a new Atelier game coming. What does that mean? That a new stream of Sunday deep dives into Atelier Lydie & Soeur: Alchemists of the Mysterious Painting begins today. Gust loves to send press releases at this time, and we’re gonna get many more until the game’s release.
Today, specifically, we get to see the first 1080p direct feed screenshots of the colorful new game, alongside quite a few pieces of info from the developer.
We begin with the story:
Built in Melveille, the capital of the Adallet Kingdom, there is a small atelier. There live two twins who are growing up as alchemists, while helping their alchemist father. Their dream is to run, one day, the country’s top studio.
However, despite their dreams, the twins are still immature. Their days go on and on while pursuing the slightest distraction between dream and reality.
One day, the twins find a painting, portraying a strange and dreamlike world, showcasing materials that they had never seen before. Due to finding that mysterious painting, their dream was about to come closer to become a reality.
The first of the twins is Lydie Maaren. She is gentle and friendly, and always lives at her own pace. She is not very good at sports, but she excels in her studies, gifted with an unique artistic sense.
The second is Soeur Maaren. She is mischievous and bright, and a bit of a tomboy. Yet, she hides her own kind of genius behind that mask. That being said, she gets very scared and makes a fuss when an insect lands on her shoulder.
The bond among them is very strong, and they have always lived together. When they find the mysterious painting, they are fascinated by it, and they’re suddenly transported into its world. They find vast flower fields and floating islands in the distance, and they appear to be free to explore. They can even collect ingredients that can’t be found in the real world.
By using the ingredients they find, they can create new concoctions, respond to the requests of the citizens, and improve the standing of their atelier in the capital. Increasing the atelier’s rank will open up new magical paintings to explore.
Speaking of alchemy, the puzzle included in the “Mysterious” series of the Atelier franchise will still be included, with the goal of providing an intuitive and familiar system. That said, there will be surprises and unexpected addition. For instance, an Activation Item is used to change the colors of the tiles of the grid, greatly affecting the result of the formula.
Combat is based on two main concept “Combination Battle” and “Battle Mix.” The Combination Battle mechanic involves the formation of teams of two characters, with up to three teams (for a total of six characters). The pair on the front line directly confront the enemy and controls the battle, while the pairs in the rear support them. The actions of the pairs in the rear are selected automatically according to the actions of the front line, so you can easily execute flashy combos simply by selecting what the two characters in the front pair so.
The Battle Mix mechanic lets you blend ingredients directly in battle, to instantly create items that are used on the spot. Players will be able to enjoy a variety of battle effects from those items.
Like in previous games of the Mysterious series, the two protagonists are designed by different artists. Yuugen created Lydie, while NOCO created Soeur.
Incidentally, we also learn about special edition and early purchase bonuses.
Those who will purchase the first print of the game in Japan, will receive two special costumes for Lydie and Soeur to celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary. Appropriate to the occasion, they will be the dresses of Marie from Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg (the first Atelier game released in 1997 for the original PlayStation and Sega Saturn), and Elie from the sequel Atelier Elie: The Alchemist of Salburg 2.
Two special editions have also been announced for Japan: the Premium Box will include an art book, two CDs (Extra Tracks and Voice CD), a B3 cloth poster, a set of three mini clear postcards, and a download code for in-game items.
The 20th Anniversary box will include all the goodies that come with the Premium Box, plus the usual crystal paper weight, and an Atelier Sophie and Firis art book.
The game (which was teased by Gust in June, and revealed in the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu) will be released in Japan for PS4, PS Vita and Nintendo Switch in Winter 2017. At the moment there is no information about a western localization, but being Gust and Koei Tecmo, it’s very likely that it’ll come.
