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Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian is going back to the long-running JRPG series' roots with turn-based combat and a more "old school" approach, according to series producer Junzo Hosoi.
Hosoi told Automaton that the most recent entry in the series, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land, was an attempt to expand the series' appeal "by proactively implementing action-packed battle elements and an open-world system, which are recent trends in the console RPG scene."
Despite becoming the fastest selling entry in the series and receiving generally favorable critical reviews, Yumia saw mixed reviews from within the Atelier community largely due to its many divergences from JRPG and series conventions. Seemingly in response, developer Gust wants to give longtime fans something much more familiar with the next release.
"We have always been making turn-based RPGs, and we've noticed that many of our fans want exactly that," Hosoi said. "That is why we wanted to create another console game which we could take in a completely different direction than Yumia and expand on the 'old-school Atelier' experience – and that is how the new Atelier Resleriana came to be."
Hosoi added that the new Resleriana, not to be confused with the mobile game Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator, "inherits the creative direction and spirit of Atelier Sophie 2," the 23rd game in the series, released on PC and consoles in 2022.
In addition to fully turn-based battles, The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian is a return to form by way of having six-character parties divided into a frontline and backline, character-specific items and equipment slots that are unique to each alchemist, as well as skill trees and randomized dungeons.
The town shop management system from old-school Atelier games is also back, directly influencing the story with unlockable areas and characters based on that shop sim progression.
Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian hits PC via Steam, PS5, and Switch on September 26.
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