Atelier video games have been round for the reason that late ’90s, with greater than two dozen titles shipped in that point – however you’re forgiven some unfamiliarity the sequence, as Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Reminiscences and the Envisioned Land would be the very first to reach on Xbox. After taking part in by way of the primary few hours of the sport and talking with producer Junzo Hosoi, it’s changing into clear that the primary Atelier title on Xbox isn’t merely the newest within the sequence, it’s probably the most bold entry but.
“As an enormous Xbox fan, I’m thrilled to lastly convey the sequence to the system,” Hosoi instructed me by way of electronic mail, “However once I take a look at the sport as an entire, I don’t describe Atelier Yumia as the subsequent Atelier recreation. I describe it as a totally new JRPG sequence that has Atelier options.”
My preview session bore that out; gamers will discover acquainted RPG components aplenty – strategic, real-time battles, crafting, exploration – however they arrive collectively in approach that feels altogether totally different from others within the style. The key ingredient, if you’ll, lies within the tremendous deep crafting system.
“The allure of the Atelier sequence is about synthesis and the alchemy course of,” Hosoi-san confirmed. “The sport cycle is fairly distinctive as there may be amassing within the subject, preventing in battle, and using the synthesis system, and all three of these issues are associated.”
That allure can also be evident within the playable forged of characters, particularly the eponymous Yumia Liessfeldt, a extra grown-up character than some previous sequence headliner heroines.
Hosoi-san shares extra background: “Since Yumia is 21 years outdated, the story is about her rising into maturity. That is proven all through the story by way of her robust core values… independence and allure. With [heroes of previous titles] Ryza and Sophie, they have been youthful, so that they wanted mentors with a purpose to develop up, however with Yumia, she has her personal identification and decision-making abilities.” Oh, and he or she owns a motorbike!
As a result of Aladiss, the brand new continent launched in Atelier Yumia, inherently distrusts alchemy, the sport’s early hours see Yumia searching for to show her value. Whereas her synthesis abilities differentiate her from different characters within the recreation, bolstered by a brand new constructing system that crafting survival followers will take pleasure in, in my playthrough, it was Yumia’s battle prowess that stunned most.
For almost all the sequence’ historical past, Atelier titles have been turn-based affairs. The current Atelier Ryza titles have been to first to maneuver to real-time, and for Atelier Yumia, the crew heard participant suggestions, leading to an enormous quantity ofc ombat choices for gamers to grasp.
“The mechanics of battle have been fully redesigned for this recreation as shut and ranged fight has been added,” Hosoi-san explains. “Inside the two assault zones, gamers can transfer the energetic character freely across the enemies or between the 2 assault zones in battle. You may also guard and dodge assaults in real-time and even pull off a strong cooperation assault with different characters when an enemy is shocked. For Atelier Yumia, we’re specializing in really exhibiting the participant’s abilities throughout battle.”
In observe, battles transfer shortly; gamers can management Yumia or shift at any time to one among her touring companions. Placement is vital; you possibly can see when and the place assaults will hit, however timing out a precision guard (or getting the heck out of the way in which) takes good timing. It’s not too difficult when going 1 on 1 with a daily mob, however in a multi-enemy rumble, with fewer secure areas, there’s an entire lot to account for.
Add in various enemy weaknesses, alternatives to execute highly effective Buddy Actions, balancing offense and protection at totally different ranges – I didn’t count on a recreation this cute to require such situational consciousness! Happily, your squad enters and exits battle seamlessly as you discover, and it’s quick and enjoyable to construct up preventing expertise, or to keep away from encounters while you simply wanna zipline again to city.
As talked about, Yumia isn’t on this journey alone; you’ll meet a number of companions within the recreation’s prologue earlier than rewinding to an earlier level within the story. I discovered one character notably entertaining, and Hosoi-san stunned me by unexpectedly citing an Xbox icon when requested about Flammi, Yumia’s floating, humorous little companion.
“Flammi was really impressed by Halo’s Cortana. I needed to make one thing the place we might have a dialog between a predominant protagonist and any individual near them who’re at all times collectively. Taking part in Halo was a lot enjoyable and that’s why I actually needed so as to add a mascot for Atelier Yumia.“
Atelier Yumia arrives at a really prolific time for Koei Tecmo: Dynasty Warriors Origins was well-received on its current launch, Staff Ninja stunned everybody with Ninja Gaiden 4’s announcement, and we’ve been spoiled with shadow drops of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black and Warriors: Abyss. To listen to it from Hosoi-san, the optimistic vitality is boosting everybody’s initiatives.
“Inside Koei Tecmo video games, the model producers get alongside rather well with one another. Now we have a convention the place video games underneath growth obtain opinions from every of the manufacturers, so not solely will we pay attention to one another’s opinions, we then get to see their video games in growth as properly. We make the most of one another’s opinions to assist us develop and create higher video games. In the long run, that helps in my objective of creating Atelier Yumia identified worldwide as the very best recreation within the sequence.”
