In the latest issue of Dengeki PlayStation, Gust revealed that the next Atelier game that is coming is called Atelier Ryza: The Queen of Eternal Darkness and the Secret Hideout.
The game will be released for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. It is scheduled for release this Fall in Japan for 7,800 Yen. There will also be a limited edition that retails for 10,800 yen and 19,540 yen.
Atelier Ryza focuses in a coming of age story of Ryza. The scenario is written by Gust and Shakugan no Shana manga creator Yashichiro Takahashi. The character design is done by Toridamono.
Here are some of the information revealed in the magazine’s interview with producer Junzo Hosoi:
- “Development is led by Gust’s Nagano studio, with myself as the sole producer.”
- “The concept itself was developed alongside Atelier Lulua. Full-blown development began around July 2018 at about the same time as Atelier Lulua.”
- “For the concept, I wanted to depict a coming of age story of boys and girls. So the concept of this game is something like, ‘summer memories.’”
- “The graphics are more realistic and have life-like proportions, which is a significant change from our visual expression on PlayStation 4 thus far starting with Atelier Sophie, but this time we are doing a complete overhaul.”
- “We’re working hard on the visual side to depict summer memories and the new expressions we want to see.”
- “We’re also trying to find a balance between photo-realism and ‘toon rendering’ using graphics we are capable of making.”
- “There won’t be any romance, but there are some more or less bittersweet moments. They won’t develop into love though (laughs).”
- “There are character episode and side story-like elements, but there won’t be any individual endings.”
- “Development is simply difficult all around! (Laughs.) From here on it will be even more rigorous as we continue to polish the game to ensure it’s fun.”
- “We chose Toridamono as character designer because he is able to draw appealing illustrations, but also because his art has a certain charm that’s unique to himself.”
- “Ryza is a lively one! She is similar to Lulua in a way, but not as impulsive as her. She’s a lively child who really doesn’t know much about the world.”
- “The three others aside from Ryza are her friends who she spends her time with. This is a story of these children growing up.”
- “Toridamono really fixated on getting Ryza’s thighs right. There were even staff on the Gust side that followed his lead (laughs).”
- “The catch copy (Bye-bye, Atelier. I will never forget this adventure.) is a reference to the Atelier in which Ryza and her friends spend their days, not a goodbye to the Atelier series.”
- “The scenario is being produced in the way that we did Blue Reflection. The plot feels like it was written by Takahashi while coming up with it at Gust.”
- “For the subtitle, we wanted to sound fresh and new, so our subtitle is made up of the game’s keywords.”
- “For the music, we’ve asked for those charge of previous Atelier games, as well as new folks to create high-quality music befitting of the game.”
- “Synthesis, gathering, and battle being the core three elements of the game has not changed.”
- “For players, the feelings of familiarity and relief [in games staying the same] have gradually become a groove that haven’t been able to get out of, so this time there is big change at the core of the game.”
- “Our goal is for Atelier Ryza to utilize all of our experience thus far, what makes our games interesting, and what we do best, while also challenging the game systems. Since we are evolving and revising various parts, I think it will be a game of considerable change.”
- “Since both the story and systems are changing, some players might be dissatisfied, but we’re prepared for that. But this is the first step towards a new Atelier, so we want people to experience it.”
- “We want to release it before it gets cold out. Development is currently 45 percent complete.”
There’s currently no word yet if the game will make its way in North America but seeing how Tecmo KOEI is releasing every Atelier games, it wont be surprising to see Ryza later this year or early 2020.
