If you’ve been craving more Atelier after this year’s release of Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Painting then you’re in luck, as Koei Tecmo has announced that fans can look forward to four more of them by early 2019.
That said, before you get too excited, do be aware that only one of the promised titles are actually new — Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World. Meanwhile, the remaining three are from the Arland trilogy — Atelier Rorona: The Alchemists of Arland, Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland, and Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland.
Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists:Â Ateliers of the New World
Help #Nelke in her quest to unravel the mystery behind the Grazweit Tree! Familiar faces like Ayesha, Escha, Logix, Shallistera, Shallotte and more alchemists from across other Atelier titles will help Nelke on her journey! #KTfamily pic.twitter.com/AKG0p9VA6X
— KOEI TECMO AMERICA (@KoeiTecmoUS) September 26, 2018
According to the announcement, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists will be coming to the PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC in early 2019 (it was originally scheduled for a winter release). And since the game will be a celebration of the series’ 20th anniversary, not only will it feature many of the characters from previous titles, but it will go back to the series’ roots and place less of an emphasis on exploration, in favor of alchemy.
Most notably, the game will have the main character, Nelke von Lestamm, manage a small village named Westwald. Using her managerial skills and her friends’ alchemy (she has no talent for it), players will be tasked with turning her village into a legitimate city. In that respect, you could think of it as Dark Cloud but with Atelier characters.
Atelier Arland Series Deluxe Pack
Atelier Arland Series Deluxe Pack is coming via digital release on the PS4, Switch, and PC via Steam on December 4, 2018. #AtelierArlandDX #KTFamily pic.twitter.com/4gu4LMc3DT
— KOEI TECMO AMERICA (@KoeiTecmoUS) September 26, 2018
Meanwhile, the Arland trilogy will be coming to the PlayStation 4, Switch and PC on Dec. 4 in the form of the Atelier Arland Series Deluxe Pack. All three games will come with “many” of their respective DLCs and will be able to be purchased individually or as a discounted package. However, Koei Tecmo has yet to reveal the actual prices.
Compared to Nelke, the Arland trilogy represents the series at its most typical. As such, exploration and the turn-based battles will be the standard fare, and the main characters will be capable of doing all their alchemy themselves. Most importantly, though, there will be time limits in place, so you can’t just lollygag like you could in Atelier Lydie & Suelle.
All in all, the future is looking pretty good for the Atelier series. That said, one can’t help but wonder where Koei Tecmo and developer Gust will go with it next (outside of Atelier Online). The Legendary Alchemists is an anniversary title, so it’s unlikely it will become a trilogy, and there is actually nothing else that can be done with Arland.
Are they planning to cook up ports of the Dusk trilogy or can we expect the start of a new trilogy in 2019?
