Atelier Resleriana The Red Alchemist and the White Guardian

While I've often enjoyed dipping in and out of the Atelier games, it wasn't until Ryza that I really started getting into them, and the last entry in the series, Yumia, was an absolute delight. I was intrigued by Atelier Resleriana as I knew it to be a game with roots in a short-lived online gacha game, Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator which featured lots of extra content and cameos from across the series. How would Atelier Resleriana The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian work as a standalone release?

As is common for most Atelier games, the world inhabited by our heroes requires no understanding of previous games, it's all a fresh canvas. We have two co-leads here, the ditzy Rias who's less interested in Alchemy than she is in exploring caves and bringing back fascinating items for her sister, and the rather more mysterious Slade who is returning to the town of Hallfein to carry out his father's final wishes, for which he has been given an armband called the Geist Core. Like Atelier Yumia, alchemy hasn't been practiced in years, so when the two discover an Atelier full of alchemist equipment, it's surprising that Rias has an affinity for it - the how and why we'll discover as we go.

A familiar process for Atelier fans

As per the series' formula, you're tasked with exploring and finding items to aid you in your alchemy. Monsters will of course bar your way, and when it comes to combat the game adopts Atelier Sophie 2's 3 x 2 line-up, with turn based attacks between friend and foe. The turn order bar hosts random buffs that will activate for whoever takes that turn, so some thought is needed for manipulating the turn order and  making the most of these advantages. It's also possible to use more than one action and have multiple characters attack at once, which adds some flavour to the fighting.

Combat is lively and instinctive, the additional buffs and turn manipulation add a pleasing level of strategy

The alchemy is pretty much par for the course, with the items you find allowing you to craft gear, weapons and potions that will aid you throughout the game. One unique addition to this entry is Rias' shop, which is in rough shape. You can stock shelves with the items you create, with colour coding bringing you bonuses. Maintenance is also very important, for this you'll need to find worker faeries (which seems a bit ethically dubious) but they can be found in dungeons, with each having their own benefits for cleaning and customer service. They all look identical though - some more variety would have been nice. It's a simple addition that could stand for some expansion, perhaps we'll see it down the road in this ever-evolving franchise.

Managing your shop is surprisingly enjoyable

There are a lot of cameos throughout the game, which is explained by the concept of "wanderers", which just means that people from other worlds can appear in this one. Obviously this allows for plenty of old faces to pop in, including from games such as Mana Khemia 2 which came out in 2009 - I had the first game on PSP but sadly the sequel was Japan only for portable fans. It's nice to see such a deep cut making a modern game. In the game this is treated in a throwaway manner, despite the trauma you might expect on people finding themselves lost in an unfamiliar world, but that's just not the tone of the game.

It is fun to see everyone get along and for disparate characters bounce off each other. Narratively the game is fine - the leads get a solid story - but it's just begging for more meat on the bone for the rest of the cast. It's never a bad thing if a game you enjoy has you thinking of new things you'd like to see, hopefully the game designers are making similar plans. I like these characters and the free athletic outfits were a pleasant surprise - it's a game that both satisfies and leaves you wanting more. Not a bad combination these days!

The game reflects the tone - it's bright, breezy and fun. It never feels like a daunting challenge, but it's a lot of fun to spend time with. Some of the narrative elements seem shallow thanks to its links to a now decommissioned gacha game that may have added some background, but as it stands, you'll still find much to enjoy here.