Most of the bigger titles of 2022 have already launched, so it’s easy to find myself looking ahead to 2023. One game I’m excited for luckily launches relatively early in the year – Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key is due out in February! Today, Gust and Koei Tecmo have released details regarding three returning players (that will be party members) and gameplay information (focusing on keys).
Once again, we have the honour of following fan-favourite Reisalin Stout and her mischievous friends, this time for their third and final summer adventure. Ryza heads off to investigate a mysterious group of islands that have had an adverse affects on her hometown’s stability. While working to solve the mystery, Ryza reunites with some old friends. She’s asked Empel and Lila to help her, but when she arrives in the village where they’re supposed to be staying she finds out they’re being held captive. As she attempts to save them, she runs into another familiar face: Patricia, who dazzles with her swordsmanship. Once Ryza and Patricia free Empel and Lila, all three old friends will become party members.
Related reading: An interview with the developers!
As I mentioned, gameplay features have been detailed… I’ll get into that, but first, a trailer to show it all off!
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key features real-time tactical battles that are said to be “greatly enhanced” from those of the previous titles in the series. Players can select up to five battle members from 11 party members. There’s a new system for battle transitions, and the addition of keys to speed up fights and create a seamless experience. Three battle members will be up front, with two in the rear. Players retain the ability to use and swap out skills. Powerful skills will be activated by orders from friends, and powerful keys can be equipped and used in battles to defeat even the most grueling of enemies. Each key will strengthen one character for a period of time, while also dropping the waiting time for all actions to zero; this means this character can continuously attack and use skills without having to recharge.
Keys can also be used in the synthesis system to create powerful items. This is all a bit above my head without having it in my hands, so I’ll let the developer and publisher explain:
By inserting materials into a material ring, Ryza will be able to synthesize special items, then by using a key to improve the level of the recipe, Ryza will be able to not only improve the quality of the item, she will be able to increase the number of creations! Through the new Link Morph ability, Ryza will be able to add certain effects to items that could not be added before, while some items will feature a super trait, enabling the creation of even stronger items! Thanks to all of these new features, Ryza will be able to create extremely specialized items, the likes of which she hasn’t seen before.
Developed by Gust and published by Koei Tecmo, Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key will be released for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch on February 24, 2023.
