Producers Talk Shop about Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian Game

With its magic shops and the many Alchemists who run them, Gust's Atelier series has quietly continued over the decades as a fan-favorite thanks to its charming characters and comfortable atmosphere. Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian banked on that history, and now it's making the transition from a mobile game to a full-fledged console RPG. Anime News Network was able to sit down with its producers, Junzo Hosoi, the current head of Gust who's been at the helm for countless Atelier titles and Yasunori Sakuda, best known for his 20-year involvement with the Dead or Alive series to talk about this upcoming title.

Anime News Network: What led to the decision to rework Resleriana from a mobile game to a full console title?

Yasunori Sakuda: After announcing Atelier Resleriana, we received a lot of feedback from many fans of the Atelier series saying they would like to enjoy the world of Resleriana on consoles as well. We were also thinking about whether we could offer a new experience while expanding the world of Resleriana, so when we heard these comments, we decided to start planning a console version.

Your First Look video on Resleriana emphasizes the expressive CG from the mobile game. How will The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian differ from other current Atelier titles, such as Atelier Yumia?

Junzo Hosoi: With Atelier Yumia, we aimed to include global trends, such as an open field, to evolve the Atelier series. On the other hand, this title is being created to follow the experience of past Atelier series, such as turn-based combat, while also introducing modern technologies.

Though we created a challenging title such as Atelier Yumia, we also think about continuing to create "traditional Atelier" games, so we hope players will feel that kind of atmosphere.

Your First Look video also specifically calls attention to your overseas fans. How have you noticed fan reception for the Atelier games in the past few years? What trends do you mostly notice about the overseas fans? How similar are the overseas Atelier fans to your homegrown audience? Do you think there might be challenges in appealing to both?

Hosoi: During the promotion of Atelier Yumia, I went to North America and Europe for the first time, and there I was able to feel first hand the differences between what we thought what North American and European wanted and what they actually wanted, as well as the differences between what each region's fans hope for.

However, the one biggest common point among all regions is the request to provide greater depth into the Atelier series. We have decided that in order to keep everyone excited about the Atelier series, we will wholeheartedly aim to provide an even greater experience that is unique to the Atelier series.

The Atelier series is always developed with everyone's valuable feedback and impressions in mind, so we want all the players to keep providing them to us!

Your First Look video mentions wanting to satisfy the demand for "challenge" in Atelier titles. Given that the Atelier series is known for its laid-back atmosphere, what would "challenge" look like in an Atelier game?

Hosoi: With the Atelier series, we have always tried to take on new challenges with each series and each title. In the past, we switched over to an RPG format with the "Iris" series, and with Mana Khemia, the Atelier title was dropped. We've gone through a lot of trial and error.

For Atelier Yumia, we referenced the feedback of those who wanted to play an Atelier that did not have an idyllic atmosphere, and also incorporated an open field and a real-time combat system. But on the other hand, with this title, we opted for a more traditional Atelier, evolving the familiar command battles and synthesis system.

The guest characters in The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian include characters from Mana Khemia, Atelier Totori, Atelier Sophie, and Atelier Ayesha. What led to the decision to incorporate these characters specifically?

Hosoi: There are a lot of series within the Atelier series, so we wanted to include as many different characters from them as possible. For Raze in particular, we created his first 3D model for the original Resleriana, so we selected him since we wanted fans to enjoy this. Another reason is that the story of this title takes place at the same time as the second half of the first part of the original Resleriana, so we chose characters that could be in Hallfein during that time.

We also selected them considering the balance in a party. If only alchemists were chosen, it would become unbalanced, so they gave characters such as Raze and Wilbell, a swordsman and a witch, respectively, an attacker-like role.

Will other characters be considered for appearances later on?

Sakuda: Many of the legendary characters will visit Hallfein, though they won't participate in battles. Players will make discoveries as to what they are doing in the world of Resleriana. Look forward to it!

The Red Alchemist & The Red Guardian will feature both town management and shop management. Could these be considered an expansion of concepts laid down in Atelier Yumia?

Hosoi: Since Atelier Yumia featured an open field, the map would get bigger and bigger. Rather than expand on this in The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian, in contrast, we wanted to focus on a single town, and when considering how to develop the town, we added a shop management feature. Additionally, fairies will appear for the first time in a while. We'd like everyone to know that the Atelier series has this kind of mascot character, and I hope everyone will enjoy them.

Because Atelier games revolve around their protagonists so much, what do you think makes Rias so unique among her alchemist peers?

Hosoi: Rias' uniqueness comes from the fact that she's the Atelier series' first "beast girl". We wanted to feature the beast-like beings that exist in the world of Resleriana, and also expand the world, so we created a protagonist with animal ears. Additionally, as Rias' hometown of Hallfein and its surroundings are in the countryside, her clothes have a retro feel to them and were made to have a very different image from the ones Resna or Valeria, who are based in the capital, usually wear.

Do you have any final words for your fans?

Hosoi: Thank you very much for constantly supporting the Atelier series. Although the global version of Atelier Resleriana has ended, we thank you for all of the support for the game when it began service.

We are so glad to be able to deliver this world to everyone again.

The Atelier series continues to be developed while referencing the feedback and support from fans. We will continue to work hard to deliver a title that doesn't betray your expectations, so we would appreciate your continued support.