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Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key

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  • Comment: A quick search mainly just shows a lot of refs mentioning it in reference to it being in a Nintendo Direct. ― Blaze WolfTalkBlaze Wolf#6545 19:40, 6 January 2023 (UTC)



Atelier Ryza 3:
Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key
Developer(s)Gust
Publisher(s)Koei Tecmo
Artist(s)Toridamono
SeriesAtelier
Platform(s)
ReleaseSwitch, PS4, PS5
  • JP: March 23, 2023
  • NA: March 24, 2023
  • EU: March 24, 2023
Microsoft Windows
  • WW: March 24, 2023
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key[a][1] is a role-playing video game developed by Gust. It is the twenty-fourth main entry in the Atelier series, the third and final game of the Secret storyline, featuring the same protagonist from the two previous installments and celebrating the 25th anniversary of the franchise.

The game was released on March 23, 2023 in Japan for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, with an English subtitled version released on March 24, 2023 in Europe and North America alongside a Microsoft Windows version for all three regions.[2]

Gameplay

Atelier Ryza 3 follows the same gameplay from previous installments. Players move arround the map to collect materials from the environment and defeated monsters that Ryza can use as ingredients to syntethize items with her alchemy to improve the party's equipment and accomplish missions, while the combat system incorporates elements from both turn-based and real-time RPGs. A new, exclusive concept is the introduction of magic keys that are obtained through the game. These keys can be used to unlock new options in both synthetizing and combat, and to access new areas for exploration. For the first time in the series, the environment is composed of a single map formed by interconnected areas instead of smaller areas that need to be loaded with every transition.[3]

Plot

Characters

The party is composed of 11 characters. Aside from the main protagonist Reisalin "Ryza" Stout (Yuri Noguchi), returning playable characters from the first two games include Ryza's close friends Tao Mongarten (Junta Terashima), Lent Marslink (Takuma Terashima) and Klaudia Valentz (Hitomi Owada), Ryza's alchemy teacher Empel Vollmer (Hirofumi Nojima), Empel's bodyguard Lila Decyrus (Haruka Terui) and Tao's pupil Patricia Abelheim (Naomi Ōzora). Bos Brunnen (Yohei Azakami), another friend of Ryza's and a secondary character from both games also returns, now as a playable character, along three new playable characters, Federica Lamberti (Sumire Morohoshi), an artisan, Dian Farell (Yudai Mino), a young warrior and Kala Ideas (Hina Yōmiya), a legendary warrior from the Oren race.[4]

Story

One year after her trip to the capital, Ryza, assisted by Tao and Bos who were taking some vacation from their studies rescue some villagers from unknown monsters. The monsters come from a group of strange islands that mysteriously appeared nearby, known as the "Kark Islands" which are also interfering with the mechanism that keeps Kurken Island stable. While preparing some medicine to treat the wounded, Ryza hears a voice in her head who instructs her to synthetize a key that she has never seen before. Reuniting with Klaudia and Lent who attend to her request for help, Ryza explores the Kark Islands where she finds a strange door and the voice talks to her again, instructing her to look for a way to open it in order to reach the "Code of the Universe". To investigate more about the islands and the keys, Ryza, Tao, Bos, Lent and Klaudia travel the Clares region with Federica Lamberti, the Deputy Leader of Sardonica's Craftsman Union. After helping the local guilds settle a dispute between them, Ryza manages to create a new key and returns to the Kark Isles to test it, accompained by Federica who also joins the party.

The key opens the door which leads to a seemingly empty room containing some texts about dragons. Knowing that Empel and Lila are researching about dragon related legends, the party travels to the Nemed region in search for them, in the occasion, they meet Dian Farell, a local warrior from the village of Faurre who reveals that he is a friend of Empel and Lila's, and that they are imprisoned for wandering into forbidden territory. While investigating the local ruins, Ryza develops a special recipe to improve the village's economy, which she uses to convince the chief to release the duo. Inside the ruins, the reunited party discovers a gate to the Underworld, where they meet a tribe of Oren led by Kala Ideas who reveals that the gates are created when elder dragons use their powers to travel back and forth between both worlds, rendering Empel and Lila's quest to close all gates impossible. Kala also reveals that the "Code of the Universe" is an ancient city inhabited by alchemists from the "Age of Gods" who invaded other worlds for the sake of their research which are also responsible for the Philuscha infestation that threatens the Underworld.

Accompained by Kala, the party travels the world again looking for more clues about the Code of the Universe, eventually returning to the Underworld where they reunite with Kilo and Fi. After completing her research, Ryza opens the door again, this time successfully arriving at the Code, but they discover that its inhabitants had long abandoned the city and fled to other worlds, but the machine that overlooks the city is still functioning, luring talented alchemists in order to absorb them and incorporate their knowledge into the code. After destroying the machine, Ryza uses her key to shut down the Code of the Universe, destroying Kark Isles in the process. Back to Kurken Island, Ryza taps into the Dragon Vein that was used to power the Code of the Universe to ensure that the machinery keeping the island afloat never runs out of energy again and the party disbands: Federica returns to Sardonica and is nominated the Union Leader; Kala returns to the Underworld to help rebuild it; Empel and Lila embark on a new quest, this time to check if the gates they closed were somehow afflicted by the Code of Universe's destruction; Lent travels as a knight errant again, now accompained by Dian; Tao decides to become a researcher at the Royal Academy and live in the capital with Patricia; Bos continues his preparations to carry on his family business, intending to marry Kilo in the future; Klaudia resumes her work as a merchant and Ryza begins a journey alone to see more of the world while looking for an apprentice.[5]

Reception

Upon release, Atelier Ryza 3 received "generally favorable" reviews on all platforms, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[6][7][8]

PJ O'Reilly wrote for Nintendo Life that the game is so far the best in the Atelier series: "Despite some issues with small text, no English dub and a little fussiness in how information is relayed", "Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key ends Ryza's three-game run on a high note, serving up a heady mix of exploration, crafting and combat that benefits greatly from a narrative arc that's had time to develop and grow." [10]

Jean-Karlo Lemus wrote for Anime News Network and gave a B+, explaining "that's a purely analytical score based on how I feel about the mechanics as a greater whole: battles are finicky, getting new recipes is a bit of a grind, and the keys feel almost superfluous. But the experience of this game is one to treasure, especially if you've got the added experience of having played Ryza's other two games. This is a lovely little game about a young woman and her friends making their last farewells to their childhood, stepping out into the world as adults." [11]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: ライザのアトリエ３ ～終わりの錬金術士と秘密の鍵～, Hepburn: Raiza no Atorie 3: Owari no Renkinjutsushi to Himitsu no Kagi

References

  1. ^ "Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key".
  2. ^ "Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key – second trailer, 18 minutes of Switch gameplay". Gematsu. 2022-11-30. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  3. ^ "Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key details keys, evolved synthesis system". Gematsu. 2022-11-30. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  4. ^ "Atelier Ryza 3 Reveals the Return of Beloved Characters With New Trailer, Screenshots, & Gameplay". Twinfinite. 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  5. ^ "Ryza's Adventure Reaches Its Finale With Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key". IGN. 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  6. ^ a b "Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  9. ^ "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1789". Gematsu. 15 March 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  11. ^ "Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key Nintendo Switch". Anime News Network. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-06.


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