Atelier Ryza Rises Again

Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout was the shot in the arm the Atelier franchise needed when it arrived last year — or shot in the thigh, if you prefer. The Gust Japanese RPG series always performed well with the extremely niche RPG crowd, but it started getting recognized by a larger audience as of the Arland trilogy on PlayStation 3. A larger spotlight was shined on it thanks to being a JRPG series on a console (and console generation, really) that didn’t have anywhere near as many examples in the genre compared to preceding PlayStation platforms.

The subsequent Dusk and Mysterious trilogies didn’t do quite as well, and it started becoming clear that Gust was getting desperate to recapture the franchise’s popularity when they broke out of their usual pattern to make a fourth Arland entry.

But their biggest gambit yet was Atelier Ryza — not solely due to the increased fanservice, although that’s a big part of it.  The Atelier series has been no stranger to fanservice, with how a game like Atelier Totori, the Arland trilogy’s second game, contained a not-even-subtly salacious scene where the party took on a giant octopus with long tentacles with expected results. The Mysterious games also contained some interesting designs, though were still largely modest.

Ryza was an attempt to capitalize on popular fanservice design trends, with the titular character’s thick thighs being clearly made for male gaze purposes, alongside the other fanservicey designs the game contained. It worked not solely because of all the fanart created, but due to those designs being combined with one of the best-playing games in the franchise. They took the Dragon’s Crown and NieR: Automata approach to the fullest extent.

Just as the strategy worked for Vanillaware and Square Enix/Platinum Games before, it worked for Gust.  Koei Tecmo confirmed in April that Ryza sold 420,000 copies, making it the best-selling game in the franchise. It’s a blazing number that only would have been better if it was confirmed on April 20th. This explains why Atelier Ryza is getting a different an unprecedented kind of sequel for the series.

That sequel is Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy. Nearly every Atelier saga has been a trilogy, outside the recent Arland series that became a four-part series with Atelier Lulua. But Ryza will be the first direct numbered sequel since the Atelier Iris series on PlayStation 2. More importantly, it will mark the first time the protagonist from the previous Atelier game will retain the position for a sequel. Here lies the hidden power of thick thighs.

Atelier Ryza 2 will take place three years after the first game, and feature Reisalin “Ryza” Stout’s journey to the Royal Capital of Ashra-am Baird, part of her quest to find the truth behind vaguely-defined lost legends in ancient ruins. The current details don’t provide much info about the gameplay changes this installment will have, outside Ryza’s newfound ability to swim. Swimming in games can be “good” or “terrible” with little in between, so everyone who enjoyed the first game should cross their fingers and hope it’s a worthwhile addition. It’s tough to tell how good it will be from the eight-second sound-deprived preview on Gust’s YouTube channel.

It’s tough not to notice Ryza’s updated outfit. She keeps the very short and tight shorts, blouse, and yellow jacket from the first game, but is now wearing a garter stocking and thigh-high boot on only one thigh, making her somewhat of a fashion disaster. (I’m aware this was done for the fetish fuel factor.) The summer outfit version will once again be an early purchase bonus that will be available at a later date, where she loses the jacket. Ryza’s friend Klaudia Valentz will also return from the previous game as a party member, this time wearing a longer dress with a slit instead of a shorter dress, which doesn’t increase the fanservice factor any further. The original outfits will be available for anyone with save data from the first game.

New to Ryza 2 will be a mascot character named Fi, who can’t speak but its otherwise full of emotion. The game’s key art shows that Lent Marslink (what a name) will also return from the previous title, though hasn’t been properly introduced yet. He and other returning and new characters will be shown over the coming weeks.

Atelier Ryza 2 is planned for a release this winter on PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC. (Whether they’ll make a PlayStation 5 version or simply enhance the PS4 version through backwards compatibility remains to be seen.) The Atelier series is now popular enough worldwide, especially as of the first Atelier Ryza, that it’s already been confirmed for a western release and should arrive close to the Japanese release, if not simultaneously with it.

P.S. Speaking of Gust: The Fairy Tail game adaptation they developed released today. Impressions thus far suggest that it’s a good turn-based RPG adaptation. To no surprise, it’s tough to approach for anyone with minimal familiarity with the series, considering this is a side story involving characters already established in the manga and anime series.