Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout

Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout[lower-alpha 1] is a role-playing video game developed by Gust Co. Ltd., and originally released in Japan for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows in September 2019. It was released in North America in October 2019 and rest of the world in November 2019 for the same consoles.[2] It is the twenty-first main entry in the Atelier series.

Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout
PlayStation 4 cover
Developer(s)Gust Co. Ltd.
Publisher(s)Koei Tecmo
Director(s)Shinichi Abiko
Producer(s)Junzo Hosoi
Designer(s)Shinichi Abiko
Programmer(s)Katsuto Kawauchi
Artist(s)Toridamono[1]
Writer(s)Yashichiro Takahashi[1]
Composer(s)
  • Daisuke Achiwa
  • Shinichiro Nakamura
  • Kosuke Mizukami
  • Asami Mitake
  • Hayato Asano
SeriesAtelier
Platform(s)PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
Release
  • JP: September 26, 2019 (Switch, PS4)
  • NA: October 29, 2019
  • WW: November 1, 2019
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

A sequel, titled Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy, is in development, to be released in 2020 for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.[3]

Plot

Atelier Ryza revolves around the story of Reisalin Stout, a girl living in Kurken Island who is bored by the peace of the place. She thus turns to her friends, finds an abandoned rowboat and rows to mainland. There she finds Empel Vollmer who introduces her to alchemy. Thus she begins her adventures as an alchemist.

Gameplay

Atelier Ryza is a Japanese role-playing video game with a significant crafting component, called alchemy. In the combat portions of the game, battles utilize a modified turn-based combat system incorporating real-time elements. Time moves continuously while the player gives commands to the characters in the party. Attacks build Action Points which can be used to perform skills or special attacks, or to raise the party's Tactics Level which gives access to more powerful abilities.[4][5]

Outside of combat, the game revolves around alchemy. This involves gathering resources while out in the field, and placing them onto a field of elemental nodes to discover new recipes and create a wide variety of usable items.[4][5] New to the series in Atelier Ryza is the ability to automate gathering and item synthesis for players that are more interested in the other aspects of the game.[4]

Release

The game released in Japan on September 26, 2019, in North America on October 29, 2019 and November 1, 2019 for other regions.[6][7] The PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch versions had physical releases while the Microsoft Windows version was exclusively released on Steam.[8] The console versions are also distributed via Nintendo eShop[9] and PlayStation Store.[10]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
MetacriticNS: 84/100[11]
PC: 75/100[12]
PS4: 75/100[13]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Famitsu34/40[14]
OPM (UK)7/10[15]
RPGamer3.5/5[16]

Upon release, Atelier Ryza received "generally favorable" reviews on all platforms, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[11][12][13] PJ O'Reilly of Nintendo Life wrote that the game "lifts the series to new heights" with its combat overhaul. Regarding the redesigned alchemy system, he thought the traditional depth of crafting in the Atelier series was balanced by a streamlined experience. He also recognized the game for its emotional narrative and strong main characters, though found fault with slow pacing in the early parts of the game and tedious side missions.[4]

As of March 31, 2020 the game sold 420,000 copies, making it the best-selling title in the series.[17]

The game was nominated for "Best Character" with Reisalin Stout at the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2019.[18]

Notes
  1. Japanese: ライザのアトリエ　常闇の女王と秘密の隠れ家 Hepburn: Raiza no Atorie: Tokoyami no Joō to Himitsu no Kakurega

References
  1. Romano, Sal (May 27, 2019). "Atelier Ryza announced for PS4, Switch, and PC [Update]". Gematsu. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  2. Vitale, Adam; Stenbuck, Kite (June 27, 2019). "Atelier Ryza releases October 29 in North America, November 1 in Europe; New Characters Introduced". RPG Site. UFF Network. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  3. Life, Nintendo (2020-07-20). "Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & The Secret Fairy Flutters To Switch This Winter". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  4. O'Reilly, PJ (2019-11-02). "Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & The Secret Hideout - The Atelier Franchise Finally Goes Mainstream". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  5. Koopman, Daan. "Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout Review - Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  6. Romano, Sal (May 27, 2019). "Atelier Ryza announced for PS4, Switch, and PC [Update]". Gematsu. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  7. Romano, Sal (June 27, 2019). "Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout coming to North America on October 29, Europe on November 1". Gematsu. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  8. https://www.koeitecmoamerica.com/ryza/products.html
  9. "Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout on the Nintendo Switch Eshop". Nintendo eShop. Nintendo of America. 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  10. "Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout on PlayStation Store". PlayStation Store. Sony Interactive Entertainment. 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  11. "Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  12. "Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  13. "Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  14. "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1607". Gematsu. 18 September 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  15. "ATELIER RYZA: EVER DARKNESS & THE SECRET HIDEOUT". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. No. 170. p. 86.
  16. Wachter, Sam (January 25, 2020). "Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout Review". RPGamer. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  17. Romano, Sal (April 27, 2020). "Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout shipments and digital sales top 420,000". Gematsu. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  18. Sato (April 18, 2020). "Here Are the Winners of the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2019". Siliconera. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
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