Atelier, Gust’s modest and long-running series, has never quite achieved the fame of similar franchises that blend crafting and RPG elements, but has increased its stake in recent years with the excellent Atelier Ryza trilogy and a stream of remasters. With Ryza’s story in their rearview, Gust turns to a new heroine and seeks to apply what it’s learned with Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Lands.
True to form, the (overlong) title refers to the newest protagonist, Yumia, a fledgling alchemist who establishes her own atelier to hone her craft. Each of the stories within the larger Atelier franchise is distinct, not unlike Final Fantasy‘s approach—applying similar terminology like “alchemy” or “mana” while not burdening itself with the continuity, lore or geography of previous games.
This time around, the art of alchemy is considered taboo and is blamed for the downfall of the mighty Aladissian Empire. As an alchemist, Yumia can see and manipulate mana, a magical essence created when a being passes away, returning their memories to the soil. Though her craft is forbidden, she offers her talent to a research expedition seeking to uncover Aladiss’ lost history.
“Gameplay-wise, Atelier Yumia seems to have taken the right notes from the Ryza trilogy while borrowing from other strong examples in the industry.”
To this end, Atelier Yumia offers the largest open-world map the series has seen to date—building upon the success of Atelier Ryza 3‘s excellent example. Yumia and her party explore the world, gathering materials and fighting off monsters, then use the materials to synthesize items. The new map is even more fun to explore than the last game, with plenty of resources to gather and landmarks to reach.
There is one major tweak to open-world exploration in Atelier Yumia, and I don’t just mean the motorbikes unlocked later. In most new areas, the environment is hazardously over-concentrated with mana; Yumia can explore these regions for a while, but if the charge on her protective Energy Core crystal runs out, the party will begin to take ongoing damage until they reach clearer air.
This necessitates the activation of mana Circulators to clear the stagnant mana, which functions almost like the obligatory “climb a tower to map a new area” mechanic in an Ubisoft-style open-world game. Thankfully, there’s no stilted parkour involved, but sometimes Yumia will need to solve a puzzle or another challenge to activate the Circulator. Afterward, NPCs from the research team will populate the cleared areas, making it feel like you’re actually changing the game world.
Atelier Yumia has also taken up the torch from Atelier Ryza in combat, as the series continues to shift subtly away from turn-based battles toward active-time combat. No longer do you need to store up AP before unleashing a series of attacks; instead, attack skills have a set number of uses and their own cooldowns, allowing you to unleash them immediately or employ them more strategically. There are also in-battle tools and weapons, which can be swapped with the R1 button, to help extend combos or apply debuffs.
One of the biggest changes, however, is the importance of positioning. Enemies telegraph the danger zones of certain attacks, giving players time to dodge or guard. In some instances, it’s better to swap to long-range combat, achieved with a simple press of the D-pad. Skills change depending on range, offering even more offensive options. As a result, combat feels more fluid and frenetic, especially against tougher opponents.
Those long-range attacks stem from one of Atelier Yumia‘s key mechanics: Yumia’s staff, which has a built-in firearm. Outside of battle, she can use this to shoot down gatherable resources or trigger distant switches. Despite being a prominent feature, it felt a little flat as a gathering tool but was more compelling in range-based combat.
Shooting the gun requires bullets, but thankfully, one of Atelier Yumia‘s best innovations ensures you never run out. Simple Synthesis allows Yumia to create useful field items while away from a crafting station. Need to heal outside of battle or whip up camping supplies? A quick visit to this menu provides what you need without a long trek back to base.
Simply put, this saves the new shooting mechanic. If ammo had been limited without replenishment in the field, I would have avoided using it unless strictly necessary.
The items crafted this way take up space in a special limited inventory, the Exploration Bag, which brings to mind old-school, grid-based Resident Evil inventories. Different items require varying amounts of space—repair kits and camping supplies take up more room than bandages, for example.
“Much like Atelier Ryza 3, I found myself happily sidetracked for long stretches at a time, exploring the new sandbox to seek secrets, materials, and challenges.”
Most synthesis is still done at the atelier, and Atelier Yumia introduces a new yet familiar system for crafting. Recipes are unlocked and leveled up at a recall station, then actually created at an alchemy altar through a puzzle-like experience. Slotting materials into nodes on the blueprint allows Yumia to enhance the product’s quality and traits. This time, there’s a greater emphasis on “Resonance” — a circle given off by ingredients. Overlapping resonance spots on the blueprint strengthens the final product.
Synthesis, even with a new look, can still be a little complex, but as long as Yumia gathers materials regularly, she’ll have plenty of options to experiment with. The recipe recall element is an interesting touch, especially since it allows recipes to be strengthened.
What I didn’t expect, however, was for Atelier Yumia to feature a robust building system. Where Atelier Ryza 3 allowed players to set up multiple ateliers across the map, this time, Yumia does the hard work herself—actually crafting and placing components (if you choose to).
Many cleared areas offer blank spaces where Yumia can construct buildings and place objects freely. This includes setting up new ateliers, building structures for quest-giving NPCs, or simply decorating as you see fit. The process is mostly handled through the Simple Synthesis system, and the controls for placing components are intuitive.
Gameplay-wise, Atelier Yumia seems to have taken the right notes from the Ryza trilogy while borrowing from other strong examples in the industry. It’s hard not to see a touch of Tears of the Kingdom in the building system, even if it doesn’t aim for the same level of creative freedom or impact.
Meanwhile, the story was a little harder to unpack at first. Yumia is a fine protagonist, but doesn’t bear the same sort of spark as Ryza, or even Resna and Valeria, the two main leads of the already-doomed mobile title, Atelier Resleriana. It was a bit of an adjustment to start all over again, resetting to more tropey fare after a couple games in one world. The dramatic irony of the “alchemy is bad” trope and the way the entire world looks down on Yumia for her craft, even as it’s working miracles, did weigh heavily at first—especially as Resleriana had already played with the same themes in the two years between main titles.
That said, Atelier Yumia‘s cast grew on me over time, and they developed in their own right. I especially enjoyed the slightly more serious tone of the story and world, and the antagonists added legitimate weight to the plot. From the in medias res opening that doubles as a tutorial to NPCs sneering at Yumia for practicing alchemy, the tonal shift is immediately noticeable.
All-around, as part of the wave of gamers who came to this series through the last trilogy, I’m pretty satisfied with Atelier Yumia‘s new vision of it. Much like Atelier Ryza 3, I found myself happily sidetracked for long stretches at a time, exploring the new sandbox to seek secrets, materials, and challenges.
The core of the series shines through while the story and gameplay grow in new directions, and while it was a bit of an adjustment upfront, I’d be happy to see Gust keep exploring this new ground for future installments.
