Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy finally has a Western release date: 26 January 2021 for North America, and 29 January 2021 for Europe and Oceania. It’s coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC (via Steam).
This isn’t quite the simultaneous worldwide release that producer Junzo Hosoi previously told Famitsu was Koei Tecmo and Gust’s goal—the game comes out in Japan on December 3. Still, a two-month wait for the Western release isn’t too bad for a series where waiting upwards of six months between Japanese and global releases was standard.
Atelier Ryza 2 is a direct sequel to the excellent Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout. It sees Ryza embarking on a new alchemical adventure to uncover the secrets of a series of ancient ruins, with new exploration mechanics like swimming and climbing to keep with that theme.
From the press release:
In Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy, Ryza is not only joined by returning fan-favourites like Lent Marslink and Tao Mongarten, she also meets a number of new characters who will help her throughout her adventure. Inside the Academy District café, Ryza meets a young woman by the name of Zephine Baudouin. Zephine manages the request bulletin board inside the café, and the bulletin board becomes a key part of Ryza’s day-to-day exploits – it’s used by citizens of the Royal Capital to post jobs ranging from delivering materials to defeating monsters – and as Ryza completes these tasks, she will be compensated with monetary rewards, materials, and even Skill Points. Other intriguing characters inside the Royal Capital include the talented blacksmith and engraver, Dennis Holland; shopkeeper and former acquaintance from Kurken Island, Romy Vogel; and farmworker Cassandra Cappelli, whose father owns an obscene amount of fruitful land inside the Royal Capital’s Farming District.
As Ryza and friends embark on their journey, they encounter enemies and monsters throughout the land, and madness and mayhem ensue. Parties now include three battle members and one sub-member, and all heroes will now be aided in the game’s exhilarating real-time tactics battles, thanks to the ability to stack Action Points and Core Charge. As party members build up Action Points, characters will be able to unleash multiple Skills in a row via a Skill Chain. By using the Skill Chain ability, the power of all skills increases as well as the amount of Core Charge gained in each attack – the function needed in order to also use items – enabling you to unleash devastating attacks like throwing waves of bombs! In addition, by using skills your gauge fills up and after it exceeds a specific amount, your Tactics Level increases. As your Tactics Level increases, the amount of times your regular attacks hit also increases, and Action Points begin to build up quicker. If your Tactics Level reaches the max, you can activate a special technique: The Fatal Drive!
More Atelier is always a good thing, and this one looks like it’s really going to push the series forward in some exciting ways. Now that we finally have a release date for Atelier Ryza 2, all that’s left is the wait until January next year.
