Gust is upping the ante with Atelier Asha, its next Atelier title due for PlayStation 3 in Japan on June 28. It’s promising more detail in the game’s motion and facial expressions, as well as fully-rendered 3D models for event scenes, Weekly Famitsu has revealed.
The game sees protagonist Asha Artool, an honest 17-year-old girl, out to find her little sister Nio, a cheerful 13-year-old, who vanished one day while out in the field.
The “Connect the Memories” system detailed yesterday is an evolved version of Atelier Meruru‘s “Development System,” but is more tied to the story.
Atelier Asha uses a command battle system which makes use of a “cost” element. Certain attacks will cost different amounts, and attacking enemies positioned further back will cost greater. Depending on the cost of your move, your character’s turn order will change.
According to Gust, one of the game’s concepts is “image conversion.” They could of went the same route they did with Atelier Meruru, for example, but it would have done more harm than good to the series. So the studio set out in a different direction to create a new fantasy title and provide new enjoyment.
Thanks, Game Jouhou.