Original 06/12/18 at 11:16 a.m.: The latest issues of Weekly Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation reveal Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Atelier of a New Land, a town-building RPG entry in the Atelier series for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PS Vita. It will launch in 2018 in Japan for 7,800 yen on PlayStation 4 and Switch, and 6,800 yen on PS Vita, with a limited edition also available for 10,800 yen and 9,800 yen, respectively. Character designs are by NOCO.
The game’s title character is Nelke von Luchetam*, who is voiced by Rina Honnizumi. She is the daughter of a nobleman admired by sages. She has no alchemic talent. She becomes the director of the remote region of Vestbalt* on behalf of her father, and is looking for the “Sage’s Relic” while developing her village as a noble.
Players will be able to freely construct facilities for their village while spending money and consulting others. It will only be a village at first, but can eventually become a city. The level of freedom in town creation and how you enjoy the game is said to be a focus. If you build an atelier and assign Marie to work there, it will become her atelier.
As you develop your village, the protagonists from previous entries in the Atelier series will visit. Confirmed characters include Marie, Meruru, Ayesha, Sophie, Viola, Klein, and Vayne. There are also silhouettes of nine other characters, six of which appear to be Elie, Lilie, Judie, Rorona, Escha, and Logy.
Rather than have warped from their original worlds, the protagonists from previous entries in the series are depicted as humans living in the world of this game. That being said, each character’s situation is different from if they came from their original worlds.
The game will still feature exploration, battle, and synthesis elements. 3D models appear during event scenes and 2D illustrations appear during dialogue scenes.
Gust said it is considering making Legendary Alchemists a new series where all of the characters from the series appear. And while this game is a spin-off entry, Gust said it is already thinking about the next traditional entry.
*English spelling to be confirmed.
Thanks, Famitsu, Dengeki Online, and Ryokutya2089 (2, 3).
Update 06/13/18 at 12:10 a.m.: Some developer interview tidbits from Weekly Famitsu have come in:
- At first, we had ideas for an all-star party game and love simulation game. (Laughs.)
- The reason why all the alchemists from previous games gather at Vestbalt is because of its Grantzvite tree, which alchemists find fascinating. However, since this is a festival title, we hope you can not worry too much about the small details and enjoy the game.
- Dozens of characters from previous games will appear, so please look forward to that.
- Exploration in this game is similar to the DS and Salburg series. The concept is that there are phases where you move to exploration areas, during each of which you can battle and collect ingredients, before going back [to town] that phase ends.
- The story does not change based on how you develop the city, but rather on how develop your friendships with the characters.
- There will be character episodes.
Thanks, Ryokutya2089.