Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book – The Passing of Time, Weather and a Need to Return Home

For the past six Atelier games, players have had to watch time pass day-after-day with very little in terms of nightlife, weather, or in many cases, something to set it apart from others. With a few exceptions, time could be considered as another currency, which just trickled down until a particular deadline was due. This is all set to change at least a little bit when Gust’s latest JRPG Atelier Sophie: The Alchemists of the Mysterious Book arrives in western markets starting June 10th 2016.

Previously when opting to undertake a mission, there were very few occasions where anything more than the day of the week/month impacted whether you could complete it. Atelier Sophie will introduce two new elements which should affect both successful mission completions and material harvesting. These are: Time and Weather. Certain items may only be harvested when the weather is just right, some monsters might only appear during a certain type of day and vice versa.

During past Atelier games, the only limit to your character being away from home has been their HP, MP and resources. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book introduces a new fatigue-based life system, which will likely see you heading back to the workshop more often than you might want to. This will see your party weakened after too much in-game time (not real time) has been spent adventuring, gathering materials or fighting.

Will this be seen as something strategic players will need to work around or just a nuisance? Time will tell!

Dollmake_costume,_Aqua Suit_PS4_01-Resized

It should not come as any surprise, but Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book will be offering one of two different bonus DLC packs to those who pre-order the game from select retailers. One DLC pack will see the player nab themselves an in-game background music pack, as well as two Atelier Sophie themes for the PlayStation 4. The other will offer a set comprising of background music, a Doll Making costume known as ‘Aqua Suit’ (Pictured above), a five-piece set of materials/items to be used in synthesis and a theme.

I recommend checking with your local retailer to see if they carry any of the bonus DLC.

Those who purchase a digital copy of Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book (at least in Europe) during its first month will also earn themselves two Atelier Sophie themes and an in-game bundle of attack boosting items for use in battle.

Developed by Gust and published by Koei Tecmo, Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book will be available on both the PlayStation 4 (Physical/Digital) and PlayStation Vita (Digital) starting June 10th 2016. Don’t worry Australia and New Zealand, as we won’t be missing out on a release!

About Atelier Sophie

Atelier Sophie is set against a vibrant background reminiscent of a medieval European town and follows the exploits of a young novice Alchemist who discovers she is the owner of an enigmatic volume imbued with a soul. This Mysterious Book seems to hold all the secrets to the art of Alchemy knowledge and goes on to become Sophie’s mentor. As Sophie improves her Alchemy skills throughout the story, she unravels the book’s forgotten memories and eventually sets out to uncover the strange tale of her teacher’s origin.

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