During the PlayStation 3 era of gaming, players were treated to six Atelier games across two major arcs – “The Alchemists of Arland” (Rorona, Totori, Meruru) and “The Alchemists of Dust” (Ayesha, Eshca & Logy, Shallie). With the new console generation now gaining quite a lot of traction, long-time developer GUST have opted to bid farewell to the PS3 and begin a brand new arc on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The first game in this new arc, titled Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book, is now available in western markets kudos of Koei Tecmo.
This chapter follows the adventures of a young novice named Sophie Neuenmuller, whose now deceased grandmother was an acclaimed Alchemist. Her training takes a significant change for the better when she discovers an enigmatic book imbued with a soul. This Mysterious Book seems to hold all the secrets to the art of Alchemy, even going on to become Sophie’s mentor. As Sophie experiments with Alchemy throughout the story she unravels the book’s forgotten memories, and eventually sets out to uncover the strange tale of its origin.
With (fortunately or unfortunately) less time constraints compared to its six predecessors, players are invited to join Sophie on her journey, as she unlocks the secrets of Alchemy, scowers the world for new ingredients and tackles some fearsome foes. In addition to new gameplay mechanics, including the ability to synthesise new cauldrons and even new forms for Plachta to inhabit, Atelier Sophie also features a number of visual enhancements. These enhancements include but are not limited to a day/night cycle and weather patterns – which complement the changed timing systems which work by both hours and day of the month.
Developed by GUST and published by Koei Tecmo, Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is now available on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. Expect my review of this RPG over the weekend.
Launch Trailer
Dollmake System Trailer
Dollmake Screenshots
