The full name of this episode is Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End and the Secret Key, continuing the tradition of Atelier's very brief and memorable names. It's a mouthful, but at least the title makes it clear what to anticipate.
The plot of the first game centers on the reunion of the Ryza cast, which includes Ryza, Klaudia, Tao, Lent, and Bos. Following a pleasant reunion, the group learns of an odd story stating that many islands have emerged to the west. Back on Kurken Island, earthquakes are being caused by a weird power that these islands are releasing. Our party members are curious and decide to investigate the reason.
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The scaled-up environment of developer Koei Tecmo's forthcoming entry, Ryza 3, has been the centerpiece of the game's marketing campaign. It was evident why this has been such a priority even in the very tiny portion of Ryza 3 that we had access in our peek. In addition to being the largest Ryza game to date, Ryza 3 has the potential to be the largest Atelier game as well.
While there are some parallels between the global map and the original Atelier Ryza, they end there. The landscapes of Ryza 3 have been greatly scaled up, giving the city and woodlands a more vibrant atmosphere. This is amazing since the Ryza games were always renowned for their exploration, and Ryza 3 seems like it will surpass all of its predecessors in that regard.
The beautiful images simply enhance the delight of traveling the globe. I was already partial to the vibrant nature of the artwork of Atelier, but Ryza 3 gives much more. The presentation of Ryza 3 is elevated by the additional features in the landscape and the better lighting, even if the character models are still stunning.
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I didn't think there had been many significant changes to the fundamental gameplay of Atelier Ryza 3, at least not in this preview part. Combat has a few minor adjustments, but I doubt that they will be significant enough to alter your opinion on the system, whether you like it or not. Remember that I was not given the opportunity to test the keys that are being marketed as the huge innovation to counter, so I may reconsider in the future.
I've never been a fan of Ryza's hybrid action turn-based fighting since I think it's really difficult and counterproductive. That being said, it's more a matter of taste since there's nothing fundamentally flawed or incorrect about it. To be fair, Ryza 3 does a respectable job of managing lessons and ensuring that you comprehend its fundamental concepts. It cannot be said that Ryza or Ryza 2 necessarily have such quality.
Crafting doesn't seem that different from other hobbies, and I'm okay with that. The distinctive feature of the Atelier games is crafting, and the Ryza series has consistently performed well in providing a more approachable kind of crafting than its competitors. However, there are some pleasant enhancements to the quality of life, such as the ability to construct necessary ingredients within a recipe instead of needing to back out.
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Although Ryza 3 lacks English voice acting, most Ryza fans would have anticipated this. This isn't shocking since it wasn't there in any of the predecessors, but it might still be a deal breaker for some. A potential English dub in the West might result from the Atelier games becoming more and more popular.
Overall, based on our preview, Ryza 3 delivers everything you would anticipate from a follow-up. It doesn't aim to reinvent the fundamental gameplay elements or define what a Ryza game is. Atelier Ryza 3 builds on the aspects that fans loved about its predecessors while adding a lot more to the universe in which these features interact.
In all likelihood, Ryza 3 is not going to win you over if you didn't like the prior two games. On the same vein, there's no reason why you shouldn't be anticipating Ryza 3 if you enjoyed the first two games as well.
Steam has a page for Atelier Ryza 3 before its release on March 24.
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