The Atelier franchise has seen international success in recent years. Since the release of the Atelier Ryza games (known as the “Secret” trilogy), the franchise has branched out from a cult classic, niche experience to something more mainstream. As a fan of the classic titles in the franchise, however, some elements have been missing.

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian is an attempt to satisfy fans of classic Atelier games while still being accessible to new fans. It attempts to merge the exploration of more modern Atelier games with the casual town-building, turn-based action, and synthesis-focused gameplay of the original and early games in the franchise.

The story setup is simple. Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian takes place in Hallfein, with two protagonists who each have a similar goal. The town was once a bustling city between 3 kingdoms, and now, after a mysterious incident, most of its citizens have disappeared.

You play as Rias and Slade, two characters who intend to resolve the mystery, though with separate skills and goals to meet. Rias can use the power of alchemy and intends to reopen her grandfather’s Atelier to help restore the city of Hallfien. Slade cannot use alchemy, but uses his Geist Core, which can open the way to other dimensions in order to help their quest.

The gameplay itself is pretty multi-layered. Alongside the typical exploration and synthesis elements, you also have town-management and shop-management elements. These two extra pillars of gameplay don’t ask insane things of you, but they do ask enough to keep you engaged if you’re looking for more than just a typical RPG experience.

The town element is essentially an excuse for side quests and exploration from the previous entries in the series. This allows you to grind as needed but also keeps you engaging with things like alchemy and leveling. With the skill trees for each of your characters, battles are necessary, so undergoing exploration and quests is important.

Crafting various exploration tools (Axes, Sickles, etc) also lets you gather different items and open up different areas. In this regard, all of the elements of the game easily weave in and out of each other in a seamless and useful fashion. It also helps that the game itself is beautiful, and the characters you meet (some of which are from previous Atelier games) are very fun and interesting.

My big complaint here is that (like most recent Atelier games), Atelier Resleriana is not voice-acted in English. I understand that it is a cost factor that developer Gust may not want to invest in, but it is frustrating for people who have text-based accessibility problems. It is also frustrating for people who remember the great localizations of some of the previous sets, and would love to engage with the characters a little more deeply.

Overall, I think Atelier Resleriana is a fantastic turn-based RPG that feels much like a perfect blend of classic Atelier games with the modern style. I like it a bit more than Atelier Yumia, though I personally think that Atelier Yumia is a step toward a different sort of Atelier experience for people who like more action and exploration-focused gameplay.

If you found yourself intimidated by Atelier Yumia or just wanted a more classic Turn-based RPG with a modern finish, Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian is perfect for you. I think fans of games like the Dark Cloud series might also enjoy this one, since the town and shop management feel very reminiscent of that as well. I hope Gust does more Atelier games like this, even if they continue with Atelier Yumia’s story and more action-y games like it.

A Nintendo Switch Review Copy of Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian was provided by Koei Tecmo for the purposes of this review.

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Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist and the White Guardian

$59.99

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Great Storyline
• Easy to understand Alchemy Mechanics
• Engaging Turn-based Combat
• Town-management and Shop-management are fun
• Lots of side-content

Cons

• No English Voice Acting