Dear Reader:
Famitsu feature shares new characters, info, and dev commentary on Atelier Ryza: The Queen of Eternal Darkness and the Secret Hideout
This week's issue of Famitsu includes a feature on Atelier Ryza: The Queen of Eternal Darkness and the Secret Hideout, and some new details are shared. First let's get the new characters squared away.
Lent Marslink (voiced by Takuma Terashima) – Treated coldly by the village for some reason. His dream is to achieve a feat that will change the village’s view towards him. He comes off as someone who pushes his luck, but can be quite sensible and is often keeping Ryza in check. Since his father was a mercenary, he wears his armor.
Tao Mongarten (voiced by Yui Kondou) – A boy who carries around a profound old book that he is continuously trying to decipher. He is shy and not very social, but his friends are very important to him and not something he would abandon.
Claudia Barents (voiced by Hitomi Oowada) – A young woman traveling with her peddler father. She is mild-mannered, but has strong determination and does not yield her opinions. She wants to go on an adventure with everyone, and is looking for comrades in search of a true friend. In battle, she uses a flute and clarinet-like wind instrument.
Rubert Barents (voiced by Kenji Hamada) – Claudia’s father. He is a clearheaded and clever merchant. He seems to be overly protective of Claudia.
The feature also includes a basic summary of the game itself.
The main setting is Kuken Island, which resides in the middle of a lake. Ryza is an ordinary girl who lives on the island’s Razenbozen Village. Together with her childhood friends Lent and Tao, she sets off on a journey outside the island. There, she meets a male alchemist, who takes her on as an apprentice, and takes her first steps into the world of alchemy. Her friends also begin to face their own dreams.
Finally, the feature includes a short interview with producer Junzo Hosoi. Check out what he had to say below.
“This time, I think we need to show an Atelier different from the past, even more so than we did with Atelier Lulua. By continuing on the same path, the same old thing will end up becoming a sense of security.”
“We have yet to cast shadows on characters, but I wanted to challenge that kind of expression, perhaps due to an illustration from Toridamono.”
“Ryza had a mini-skirt at first, but Toridamono thought she should have skin-tight shorts.”
“The Atelier series is 23 years-old. I thought it would be good to go back to a familiar story from here.”