Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, whilst also taking the time to include some lengthy gameplay, to give you the reader, the chance to shape your own impressions and views whilst watching and reading.
In this instalment, we’re covering Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian by developer Gust.
Japanese game developer Gust are hard at work with the Atelier series this year with the release of Atelier Yumia: Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land in March of this year, Atelier Ryza: The Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack coming later this Fall and now, we have Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian right now!
Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian is the latest game in the Atelier Resleriana subseries, but it is not a direct sequel, nor does it feature Resna as the main protagonist (from Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator). Instead, it is a game that runs somewhat parallel to and after the events that occured in the mobile gacha game. It takes place in the same world of Lantarna whilst featuring new dual protagonists Rias and Slade (from here on in, I shall simply refer to the game as Atelier Resleriana for ease of reading).
With that in mind, it is not essential to have played the mobile game before playing this one, but you would be more familiar with certain characters in this game if you have. That said, there are some characters from other Atelier games that appear in Atelier Resleriana, but again, it is not essential to have played their games prior to this one.
So, lets jump into the game’s story. Some time ago in the land of Lantarna, the peaceful town of Hallfein fell victim to a terrible disaster. A red mist descended on the town of Hallfein and monsters appeared to attack the townsfolk. The town was left in ruins but the victims were nowhere to be found. They had simply disappeared. With the town declared unsafe, the area became restricted so no one was allowed to enter as it was deemed too dangerous. Now, 12 years after the tragic event, the restrictions were gradually lifted and an ambitious restoration project organized by the capital city of Lantarna was commisioned to restore the town of Hallfein.
A young woman called Rias Eidreise has returned to Hallfein to volunteer in the restoration in the hopes of reopening her grandfather’s shop and to discover the truth of what happened 12 years ago. She isn’t alone in her quest for answers as a young man named Slade Clauslyter is also investigating the tragic events for his own reasons. In his possession, Slade was left mysterious heirlooms by his father that may be key to learning the truth behind the red mist and his father’s disapperance. The two protagonists encounter one another whilst investigating some ruins near the town that house a strangely undamaged alchemist’s atelier inside of it. Due to Slade’s heirlooms and Rias innate ability to practice alchemy, the pair decide to team up to help one another in their causes. While Atelier Resleriana‘s story starts of quite dark, for the most part, it is very light hearted and focuses on the relationships of the characters as they work together to restore a ruined town back to its former glory.
Both Rias and Slade have their own solo introductions in the game before their meet one another. The game then proceeds to follows both characters in unison as their story and goals entwine. Because of this, Aterlier Resleriana allows players to switch between both protagonists by pushing in the right joystick when freely exploring the world of Lantarna.
The gameplay of Atelier Resleriana can be categorized into two parts: exploration and synthesizing as one, and shop keeping and town building as the other. They go hand in hand with one another as exploring the land of Lantarna and the mysterious Dimensional Paths (I will go into this in a bit of depth in a bit) to find ingredients for synthesis that allows you to create new items. These items as well as ingredients you find, can be used to stock the shop where you can sell them to raise funds to invest in the town’s restoration. By investing in the town, you can bring in more merchants and increase their own stock of items and recipes, that you can use to create stronger and higher quality gear and items of your own. You can also find new residents in the town that have requests for you that require you to explore the land and the Dimensional Paths for rarer items or defeat certain enemies.
The whole process is a cycle with one part complimenting the other and vice versa. When you get tired of exploring and ingredient gathering, you can take a break by opening your shop to sell your wares. Then, after you have bought new recipes from the merchants, you can create stronger weapons and armor via synthesis so that you can tackle stronger enemies the next time you go exploring, all while progressing the game’s story.
When adventuring in Atelier Resleriana, you have the land of Lanterna, which is divided into separate maps (no open-world adventuring here) and has fixed locations for chests and monsters, so you always know where to find them when ingredient farming. As for the Dimensional Paths, these areas change every time with different monster locations and chest placements. These roguelike maps will have you face increasingly stronger monsters on each floor you visit, but you are more likely to find rarer and better quality ingredients.
So, let’s talk combat. Atelier Resleriana combines some of the mechanics from the Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator with that of the older games in the series, foregoing that of Atelier Ryza and Atelier Yumia’s combat mechanics for a more traditional turn-based experience. The player’s party member’s take it in turns to attack monsters using an assortment of attacks, items, and skills within a timeline in which the enemy can then attack. Each character has their own use of type buffs like physical, fire, ice, wind, lightning, etc., that can be strong or weak against certain monsters. You can use the type advantages to deal heavy damage to enemies whilst avoiding using attacks that can be resisted or have no effect. The attacking order of your party depends primarily on their speed stat and where they are placed in the timeline.
Faster enemies may be placed in between your party members, but some well placed attacks can either finish them off before they can retaliate or slow them down, moving one of your other party members up the timeline. There are also traits that can increase strength and attributes, as well as debuffs to hinder either the enemy or your party. Taking out enemies with buffs on the timeline can move the buff over to you. If it is a debuff though, you may try to slow one of your party members down or interrupt the order by bringing another party member in to skip recieving the debuff.
As you progress through Atelier Resleriana, you will learn new skills by unlocking them in the Skill tree, and gain access to unite attacks and follow-up attacks. Follow-up attacks will occur when one of your characters have attacked and another will jump in with a follow-up skill to do extra damage. You can also use multi-actions with up to two or three characters and combining items or skills to do even more damage to enemies. Your party is made up of two rows of three with active attackers in the front, and assist attacks from multi-actions by those in the back. Members in the back row can be replace those in the front upon multi-actions or through interrupts. How you decide to use each character is up to you and it might not matter too much against small enemies. When fighting stronger enemies though, it is worth swapping out party members for skills that may more advantageous in the battle.
If I was to sum up Aterlier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian, I would say that it is a very accessible game for newcomers to the series and for seasoned fans alike. The exploration and the synthesis process has been refined enough for new players to get to grips to the mechanics and the color coding of ingredients further helps players with creating stronger, more powerful items. For those who struggle with distinguishing colors, there are a number of color filters to help those with certain grades of color blindness, but how well they work, I cannot honestly say.
As for long-time Atelier fans, they are sure to enjoy the game just as much, if not more so and will probably appreciate the inclusion of familiar faces from past games. Even though they don’t all join your party as playable characters, the likes of Reisalin Stout from the Ryza series, Sophie Neunmuller from the Atelier Sophie series, Willbell Voll Erslied from the Dusk series, and Raze Meitzen from Mana Kemia 2, and many others will all show up as wanderers and will help Rias and Slade in their adventure. Some will actively join your party like Raze and Willbell, while others will have quests for you or will go on ingredient runs for you to find rare ingredients. I would have liked that more characters could be added to your party and I know that there is some upcoming DLC that will do just that. I guess that the option of having so many characters available to join your party in the mobile game had me hoping that more could have been playable in this game as well. Still, it does make me hopeful that one day we may get an Atelier Warriors game should Gust and Team Ninja join forces to make that happen. That would be pretty cool.
Anyhow I am getting sidetracked so its time for me to get back on point. Whether you are new to the series or well versed in the world of Alchemy, Aterlier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian has something for everyone. A charming story, endearing characters, enjoyable and rewarding combat, and a combination of new and traditional embracing Gust’s legacy of charming and unforgettable games and characters.
Game Specifications:
Developer: Gust
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Category: Role-Playing
No. of Players: 1Â player
Release Date: September 25, 2025 (Worldwide)
Price: $59.99
File Size: 4.7 GB
Nintendo.com Listing
