Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings

Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings[a] is a role-playing video game developed by Gust, and originally released in Japan for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 in December 2017. It was released worldwide in March 2018 for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.[1] It is the nineteenth main entry in the Atelier series celebrating the 20 years of the franchise. It is also the third game of the Mysterious storyline and the last one in chronological order.[2]

Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings
Nintendo Switch cover
Developer(s)Gust
Publisher(s)Koei Tecmo
Producer(s)
  • Junzō Hosoi
  • Keisuke Kikuchi
  • Tadanobu Inoue
  • Hisashi Koinuma
Designer(s)Shinichi Yoshiike
Artist(s)Yuugen, NOCO
Composer(s)
  • Tatsuya Yano
  • Daisuke Achiwa
  • Kazuki Yanagawa
SeriesAtelier
Platform(s)
ReleasePlayStation Vita
  • JP: December 21, 2017
Nintendo Switch, PS4
  • JP: December 21, 2017
  • NA: March 27, 2018
  • EU: March 30, 2018
Microsoft Windows
  • WW: March 27, 2018
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

The enhanced version of the game titled Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings DX[b] was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and the Nintendo Switch on April 22, 2021.[3]

Gameplay

The player controls Lydie and Suelle Marlen as they travel the world, fight monsters, and take on quests to increase their atelier's reputation. The player can receive "quests" from various NPCs around the game's world, and can unlock various secrets and abilities regarding the mysterious paintings they explore. Combat is turn based, and up to six characters can fight at once, divided into three pairs, each pair composed of an attacker and a supporter. The attacker can always act once their turn begins, but supporters can only act according to certain actions performed by the attacker. The attacker and supporter can switch places during the battle and certain pairs have special combination attacks that can be unleashed with powerful results.[4] The player must find and purchase various magical reagents and process them into potions, crystals, and food items for the local townspeople. The game also features puzzle-based mini games that allow you to provide for the townspeople.[5]

Plot

Set eight years after Atelier Sophie and four years after Atelier Firis, the story follows the alchemist twins - the reserved but caring Lydie Marlen, and the eccentric, carefree Suelle Marlen who work alongside their father at the family atelier. But due to his inexperience in alchemy they rarely see any customers. While working to hone their skills, the duo uncovers a mysterious-looking painting, and as they reach out to investigate, the girls are drawn inside a world full of a plethora of rare materials perfect for alchemy.[6] Thus begins the twin's mutual adventure to run a successful atelier,[7] but their inexperience and young age will prove this to be a difficult task. This entry into the series follows Lydie and Suelle go through their lives at the atelier, mixing everyday life with extraordinary experiences and adventures in the "painting world" where they find materials for their alchemy.[8]

Characters

Main

Lydie Malen (リディー・マーレン, Ridī Māren)
The older of the twin protagonists, Lydie isn't very good at physical exercise, but is good at studying. She's social and kind, carefree and does things at her own pace. However, sometimes she can be a bit of an airhead.
Suelle Malen (スール・マーレン, Sūru Māren)
The younger of the twin protagonists, Suelle, or just "Sue", is as an energetic girl who is more of a tomboy but dislikes bugs.
Firis Mistlud (フィリス・ミストルート, Firisu Misutirudo)
The protagonist of Atelier Firis, she is a certified alchemist who travels the land along her sister Liane, and eventually becomes friends with Lydie and Sue.
Sophie Neuenmuller (ソフィー・ノイエンミュラー, Sofī Noienmyurā)
The protagonist of Atelier Sophie, she is a certified alchemist who travels the land along her close friend Plachta, and also becomes a member of Lydie and Sue's party.
Matthias Ferrié Adalet (マティアス・フェリエ・アダレット, Matiasu Ferie Adaretto)
The crown prince of Adalet and a knight in training, Matthias has a fear of monsters, but does not hesitate when fighting them is needed. He also fancies himself as a womanizer, but usually fails on his advances. He is assigned by his older sister to assist Lydie and Sue as part of his training to become the next king.
Alt (アルト, Aruto)
A mysterious and tactful alchemist who agrees to help Lydie and Sue.
Lucia Borthayre (ルーシャ・ヴォルテール, Rushia Borutieru)
Lydie and Sue's childhood friend and cousin. She acts cocky towards the sisters, while hiding her desire to get closer to them. She is also available as a player character via DLC.
Ilmeria Von Leinweber (イルメリア・フォン・ラインウェバー, Irumeria Bon Rainuebā)
A certified alchemist and a returning character from Atelier Firis who becomes Lydie and Sue's teacher. Like Lucia, she is available as a player character via DLC.

Release

The game released in Japan on December 21, 2017 and March 27, 2018 for Western regions.[1][9][10] The game is available both on disc and on digital download. The game features text translations for a variety of languages, but the only language spoken verbally is Japanese.

Reception

Review Scores

The game received a Famitsu review score of 35/40 across all platforms.[21]

Sales

In Japan, the PS4 version launched in thirteenth place in the weekly charts with 21,000 copies sold, while the Vita and Switch versions did not appear in the top twenty.[22]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: リディー&スールのアトリエ ~不思議な絵画の錬金術士~, Hepburn: Ridī & Sūru no Atorie ~Fushigi na Kaiga no Renkinjutsushi~
  2. ^ Japanese: リディー&スールのアトリエ ~不思議な絵画の錬金術士~ DX, Hepburn: Ridī & Sūru no Atorie ~Fushigi na Kaiga no Renkinjutsushi~ DX

References

  1. ^ a b "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: Alchemists of the Mysterious Paintings set to release in March for North America and Europe". RPG Site. 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  2. ^ "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings". IGN. Archived from the original on 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  3. ^ "Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack announced for PS4, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  4. ^ 30th, Dominic Tarason on September; Pm, 2017 at 9:00. "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: Alchemists Of The Mysterious Painting | Rock, Paper, Shotgun - PC Game Reviews, Previews, Subjectivity". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 2017-10-01. Retrieved 2017-10-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Tarason, Dominic (2017-09-30). "Atelier Lydie & Suelle is coming to PC early 2018". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  6. ^ "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists And The Mysterious Paintings Is Coming To Switch". Nintendo Life. 2017-09-22. Archived from the original on 2017-09-25. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  7. ^ "Atelier Lydie & Suelle adds Firis, Ilmeria, and Lydie and Suelle's father - Gematsu". Gematsu. 2017-09-26. Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  8. ^ "Atelier Lydie & Soeur Details Its Story, Setting, Protagonists, New Battle And Synthesis Elements - Siliconera". Siliconera. 2017-08-14. Archived from the original on 2017-08-15. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  9. ^ "Atelier Lydie & Suelle launches December 21 in Japan - Gematsu". Gematsu. 2017-09-26. Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  10. ^ "Atelier Lydie & Suelle Shows Us More Of Sophie, Liane, Matthias, And Synthesis Details - Siliconera". Siliconera. 2017-08-30. Archived from the original on 2017-09-10. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  11. ^ "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  12. ^ "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  13. ^ Romano, Sal (12 December 2017). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1515". Famitsu. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  14. ^ Craddock, Ryan (6 April 2018). "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  15. ^ Miller, Des (30 October 2021). "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings DX". www.rpgfan.com. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  16. ^ Jones, Jenny (27 March 2018). "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings Review (PS4)". Push Square. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  17. ^ Bukacek, Jacob (27 March 2018). "Review: Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  18. ^ Martin, Lane (27 March 2018). "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings (PS4) Review". Computer Games Magazine. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  19. ^ L Patterson, Mollie (27 March 2018). "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  20. ^ Jones, James (20 April 2018). "Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1515". Gematsu. 12 December 2017.
  22. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (2017-12-27). "Nintendo Switch Continues to Dominate in Japan". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2017-12-27. Retrieved 2018-01-09.