REKINDLE OLD FRIENDSHIPS IN NELKE & THE LEGENDARY ALCHEMISTS: ATELIERS OF THE NEW WORLD AND CONTINUE THE REUNION WITH THE ATELIER ARLAND SERIES DELUXE PACK
KOEI TECMO Europe Provides Details on the Upcoming Atelier Title and Reveals the Western Release Date of Beloved Atelier Trilogy
Hertfordshire, 26th September 2018 – KOEI TECMO Europe detailed the exciting new town building elements and returning characters from the Atelier series featured in GUST Studio’s upcoming title, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World, which is set to hit shelves in Early 2019 – physical and digital on the PlayStation®4 Computer Entertainment System and Nintendo Switch™; and digital-only on Windows PC via Steam®.
Fans of the Atelier series can continue celebrating the cherished franchise through the western release of the Atelier Arland series Deluxe Pack via digital release on the PS4, Switch, and PC via Steam on the 4th December 2018.
In Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World players assume the role of Nelke von Lestamm, a young aristocrat who longs to become an alchemist, but sadly does not have the talents required. With a strong fascination with the ancient legend of the Sage of Granzweit, she is excited to uncover new information which rumours that the sacred Granzweit Tree is within the lands her father governs.
Not only are the eccentric alchemists on hand to help with developing Westwald, but Nelke will rely on their help to unravel the mystery behind the Granzweit Tree. The main cast of the Dusk series; Ayesha Altugle, Escha Malier, Logix Ficsario, Shallistera Argo and Shallotte Elminus, are just a handful of the alchemist friends which she will have the pleasure to work alongside on her journey. More alchemists are yet to be revealed from across other Atelier titles like the Salburg, Mysterious and Arland trilogies.
In Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World, players need money to develop the land and build new facilities, but will require the aid of well-known alchemists. By sending alchemists out across the lands to gather materials and synthesise them provides Nelke with income from selling the final product in one of Westwald’s shops. As the town’s population grows, players can construct Ateliers, Shops, Growing Areas, Landmarks, and Roads, to name a few. Many facilities will allow helpers run their day-to-day procedures – place a resident as a helper in a Growing Area and they will ensure that the items planted are harvested and ready for use.
The reunions don’t stop with Nelke, KOEI TECMO Europe announced that the Atelier Arland series Deluxe Pack will be headed west for a digital release. This pack features all three titles from the Arland trilogy; Atelier Rorona: The Alchemists of Arland DX, Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland DX and Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland DX with many of the previously released DLC contents. Players can choose between purchasing the titles individually or as a package containing all three at a discounted price.
To further celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Atelier series, GUST Studios are running an Atelier Art Contest. Budding artists can submit their designs for a chance to win some exciting prizes; four awards will be selected, the GUST, Mel Kishida, NOCO and Regional Awards – and each will have prizes that Atelier fans will be wanting to get their hands on. For more information on the contest, which closes on the 31st October 2018, please visit the competition site here: http://www.ateliergames.eu/atelier20th/fanart/
A first look at the town building elements of Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World was shown off in a brand-new trailer by KOEI TECMO Europe today, alongside further screenshots introducing the Dusk trilogy alchemists.
With more information for Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World and Atelier Arland series Deluxe Pack set to be revealed in the coming weeks, be sure to check out our official website http://www.ateliergames.eu/nelke/, http://www.ateliergames.eu/arlanddx/, Like us on www.facebook.com/ateliergames and Follow us on Twitter @koeitecmoeurope for all the latest details.
ABOUT KOEI TECMO EUROPE LTD.
KOEI TECMO EUROPE LTD. is a publisher of interactive entertainment software for current generation consoles, handhelds and digital download content based in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, UK. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of KOEI TECMO HOLDINGS CO., LTD., headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. KOEI TECMO’s best known for their signature ‘one versus thousands’ Warriors series, the fan-favourite Ninja Gaiden and fighting entertainment title Dead or Alive. Through collaboration with strong existing franchises, such as A.O.T. Wings of Freedom (Attack on Titan), has brought fan-favourite shows to life in video game form. The company’s desire for innovation and diversity has seen the creation of the critically acclaimed dark-samurai action title Nioh, which takes on new and unique gameplay styles. The company’s acquisition of GUST, developer of a variety of heart-warming titles, has seen their flagship Atelier series span generations of consoles and fans alike. More information about KOEI TECMO EUROPE LTD and its products can be found at www.koeitecmoeurope.com
With the war raging on the Federation army has continued to suffer losses to the Imperial Alliance and headquarters has decided on making a last ditch attempt at breaking through the Imperial army. Dubbed Operation Northern Cross, Claude’s squadron and nearly every force that the Federation has to spare are tasked with advancing on and eventually trying to capture the Imperial capital. With a seemingly endless supply of foes standing in front of them as they pierce through enemy lines, Claude must do what he can to keep his fellow soldiers alive while still completing the tasks handed down to him by his superiors.
Of course not everything is dark and dreary in this game as there are still plenty of humorous moments and “anime” style hijinks that occur throughout the game. There are numerous little side cut-scenes that help flesh out the members of your squad, especially when it comes to Claude and his childhood friends Raz, Kai, and Riley that eventually join his squadron. Romance is fluttered around a bit and players will end up learning quite a lot about their fellow squad members both through their little quirks that determine their potentials as well as special squad stories.
At the beginning of every turn the player is given a number of “Command Points” where they can use one to select and move a unit around the map with said unit being able to take one action during their turn while moving around the field. While moving it is possible to be fired upon by enemy soldiers and various enemy installations that are close to the unit, making movement something players really need to worry about since interception fire can be deadly. Once the player finds where they want to shoot from, it is as simple as aiming and firing with the selected weapon with the actual accuracy determined by the unit’s stats and where the player aimed. Besides firing their primary weapon units can also use healing items or toss a grenade with specialized Engineers being able to resupply allies with ammo, repair sandbags, and remove mines all without sacrificing their turn.
Grenadiers are something of a special case in Valkyria Chronicles 4 as they allow for long-distance high damage dealing potential. Working as a mortar style unit Grenadiers can only target enemies that are either within their sight or are spotted by another unit and can then launch a powerful explosive at them from a distance. They can also launch smaller grenades through the use of interception fire, making them a powerful new force on the battlefield. That being said, the opponents can also have grenadiers on their team and they can make for a rather deadly force that you’ll need to keep an eye on and potentially pick out with either a sniper or your own grenadier.
Playing to these strengths may seem like a way to easily blow away certain enemies but the simple beginnings of the game that tend to feel a little slow just serve as a way to prepare players for the difficulty spikes that occur throughout the game. A number of times Claude and his men will enter a battle only to have the circumstances change halfway through the fight, changing the objective and occasionally placing your soldiers on their heels. This can make for some difficult fights but in a way this makes sure to keep players on their toes and keep things feeling fresh, especially since a good challenge is always something to keep a player invested. There is also the option to save during fights, potentially leading to some dangerous situations where you may have no chance to back out of, but it is useful in a number of ways as some battles can be long and, at least in a couple of cases, the game can crash and force players to start a fight over again.
The background music is handled quite well with a number of great tracks mixed throughout the game as well as some incredibly well done vocal tracks. It is worth noting that the background radio chatter can occasionally be a bit off from what is actually happening in a fight but this is only a minor note as, otherwise, the English voice acting is nicely done.