In addition to the Western release date of Atelier Ryza 2, Koei Tecmo and Gust shared new screenshots and details on the battle system and the first look at characters from the Royal Capital.
The Academy District café is where Ryza meets Zephine Baudoin. She handles the request bulletin board located inside the café, which is a spot Ryza will visit daily to take on tasks. The citizens of the Royal Capital use the bulletin board to post jobs, which vary from delivering and battling. Completing these tasks will get you monetary rewards, materials, and Skill Points.
Sub-Characters
In addition to familiar faces like Lent and Tao, Ryza will meet several new friends on her next journey. Here’s a look at some of the new characters:
Zephine Baudouin
Zephine manages the request bulletin board inside the café.
Dennis Holland
Dennis is an exceptional blacksmith and engraver in the Royal Capital.
Romy Vogel
Romy is a former acquaintance of Ryza’s from Kurken Island and is currently a shopkeeper in the Royal Capital.
Cassandra Cappelli
Cassandra is a farmworker whose father owns a vast amount of fruitful land. You can find the family farm in the Farming District of the Royal Capital.
Battle System
The next part highlights the battle system details for Atelier Ryza 2:
In Atelier Ryza 2, you’ll have parties that consist of three battle members and a sub-member. You can activate an “Action Order” by fulfilling an action request from a party member. There are different ways to gain AP, including timely blocks. By answering Action Orders, party members will provide support through “Order Skills.”
Next, we have the Skill Chains. Characters can activate multiple skills in a row through a Skill Chain, which becomes available by building up Action Points. The power of all skills also increases while using the Skill Chain.
Characters will also get more Core Charge gained with each attack. The Core Charge is a function required to use items, meaning you can make it rain bombs with enough CC. Charging up your CC lets you activate “Item Rush,” making it possible to use up to four items in a row. As you progress through the game, you’ll get access to the powerful “Core Drive” special attack based on items.
You can fill up your gauge by using skills. Once it reaches a certain amount, your “Tactics Level” increases. As the TLv increases, the number of hits from your regular attacks also increases, and you build up Action Points quicker. Once the TLv reaches max, you can activate a powerful technique known as the “Fatal Drive.”
Atelier Ryza 2Â will release for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch in Japan on December 3, 2020. The game will release in North America for the PS5, PS4, Switch, and PC via Steam on January 26, 2021. Europe will get the game on January 29, 2020.
