We previously got a look at three new characters for Atelier Sophie: Alchemist of the Mysterious Book. The latest update on the game by 4Gamer also shows us more on the game’s weather and time system, along with some battle details.
In Atelier Sophie, the world is always changing as time goes by, and you’ll get to see different patterns in the daily lives of its people, depending on the time of day and weather.
Some events take place during certain times, while weather can affect other things, like more monsters being active during the night or while it storms. Some places that might be safe during the day might end up being dangerous when the weather is different.
While in town you’ll see certain people around during the day but not at night, and vice versa. This will give you a little idea on what kind of lives these people live.
This also applies to gathering material. Depending on the time and weather, you might find different material, so it’ll be worth checking some of these places in different situations.
If you spend too much time gathering and fighting, Sophie and the others will slowly get tired. The more you fight and gather, the more the “LP” goes down, and once that goes down enough it’ll lower Sophie and friends’ status. However, the more you continue gathering and fighting, the better material you can get, so it might be worth the risk at times.
In Kilhen Bell, there’s a cafe that is run by an owner named Horst. It’s a cafe at night and turns into a bar during the night, and you’ll always find people here during the day and night.
The cafe will have plenty of different requests from the townsfolk that range from taking out monsters to finding items for them. There are higher-ranked requests that are more difficult, but also more rewarding.
In addition to hooking you up with various requests, Horst is also a good source for the latest information. For example, he might tell you about rumors that have to do with monsters that have never been seen before, or a certain somewhere for gathering material.
Here’s a look at some details for the game’s “Logical Turn Battle” system, where you’ll choose the action for each party member before the turn. Once you’ve decided on an action, you won’t be able to change it until it’s completed, so you’ll need to think logically ahead of time for the battles.
The left part of the screen indicates the order of the characters and their action. Once they all perform their given commands, it’ll be the end of the turn.
Characters all have their own skills used in battle. Some do damage to enemies while others can buff allies. Skills will cost MP in order to use.
Characters can also use items, but Sophie is the only one that can use all items. Depending on which characters and the items they can use, it may change your strategy while out in battle.
Oskar uses attacking and recovery items, and can also use “food” items. Monika can also use many food items, especially the sweets that she loves to eat.
During battles you’ll get to select “Stances.” There are Stances that are good for attacking and some that are good for defending. These come with various effects like adding follow-up attacks to other characters or covering them from hits. The “Defense Stance” will provide your party with some sort of “auto-cover” ability.
Atelier Sophie: Alchemist of the Mysterious Book will release in Japan on September 25, 2015 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita.
