The previously rumored Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy was announced during the Japanese Nintendo Direct Mini on Monday. The sequel will be launching globally this Winter, and when it releases it will be the first time in Atelier history that a protagonist in the series gets a follow-up adventure.
And there’s probably a reason for that. Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout was the best-selling game in the RPG series with over 420,000 copies shipped worldwide, according to Gematsu. While that number might be small in comparison to The Last of Us Part 2 and Final Fantasy VII Remake, the publisher Koei Tecmo called it a “smash hit.”
The game’s teaser trailer showed a few elements of the sequel, like Ryza’s new costume, swimming underwater, grappling hooks, animal mounting, and climbing. Klaudia is making a return, as well. More information will be revealed on July 29th at 8 AM Pacific when the official website launches.
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy will be available on PS4, Steam, and Switch, with no word so far of an Xbox or next-gen release. Hopefully, it will be backward compatible with the PS5.
After the graphical lift, the first Ryza game shows a striking anime style with stunning town vistas. Also, the gameplay enhancements that were added to the game made this typically annual series look a bit more interesting. Now with the trailer featuring underwater segments and grappling hooks, developer GUST might be trying to add more depth to the usually flat environments.
The first Ryza game was received pretty well and garnered an 84 Metacritic score on the Switch, making it a high point for the Atelier series. Compared to the prior year’s Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and The Mysterious Painting’s 62 on Switch, that’s quite a big jump!
While you wait for Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & The Secret Fairy, Koei Tecmo is releasing another GUST title in a matter of weeks called Fairy Tail. It is based on the popular anime of the same name with turn-based RPG mechanics. One of the game’s characters, Lucy, actually has a Ryza outfit, which is included in the Digital Deluxe Edition.
Source: Gematsu
