role-playing video game
Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
line of consoles. Main entries in the series have seen consistent releases for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
since 2015 and the
Nintendo Switch
The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
since 2017. New games are released in the series on an almost yearly basis. The series was solely released in Japan and Asia until 2004, after which the series has seen worldwide releases.
The franchise centers around the concept of an atelier specialising in
alchemy
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
; the gameplay involves finding, collecting, and combining items in recipes to create better items, which allows the player to advance further in the game. Most of the games focus on female characters, which is somewhat rare among Japanese role-playing franchises. Several manga and two anime adaptations of titles from the series have been created so far. As of August 2023, the series has shipped more than 7.5 million units worldwide.
Common elements
Alchemy
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
is the distinguishing theme of the ''Atelier'' series. Players control the game's character, roaming the game world to collect objects to use in alchemy recipes to create new objects, including cooking ingredients, recovery items, tools, weapons, armor, and accessories. Synthesized objects are commonly required in order to create more powerful or potent objects through alchemy. Many of the games feature a method of transferring properties of one item from the recipe to the synthesized item. Recipes also often allow the substitution of items, which can either lend better properties to the final synthesized item, or can lead to the character thinking of a completely new recipe.
The games generally feature a turn-based combat system, in which the items made through alchemy come into play, either to boost the character's abilities, or for offensive, defensive, or support items.
The games' stories are typically light-hearted and humorous, often deriving conflict from a source other than an
antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain. Failure to accomplish the game's main tasks in time may cause the game to end abruptly or lead to a bad ending, though these time limits tend to be rather lenient. The first entry in the "Mysterious" ''Atelier'' subseries '' Atelier Sophie'' does away with the time limit system, but the second entry '' Atelier Firis'' has a time limit for completing the game's first major story objective, after which players can play at their leisure. The third entry in the Mysterious subseries, '' Atelier Lydie & Suelle'', only briefly included a time limit for one objective in the middle of the game. Starting from '' Atelier Lulua'', the time limit system was completely removed from following main installments of the series.
Games
There have been 27 main games in the ''Atelier'' franchise which are subdivided into 10 sub-series. There are three games in the Salburg series, two games in Gramnad series, three games in the Iris series, two games in the Mana-Khemia series, four games in the Arland series, three games in the Dusk series, four games in the Mysterious series, three games in the Secret series, and one entry in the ongoing Memory series. The 25th main game is a mobile game crossover that does not belong to any specific sub-series.
Side games
In addition to the main games, several side games have been released.
Remakes and ports
Several of the series' titles were remade or ported, mostly for portable devices.
* A Gust's official spelling is ''Viorate'', as seen on the manga adaptation's and the original soundtrack's cover.
* B Release dates are one day earlier than listed here for specifically the North American
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
releases from 2022 onwards. This is due to
time zone
A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, Commerce, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between Country, countries and their Administrative division, subdivisions instead of ...
considerations, as a single worldwide Windows version is released via
Steam
Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
. Console releases follow the listed dates.
Other
*Marie from ''Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg'', and Liliane Vehlendorf, Rozeluxe Meitzen, Whim and Rewrich Wallach from ''Mana Khemia 2'' joins many other out of game characters in 2008's '' Cross Edge''.
*Viorate from ''Atelier Viorate: The Alchemist of Gramnad 2'' appears in the 2009 company-collaboration RPG, '' Trinity Universe'' released in the United States by NIS America (as "Violet").
*Company-collaborative 2010 RPG '' Hyperdimension Neptunias in-game character Gust displays ''Atelier'' characters in numerous special attacks in the game. Gust also has a costume that directly resembles a costume from ''Atelier''. She also has a hobby of making items out of strange ingredients, a play on the ''Atelier'' series' focus on alchemy. She returns for the reboot as an important story character but was later replaced by
Broccoli
Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the Brassicaceae, cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large Pseudanthium, flowering head, plant stem, stalk and small associated leafy gre ...
in the remake. She also appeared in the ''Megami Tsuuhin'' manga on some chapters.
*As of January 2015, Koei Tecmo's ''My Gamecity Card Collection'' browser collectible card game features more than 170 ''Atelier''-themed cards.
*Astrid Zexis, Rorolina Frixell, Cordelia von Feuerbach, Lionela Heinze and Pamela Ibis, from ''Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland'' appeared in 2013's '' Kaku-san-sei Million Arthur''.
*Sterkenburg Cranach from ''Atelier Arland'' series, appeared in '' Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate'', sporting his Meruru appearance and his Rorona appearance as a downloadable content (DLC) costume.
*2013's '' Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends'' has a Rorolina Frixelle-themed (from ''Atelier Rorona'') costume for playable character Wang Yuanji.
*2014's '' Deception IV: Blood Ties'' has a costume based on Totooria Helmold, from ''Atelier Totori''.
*'' Chain Chronicles October 2015 update added Rorolina Frixell and Cordelia von Feuerbach from ''Atelier Rorona'', Merurulince Rede Arls, Keina Swaya and Sterkenburg Cranach from ''Atelier Meruru'', and Totooria Helmold and Mimi Houllier von Schwarzlang from ''Atelier Totori'', as playable characters.
*In 2016, costumes based on various games by Gust, including the ''Atelier'' series, appeared as DLC in '' Dead or Alive 5 Last Round''.
*In 2017, Sophie Neuenmuller and Plachta appeared in '' Warriors All-Stars'' as playable characters.
*In 2017, costumes based on Rorolina Frixell and Hom from ''Atelier Rorona'' appeared as DLC in Gust's game '' Blue Reflection''.
*In 2018, costumes of Lydie and Suelle Malen appeared in '' Everybody's Golf'' as part of a collaboration. In return, costumes based on the game appear for free for an entire year exclusive to the PlayStation 4 version of ''Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings''.
*Various ''Atelier'' costumes return as DLC in '' Dead or Alive 6'' as part of the "Gust Mashup Costume Set". A separate DLC pack was released titled "Atelier Ryza Mashup Set" that is based on the three female playable characters in ''Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout''.
*In 2024, costumes based on the ''Atelier Ryza'' series appeared in '' Fairy Tail 2'' as a part of the "Digital Deluxe" edition. It also includes "Atelier Lucy", an additional feature based on the series.
* In 2025, Sophie, Ryza, and Yumia appeared in Warriors: Abyss as playable characters.
Manga and anime adaptations
by Yoshihiko Ochi is a five volume manga adaptation first published in Japan by
Enterbrain
, formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on January 30, 1987, as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strate ...
, published in German by Egmont, published in French by Ki-oon, and four of the volumes were published in English by
Tokyopop
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licens ...
. The series was later re-edited and re-released in two ''
tankōbon
A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...
'' volumes on July 25, 2007. The manga later received a sequel titled , as of February 2018 Enterbrain released eight ''tankōbon'' volumes. In 2005 Enterbrain also released a one-shot manga titled .
''Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky'' was adapted into a manga series by Chako Abeno. It features some arrangements to the story in order to let supporting characters play a bigger role. As of January 2015 two ''tankōbon'' volumes was released. It has also been adapted into a 12-episode television
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
series, produced by Studio Gokumi and directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki, aired on
Tokyo MX
JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...
between April 10, 2014, and 26 June 2014.
A manga adaptation of ''Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout'', written and illustrated by Riichu started serialization in '' Shūkan Famitsū'' on September 17, 2020.
A manga adaptation of ''Atelier Rorona'' also exists.
An anime television series adaptation of ''Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout'' was announced on March 19, 2023. It is animated by Liden Films and directed by Ema Yuzuhira, with Yashichiro Takahashi and Kazuki Yanagawa reprising their roles from the game as script writer and composer. The anime series aired from July 2 to September 17, 2023, on Tokyo MX and other networks.