Atelier (video game series)

The Atelier series is a franchise of role-playing video games developed by Gust Corporation since 1997, primarily for the PlayStation line of consoles. Main entries in the series have seen consistent releases for Microsoft Windows since 2015 and the Nintendo Switch since 2017. New games are released in the series on an almost yearly basis. The series was solely released in Japan and Asia until 2005, after which the series has seen worldwide releases.
The franchise centers around the concept of an atelier specialising in alchemy; 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.
Alchemy 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, and the player ends up with a large group of characters to explore the world with.
In many earlier games in the series, the player are given a limited amount of in-game days to accomplish one or more main objectives and actions like gathering items, traveling or synthesizing spend a portion of that time. 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.
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.
In addition to the main games, several side games have been released.
Several of the series' titles were remade or ported, mostly for portable devices.
Atelier Marie and Elie - The Alchemist of Salburg by Yoshihiko Ochi is a five volume manga adaptation first published in Japan by Enterbrain, published in German by Egmont, published in French by Ki-oon, and four of the volumes were published in English by Tokyopop. The series was later re-edited and re-released in two tankōbon volumes on July 25, 2007. The manga later received a sequel titled Marie to Elie Atelier: Salburg no Renkinjutsushi Second Season, as of February 2018 Enterbrain released eight tankōbon volumes. In 2005 Enterbrain also released a one-shot manga titled Viorate no Atelier: Kiteretsu Muraokoshi.
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 series, produced by Studio Gokumi and directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki, aired on Tokyo MX 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.