Atelier games have been around since the late ’90s, with more than two dozen titles shipped in that time – but you’re forgiven some unfamiliarity the series, as Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Envisioned Land will be the very first to arrive on Xbox. After playing through the first few hours of the game and speaking with producer Junzo Hosoi, it’s becoming clear that the first Atelier title on Xbox isn’t simply the latest in the series, it’s the most ambitious entry yet.

“As a huge Xbox fan, I’m thrilled to finally bring the series to the system,” Hosoi told me via email, “But when I look at the game as a whole, I don’t describe Atelier Yumia as the next Atelier game. I describe it as a completely new JRPG series that has Atelier features.”

My preview session bore that out; players will find familiar RPG elements aplenty – strategic, real-time battles, crafting, exploration – but they come together in way that feels altogether different from others in the genre. The secret ingredient, if you will, lies in the super deep crafting system.

“The charm of the Atelier series is about synthesis and the alchemy process,” Hosoi-san confirmed. “The game cycle is pretty unique as there is collecting in the field, fighting in battle, and utilizing the synthesis system, and all three of those things are related.”

That charm is also evident in the playable cast of characters, especially the eponymous Yumia Liessfeldt, a more grown-up character than some past series headliner heroines.

Hosoi-san shares more background: “Since Yumia is 21 years old, the story is about her growing into adulthood. This is shown throughout the story through her strong core values… independence and charm. With [heroes of previous titles] Ryza and Sophie, they were younger, so they needed mentors in order to grow up, but with Yumia, she has her own identity and decision-making skills.” Oh, and she owns a motorcycle!

Because Aladiss, the new continent introduced in Atelier Yumia, inherently distrusts alchemy, the game’s early hours see Yumia seeking to prove her worth. While her synthesis skills differentiate her from other characters in the game, bolstered by a new building system that crafting survival fans will enjoy, in my playthrough, it was Yumia’s battle prowess that surprised most.

For nearly all of the series’ history, Atelier titles were turn-based affairs. The recent Atelier Ryza titles were to first to move to real-time, and for Atelier Yumia, the team heard player feedback, resulting in a huge amount ofc ombat options for players to master.

“The mechanics of battle have been completely redesigned for this game as close and ranged combat has been added,” Hosoi-san explains. “Within the two attack zones, players can move the active character freely around the enemies or between the two attack zones in battle. You can also guard and dodge attacks in real-time and even pull off a powerful cooperation attack with other characters when an enemy is stunned. For Atelier Yumia, we are focusing on actually showing the player’s skills during battle.”

In practice, battles move quickly; players can control Yumia or shift at any time to one of her traveling companions. Placement is key; you can see when and where attacks will hit, but timing out a precision guard (or getting the heck out of the way) takes good timing. It’s not too challenging when going 1 on 1 with a regular mob, but in a multi-enemy rumble, with fewer safe areas, there’s a whole lot to account for. 

Add in varying enemy weaknesses, opportunities to execute powerful Friend Actions, balancing offense and defense at different ranges – I didn’t expect a game this adorable to require such situational awareness! Fortunately, your squad enters and exits battle seamlessly as you explore, and it’s fast and fun to build up fighting experience, or to avoid encounters when you just wanna zipline back to town.

As mentioned, Yumia isn’t on this journey alone; you’ll meet several companions in the game’s prologue before rewinding to an earlier point in the tale. I found one character particularly entertaining, and Hosoi-san surprised me by unexpectedly bringing up an Xbox icon when asked about Flammi, Yumia’s floating, funny little companion.

“Flammi was actually inspired by Halo’s Cortana. I wanted to make something where we could have a conversation between a main protagonist and somebody close to them who are always together. Playing Halo was so much fun and that’s why I really wanted to add a mascot for Atelier Yumia.“

Atelier Yumia arrives at a very prolific time for Koei Tecmo: Dynasty Warriors Origins was well-received on its recent launch, Team Ninja surprised everyone with Ninja Gaiden 4’s announcement, and we’ve been spoiled with shadow drops of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black and Warriors: Abyss. To hear it from Hosoi-san, the positive energy is boosting everyone’s projects.

“Within Koei Tecmo games, the brand producers get along really well with each other. We have a conference where games under development receive opinions from each of the brands, so not only do we listen to each other’s opinions, we then get to see their games in development as well. We utilize each other’s opinions to help us develop and create better games. In the end, that helps in my goal of making Atelier Yumia known worldwide as the best game in the series.”