Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian Interview

Koei Tecmo’s newest Atelier title, Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian is set to launch worldwide next month. The game is set in the same universe as free-to-play mobile and PC title Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy & the Polar Night Liberator, but is completely offline and features its own original story. RPGamer was given the opportunity to put some questions to Head of Gust Junzo Hosoi and Team NINJA Executive Officer Yasunori Sakuda about the game and its development.

RPGamer: Can you talk about the initial decision to develop the game and the decision to return to the world of Atelier Resleriana?

Yasunori Sakuda (Development Producer): After Resleriana’s announcement, many fans of the Atelier series expressed they would like to enjoy the world of Resleriana on consoles as well. We were also thinking about if we could offer a new experience while expanding the world of Resleriana, so when we heard these comments, we decided to start planning a console version.

RPGamer: Are there any direct connections to the previous Atelier Resleriana game?

Junzo Hosoi (General Producer): This game takes place within the same setting as the previous Resleriana, so we partially used its system as reference. However, this is a completely new title, with a plot that takes place within the same timeframe as the mobile game, but in a different region.

For those who have played the mobile game, I’d think of it more as a “spin-off” of sorts. These players will be able to see connections to the original game, but those who have never played the mobile version can experience this game as a completely new title.

RPGamer: Can you give a quick introduction to the new protagonists and how they stand out compared to previous protagonists?

Junzo Hosoi: In the mobile version of Resleriana, the two protagonists, Resna and Valeria, are core to the advancement of the story. We wanted to continue with the same approach, so we decided to have two protagonists. However, since we also wanted to expand the setting and show a new Resleriana, we opted for a male and female protagonist instead of two females.

Rias’ uniqueness comes from the fact that she’s the Atelier series’ first beast girl protagonist. We wanted to expand on the world of Resleriana and feature beast humans that exist in that world, so we gave our protagonist animal ears. As for Slade, since male characters tend to have short hair, we wanted his to be on the longer side and to make his weapon a bit unique. That’s when the “Geist Core”, a mysterious weapon he uses to attack which is linked to their world, was born.

RPGamer: Can you talk about the character and gameplay dynamics between the two protagonists? (e.g. Are there times where players follow one protagonist separately from the other?)

Junzo Hosoi: Regarding their roles, we constructed them in a way that Rias is more innocent, while Slade is more on the serious side. Once these two meet, they start to get more and more entangled and the story advances. It might be easier to think of them as buddies.

Players can choose which character they will control at the very start of the story and proceed to control only them. However, during early game, they meet each other and from then on they journey together.

RPGamer: How heavily involved are the returning Atelier characters in the story?

Yasunori Sakuda: Though they won’t participate in battles, many past characters will visit Hallfein. Players will learn what they have been up to in the world of Resleriana, so look forward to it.

RPGamer: How do Dimensional Paths feature in the story and gameplay?

Yasunori Sakuda: Dimensional Paths are several different types of multi-level dungeons, each one with up to four difficulty levels. Except for the lowest level, all other levels are optional, so those who want to focus on the story don’t need to play them.

For those who want to challenge themselves in battles or syntheses can opt for a higher difficulty level and aim for better rewards. They can choose to challenge themselves once they clear the game, or as their characters get stronger throughout the story.

RPGamer: Are there any things you’ve looked to focus on in the game’s combat system?

Yasunori Sakuda: The battle system’s base is the same as the mobile version of Atelier Resleriana, a turn-based system in which the characters act in order according to the timeline. However, we have developed this system in a deeper way that could only be enjoyed on consoles, and aimed for battles that could only be experienced on consoles, so we have introduced new elements, including linked elements specific to this title, and adding ways to play with items.

However, as the turn-based command battles have a bit more of waiting time compared to the action-focused battles, we carefully calculated its tempo so that our users would not lose interest.

RPGamer: Are there any new elements that you have introduced into the synthesis system?

Yasunori Sakuda: When I think about the synthesis system, the greatest difficulty is creating something “simple, yet intricate”. Since we are trying to change a lot of the synthesis system with each title, ever since the first title it’s been a constant state of trial and error. In the past, we would create mock-ups with paper and have a lot of heated discussions, continuously starting from scratch and even revamping the synthesis system every few months.

RPGamer: Do you have any favorite “unsung” heroes from the series you’re excited to see getting another appearance in the series here?

Yasunori Sakuda: We created a 3D model for Raze for the first time for the original Resleriana, so I hope you like it.
He will be an important figure to the still green protagonists during early game.

RPGamer would like to thank Junzo Hosoi and Yasunori Sakuda for taking the time to answer our questions, as well as to Nick Ybarra and ONE PR Studio for facilitating the interview. Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian is set to release for PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on September 26, 2025.