New details on the battle system and the side characters of Atelier Ryza 2, coming to PS4, PS5, Switch and PC via Steam in January.

Koei Tecmo and Gust revealed new details on Atelier Ryza 2 coming to PC via Steam, PS4, PS5, and Switch, most notably new battle mechanics and more sub characters. Below, we have all the details from the press release, mixed in it with additional details translated from the Japanese press release.

First, take a look at the new side characters of Atelier Ryza 2:

Zephine Baudouin, voiced by Rikako Aida

“What were you two talking about? Something lewd?”

Zephine Baudouin is a young woman who works at a café in the Academy District of the royal capital Ashra-am Baird. Zephine is pretty much the café’s manager, because the real manager never shows up. She’s doing a great job and the café is bustling.

Zephine also manages the café’s request bulletin board. Citizens of Ashra-am Baird post jobs on the bulletin board, from gathering materials to defeating monsters. Ryza and her friends can take them on. Players can earn money, items and Skill Points by completing these jobs.

Dennis Holland, voiced by Ryo Yaginuma

“Actually, there’s a certain reason why I’m looking for rare metals”

Dennis Holland is a blacksmith in the capital. He’s renowned as one of the best craftsmen in the whole capital. He excels at metal engraving, and is also good at weapons processing. He’s a friendly guy, but gets so focused when working that he won’t notice anything even if you call him.

Romy Vogel, voiced by Yuki Nagaku

“Yeah yeah coming, I’m the owner, Romy”

Cassandra Cappelli, voiced by Sayumi Suzushiro

“I’ve never seen a girl having so much fun looking at the fields”

Cassandra Cappelli is the eldest daughter of a rich farmer, who owns an incredible amount of fruitful land inside the Royal Capital’s Farming District. Cassandra only has sisters, and they all work the fields. The land is too big for them though, so now they only farm a small portion for their daily needs. Cassandra and her sisters are worried about what to do with the rest of the land, which is currently abandoned.

Romy Vogel already appeared on Kurken Island in the first game, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout. In Atelier Ryza 2, Romy is a strong and cheerful woman who owns her own store in the royal capital. Before that she used to be a peddler, traveling the country, and that’s how she’d visit Kurken Island and how she first met Ryza. Now, she decided to settle in the capital for a while.

Next up are the new details on the battle system:

The battle system of Atelier Ryza 2 is described as a Real Time Tactics Battle system. Party members accumulate Action points and Core Charge as they fight.

You can also receive requests from allies, asking if they should use a certain move. These are the Action Order. If you respond to an Action Order, the party members will support you with powerful Order Skills.

When guarding enemy attacks with the right timing, you’ll also earn more Action Points.

Characters with many Action Points are able to use multiple Skills in a row via Skill Chain. Using Skill Chain also increases the power of Skills and the amount of Core Charge gained in each attack.

You can also connect a Skill Chain with sub party members, that’s called a Shift Skill. Using Skills also fills up the Tactics Level gauge, and each time it rises, the amount of hits a regular attack does will rise as well, and Action Points will accumulate quicker.

When the Tactic Level reaches the max level, you can use a character’s ultimate move, the Fatal Drive.

Items can be used in battle by spending Core Charge. You can use up to 4 Core Charge in a row to use 4 items in a row. So for example, you can throw four bombs at once at an enemy.

Later on as you progress in Atelier Ryza 2, you’ll also be able to use item ultimate moves called Core Drive.

That’s all regarding the battle system of Atelier Ryza 2

On a related note, the Atelier Ryza 2 fanart & cosplay contest is ending soon, on October 31:

Reminder! This contest ends 10/31! Make sure to submit an entry before the submissions close! #KTfamily #AtelierRyza #AtelierRyza2 #Ryza2Contest https://t.co/PTJNQjzI8N
— KOEI TECMO AMERICA (@KoeiTecmoUS) October 19, 2020

You can read more on Atelier Ryza 2 with our past coverage, mos notably Producer Junzo Hosoi’s comments from TGS 2020. Alongside more comments and interviews we translated from Japanese outlets. Most notably how Producer Hosoi said Ryza was always supposed to be the protagonist for two games.

The PS5 physical version of Atelier Ryza 2 was also canceled in Japan and Taiwan.

Atelier Ryza 2 will launch in Japan on December 3. The American version launches on January 26, 2021. The European version releases on January 29.

Source: Dualshockers