Koei Tecmo continues to shit up the place milking its revitalized Atelier series with its newfound thigh loving customer base with the upcoming Atelier Resleriana game for mobile devices.
The Atelier franchise has always been this niche variety of JRPG games that harbored just enough worldwide appeal to keep it relevant, at least it was until the introduction of 2019’s Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout where GUST and publishers Koei Techmo introduced a new main protagonist that quickly gained fandom across overseas markets due to her rampant sex appeal.
Sex appeal that the producer totally had “no idea” that people would find her attractive.
Would you be surprised to hear that Atelier Ryza managed to break sales records for the Atelier franchise? Almost like sex sells or something.
It’s interesting to note how the Atelier franchise then returned to its traditional style of games after the release of Ryza, only to discover that its new mainstream audience wasn’t as interested since it doesn’t feature the popular character Ryza.
Ryza as a character was undeniably the driving force behind the success of her game series. She captured the attention of a wider audience during a time when the gaming landscape seemed dull and lacking appealing, more feminine characters or captivating games.
In this desperate situation, people found themselves trying out games they would typically overlook, all because of the allure of Ryza and her unique charm.
While her thighs only increased her cleavage became more and more covered, Ryza was so successful for GUST and Koei Tecmo that they had no other choice but to cover her up, because they wanted to chase after this mythical “wider audience”.
Recently, they released a remake of Marie, but it hasn’t received much attention or discussion. GUST and Koei Tecmo instead opted to milk Ryza for all that she’s worth with no less than three installments essentially back to back with Ryza’s attire being adjusted with her sex appeal being hindered, and yet the games continue to sell so much so that there’s a whole Atelier Ryza anime adaptation.
It’s not as if that other characters in the Atelier series are bad looking or have zero appeal, Marie wears a classy outfit with a more petite frame compared to other girls of the series, but this isn’t what people see, they don’t really care about unlockable swimsuit outfits or whatever, people’s initial perception is often shaped by the box art, trailers, and promotional advertisements. GUST and Koei Tecmo really did push hard with Ryza’s sexiness.
Another reason I believe the games experienced a decline in popularity over time is due to Koei Tecmo’s decision to significantly increase their prices. The company has a reputation for offering expensive DLC, but after the immense success of Ryza, they took it to another level.
Ryza 2 and 3 were released as pricey games, accompanied by equally costly DLC. Moreover, Ryza 1 faced artificial scarcity, causing physical copies of the game to be sold for over $100 a year or two after its initial launch. These factors undoubtedly played a role in the decreasing appeal of subsequent Ryza installments.
But anyways, that’s enough rambling about how thick thighs saved a franchise, because the main topic is the new Atelier mobile game dubbed Atelier Resleriana which marks the first time that Koei Tecmo have went forward with a mobile game in over a decade, obviously to cash in on the Atelier franchise with a mundane microtransactional “gacha” system to unlock new party members.
No doubt that Ryza will be a prominent character to be featured on most banners.
The game is currently region locked to Japan only an has only just been released on mobile devices, including both Android and iOS and already Japanese consumers are complaining regarding the predatory nature of the in-game gacha system.
Currently in Atelier Resleriana you’re able to buy a gem based in-game currency, similarly to that of Fate/Grand Order, Genshin Impact and many other RPG based F2P titles, with each in-game gem being priced 1:1 with the Japanese Yen.
In order to perform a standard ten-pull in Atelier Resleriana, it will require 3000 gems, or more precisely, 3000 yen. However, it is worth noting that there are no first-time bonuses available within the in-game store, which is typically a common feature in gacha riddled garbage.
There are several in-game gem packs available for purchase, ranging in price from 160 yen to 11,800 yen. The options include packs priced at 160 yen, 480 yen, 1000 yen, 1500 yen, 1750 yen, 6000 yen, and 11,800 yen.
Interestingly, there is a noticeable difference between the 1500 yen pack, which provides 1500 gems, and the 3000 yen pack. Despite the higher cost of over $20 USD, the 3000 yen pack only offers a return of 1750 gems, consisting of 1500 gems plus an additional 250 gems.
In order to perform a standard ten-character pull, you would need to purchase two separate packages of the 1500 yen option, which provides 1500 gems each. Alternatively, if you are willing to go to extreme lengths, you could choose to do two separate ten-pulls for a total of 6000 yen (approximately 40 USD).
Not even MiHoYo is this greedy.
The gameplay itself is not particularly noteworthy. It follows the formula of a typical turn-based RPG mobile game, with a primary focus on advancing through stages and leveling up. Players can select specific party members, which adds an element of strategy. However, it’s important to acknowledge that this game can be seen as a time-consuming activity, as progressing, crafting gear, and upgrading characters require a significant investment.
The intention behind this design is to keep players engaged for longer periods and encourage spending to unlock new characters with enhanced stats.
GUST are quite desperate to cash in on the mysterious wider audience with this mobile game, especially after milking fan favorite Ryza with three back to back installments, this mobile game is nothing more than another cash grab to have devoted paypigs latch onto as GUST continue to fall out of favor with actual consumers after the whole day one censorship debacle with Fairy Tail.
