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| Liz Maas |
The Arland trilogy concludes.
03.22.11 - 3:47 PM
A couple of weeks ago, Gust teased a new Atelier game, one that would continue the Alchemist of Arland series (which Atelier Rorona and Atelier Totori are a part of). The magazine Dengeki PlayStation has the first details on Atelier Meruru (Atelier Meryl), though we may get more of them later in the week.
The title character as you may have guessed those two weeks ago is Meryl (or Merrill, or Meruru - whichever you prefer, but I like Meryl best because it reminds me of Metal Gear Solid - wild tangent I know), and she is 15 years old. Her full name is something along the lines of 'Merylance Lehde Earls.' Unlike the other two games, which took place in Arland, Atelier Meryl takes place in Earls.
But the games are still connected. Totori and Rorona both appear in the game, with Totori being Meryl's teacher, but Rorona's role is unexplained, nor is the reason why she looks so young. She was thought to be older than Totori, but it doesn't look like it here (see the Dengeki PlayStation cover below).
As for the game itself, the visuals have apparently made a vast improvement, though we have yet to see any screen shots. Battle visuals will also be redone, and players will be able to see the turn order on the right edge of the screen. Atelier Meryl, will also conclude the Arland series storyline, will also see 'world development' where the actions you take as Meryl will affect the whole land.
More info is said to be released over the next few weeks. Atelier Meryl already has a Japanese release date of June 23rd. The regular edition will coast 7140 yen ($88.23 US), whereas the limited edition, which includes a Meryl Nendorid and a paperweight, will go for 10,290 yen ($127.16 US). Pre-ordering either version will net you a drama CD as a bonus.
