Koei Tecmo has shared a new story trailer for Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream, which is coming to Nintendo Switch next month.
This next chapter from GUST Studios will star returning alchemist Sophie Neuenmuller and is set “shortly after” her adventure in 2016’s Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book.
After leaving her hometown of Kirchen Bell, Sophie and Plachta discover a huge tree identical to one that Plachta had seen in an earlier dream. As they step closer to it, a mysterious vortex pulls them inside.
Awakening beneath The Dream Tree to find herself in a peculiar dream-like world called Erde Wiege, Sophie is saved by an unfamiliar face – Alette Claretie, who dreams of one day discovering a treasure that can only be located in Erde Wiege. However, Sophie realises that Plachta is nowhere to be found.
When Sophie and Alette return to Roytale – the only town in Erde Wiege – Olias Enders approaches them and claims to know a girl called Plachta, offering to guide them to her atelier on the outskirts of town. Once they arrive, Sophie claims not to know this new girl. Who is this new Plachta, and what is her relationship with Sophie’s best friend?
As you search for answers on your adventure, you will have to fight the many monsters that call the lands of Erde Wiege home. As soon as you encounter an enemy in the field, the battle will start instantly without any load times or separate screens, which is a first for the Atelier series.
Your battle party will also now consist of six members – three in the front and three in the back – forming two teams that can “co-operate in multi-linked turn-based battles.” The developer hopes that the new battle system will open up “a wide range of exciting combat strategies that players can utilise to take out their foes.”
You will be able to use Twin Actions in this new combat system, which can see the front and back rows choose to attack together or the front row makes their move first while the back row has the chance to recover and charge up. This ability uses less MP than performing the attacks separately.
There is also the Support Guard action that lets a party member on the back row protect a member in the front row when they are attacked. Both the Twin Actions and Support Guard abilities will require Technical Points (TP), with your choices in battle building the Dual Guage which can be used to activate Dual Triggers – “a special move where two party members launch a powerful ability together.”
The publisher has also shared: “Some of the enemies that Sophie and her companions encounter will be covered in an aura, and these monsters will be more difficult to inflict damage upon, dealing large amounts of damage to the party. By attacking the monster’s aura with an element it is weak against, the aura will be reduced and stun the monster, allowing Sophie and friends to perform more actions in a row than usual. In some battles, Weather Control can also be used during battle to create favourable situations that weaken the monster’s aura.”
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream will release at retail and digitally on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch worldwide on 25th February 2022.
