The first gameplay trailer for a long-missing JRPG series hitting Xboxhas just landed

Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land gameplay trailer screenshot.

What you need to know

• A new gameplay presentation has been unveiled for Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land, the latest installment in the Atelier franchise.
• Atelier is a series of light-hearted JRPGs where everything from their stories, characters, and gameplay is heavily themed around alchemy.
• Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is scheduled to be released on March 21, 2025 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC via Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S

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During the Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase stream on August 27, 2024, Koei Tecmo and Gust revealed a new game in the long-running Atelier franchise called Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land (or Atelier Yumia for short). This title will launch next year for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, PC via Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S (making Atelier Yumia the first game in the Atelier series to be released on Xbox consoles).

Now five days later on Sept 2, 2024, Koei Tecmo has released a new gameplay presentation video introducing series veterans and newcomers to Atelier Yumia's story premise and cast of characters, while also divulging how it will improve upon Atelier's trademarked alchemy gameplay.

For those who don't know, Atelier is a series of JRPGs developed by Koei Tecmo's Gust division that has been running since 1997 with Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg on the PlayStation One. What makes Atelier stand out from other JRPG franchises is its heavy emphasis on alchemy. Everything about these games from their stories, characters, and even gameplay revolves around alchemy and how it affects the world, and Atelier Yumia is no exception.

Atelier Yumia takes place on a continent where alchemy is considered taboo. This is because many centuries ago, the mighty Aladissian Empire was wiped out overnight the cause of which was believed to be alchemy. However, one young girl is on a quest to find the truth about what really happened that night.

Enter our protagonist, Yumia Liessfeldt. Yumia is an alchemist who discovered during a terrible incident where she lost her mother, that she descended from a long line of alchemists. Having grown up hearing tales about how alchemy is considered 'evil', she starts to question everything as her mother was a kind and gentle person despite partaking in the forbidden art of alchemy.

So Yumia sets off on a journey with the Aladiss Research Team to discover the true history behind the fall of the Aladissian Empire, find out if her mother truly was a good person, and prove once and for all alchemy is not evil. 

The gameplay of Atelier Yumia will have the player exploring the world, meeting up with a cast of colorful characters to join your party, and fight monsters and villains in real-time battles. All the while, you will collect crafting ingredients through exploration and combat to synthesize items through alchemy.

The items you can craft through alchemy in range from healing potions, accessories, tools, weapons, and armor. In addition, Atelier Yumia will be the first game in the series to let you use alchemy to craft building components so you can build houses or even entire towns for citizens you encounter along your journey.

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Another beloved JRPG franchise comes to Xbox consoles

Battle foes in active real-time combat to acquire materials for your alchemy experiments. (Image credit: Koei Tecmo)

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Atelier is considered a cult classic franchise by many JRPGs fans for its endearing low-stakes storylines, pretty and compelling characters, gorgeous worlds to explore, and incredibly in-depth and addictive alchemy crafting systems. 

I have personally never played an Atelier game in my life but Atelier Yumia may be the first title in the series I may try out after seeing this gameplay presentation. The characters look cool and fun to play as, and I'm curious as to how deep Atelier Yumia's alchemy crafting system will go and what kind of crazy inventions it will allow you to make.

However, in a post-Minecraft world where almost every game has some kind of crafting system implemented, will the Atelier series still be able to stand out from the crowd with its trademark alchemy gameplay and become one of the best JRPGs on Xbox? Join Yumia's quest for the truth next year to find out when Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land launches in 2025 for all homes and PC via Steam.