The latest issue of Weekly Famitsu has new information on Atelier Ryza: The Queen of Eternal Darkness and the Secret Hideout, including the introduction of three new characters (plus a sub-character) and a short story summary.

Here are the details:

Characters

Lent Marslink (voiced by Takuma Terashima) – Treated coldly by the village for some reason. His dream is to achieve a feat that will change the village’s view towards him. He comes off as someone who pushes his luck, but can be quite sensible and is often keeping Ryza in check. Since his father was a mercenary, he wears his armor.

(voiced by Takuma Terashima) – Treated coldly by the village for some reason. His dream is to achieve a feat that will change the village’s view towards him. He comes off as someone who pushes his luck, but can be quite sensible and is often keeping Ryza in check. Since his father was a mercenary, he wears his armor. Tao Mongarten (voiced by Yui Kondou) – A boy who carries around a profound old book that he is continuously trying to decipher. He is shy and not very social, but his friends are very important to him and not something he would abandon.

(voiced by Yui Kondou) – A boy who carries around a profound old book that he is continuously trying to decipher. He is shy and not very social, but his friends are very important to him and not something he would abandon. Klaudia Valentz (voiced by Hitomi Oowada) – A young woman traveling with her peddler father. She is mild-mannered, but has strong determination and does not yield her opinions. She wants to go on an adventure with everyone, and is looking for comrades in search of a true friend. In battle, she uses a flute and clarinet-like wind instrument. Rubert Valentz (voiced by Kenji Hamada) – Klaudia’s father. He is a clearheaded and clever merchant. He seems to be overly protective of Claudia.

(voiced by Hitomi Oowada) – A young woman traveling with her peddler father. She is mild-mannered, but has strong determination and does not yield her opinions. She wants to go on an adventure with everyone, and is looking for comrades in search of a true friend. In battle, she uses a flute and clarinet-like wind instrument.

Summary

The main setting is Kurken Island, which resides in the middle of a lake. Ryza is an ordinary girl who lives on the island’s Rasenboden Village. Together with her childhood friends Lent and Tao, she sets off on a journey outside the island. There, she meets a male alchemist, who takes her on as an apprentice, and takes her first steps into the world of alchemy. Her friends also begin to face their own dreams.

Producer Junzo Hosoi Interview Tidbits

“This time, I think we need to show an Atelier different from the past, even more so than we did with Atelier Lulua. By continuing on the same path, the same old thing will end up becoming a sense of security.”

“We have yet to cast shadows on characters, but I wanted to challenge that kind of expression, perhaps due to an illustration from Toridamono.”

“Ryza had a mini-skirt at first, but Toridamono thought she should have skin-tight shorts.”

“The Atelier series is 23 years-old. I thought it would be good to go back to a familiar story from here.”

Atelier Ryza: The Queen of Eternal Darkness and the Secret Hideout is due out for PlayStation 4 and Switch this fall in Japan, and for PC via Steam at a later date.

Thanks, Ryokutya2089, Games Talk, and Famitsu.