Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator is the twenty-fifth installment in the JRPG Atelier Series, being a mobile gacha game hosting numerous characters from other Atelier games. The game was released on September 23, 2023, in Japan on iOS, Android and Steam platforms, followed by a global version on January 25, 2024.
The game follows Resna Sternenlicht, an alchemist apprentice who lives in the kingdom of Lantana, and one of the very few alchemists who exist today. Alchemy once prospered 150 years ago until the comets that were the source of the mana used in alchemy dropped in number, with few places such as Resna's atelier being capable of enabling alchemy. With alchemy a thing of the past, Resna's dream is to spread its wonders once more by seeking out "The World's End", a legend that may hold the key to restoring the lost art.
Along the way she will meet companions who can help her, chief of all "wanderers", people from other worlds who have suddenly found themselves in Lantana and decided to explore this new land. Moreover, she will find herself involved with an adventurer, Valeria, an amnesiac making a living as a fighter for the underground guild, the Moonlight Society, as well as a group of alchemists working for their own interests, the Polar Night.
Atelier Resleriana provides examples of the following:
- Alchemy Is Magic: As is standard of the Atelier Series, alchemy in Lantana is the main source of fantastic abilities, although this is more pronounced with alchemy being next to a myth in the present.
- End of an Age: 150 years ago, alchemy used to flourish in the world until the comet that dropped the mana it used as fuel suddenly dropped in number, leading to a mana draught that subsequently led to its decline. In the present, alchemy is known by very few people and its practitioners (excepting wanderers) counted on one hand.
- Experienced Protagonist: All the wanderers who have been protagonists of their own games qualify, most having already gone through their respective journey to be the alchemists they are now. In a world where alchemy is nearly extinct, this makes them valuable mentors Resna can learn from... to an obsessive degree.
- Magic A Is Magic A: Downplayed; the wanderers' alchemy styles don't work in Resleriana's world, being dependent on the mana that rains down from comets. A quick session of synthesizing though, and they're already able to synthesize using this world's style.
- Massive Multiplayer Crossover: After Nelke, Atelier Resleriana has become the second game so far to host multiple characters from other games within its series, notably with 3D models for older characters who haven't gotten them.
- Sidelined Protagonist Crossover: Downplayed; the wanderers are given a fair amount of time in the limelight, though they regularly get switched out every chapter besides a few cameos. Meanwhile, the ones who drive the plot forward are the characters original to Resleriana, primarily Resna herself.
- Title Drop: When Resna finally graduates from apprenticeship at the end of Chapter 3 and is given ownership of her master's atelier, she names it "Atelier Resleriana", which Saskia translates to "An illuminated place of gathering."
- Trapped in Another World: The various characters from other Atelier games are called "wanderers", having been mysteriously transported all over the land of Lantana with a rainbow-colored lollipop that teleports them to Resna's atelier when licked. Many seem to have at least finished most of their goals in their respective games and aren't that bothered being stranded without a way to return home, so you'll find them all over the land doing as they will.
