Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End and the Secret Key is the twenty-fourth installment in the long running JRPG Atelier Series, and the third one to star Reisalin Stout, following Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout and Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy. It was released on March 24, 2023 on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4 and 5.
One year after her last adventure, Ryza has been spending her days trying to make things better in her native Kurken Island. However, this peace is interrupted when the strange Kark Isles suddenly emerge from the ocean nearby, bringing monsters with them. Shortly after, a mysterious voice in Ryza's head tells her to reach the "Code of the Universe", and she suddenly feels inspired to create a magical key with alchemy. Alongside her friends and some new companions, Ryza heads out to understand the secret of the Kark Isles, the key she made, and the Code of the Universe.
Gameplay is mostly unchanged from Ryza's past adventures, with a semi-real-time Combatant Cooldown System for battles and node-based alchemy. However, exploration is now much closer to a Wide-Open Sandbox, with huge, free-roaming maps full of secrets and side-quests. A major new feature is the ability to collect and use magical keys, which grant bonuses in gathering, combat, and alchemy. To accommodate the larger number of party members (eleven, including many returning from Ryza's previous two adventures), there's now a reserve row, where two characters can wait to be swapped in and out as needed.
This game provides examples of:
- And the Adventure Continues: The game ends with Ryza wandering alone in search for an apprentice.
- Bag of Spilling: Ryza once again starts the adventure with a basic staff made more for style than substance, and none of her utility items, although a number of said utility items will quickly become available to be crafted anew. She also starts with more recipes available than in previous games, even though she has to invest effort into re-remembering the more complex stuff, which was presumably neglected during the peaceful period between games. That being said, her starting basket is much bigger than in the previous games, so at least she kept a version of her upgraded gathering basket on hand.
- Cool Key: A key feature (pun not intended) is the ability to extract magical keys from enemies and landmarks. They come in a variety of designs and have different abilities, such as granting buffs or improving quality when gathering items.
- Community-Threatening Construction: One series of world quests in Kurken Island concerns Moritz trying to build large apartment complexes in Rasen Boden, which the party (even Bos) agrees would ruin the island's charm. It turns out that Moritz is pushing for land development because Ryza's desalination equipment is making lower-quality water than the one taken from the Underworld, ruining the quality of the Kurken Fruit, so the island needs to head in a new economic direction to compensate. Ryza ultimately manages to upgrade the desalination equipment, returning the Kurken Fruit back to its former glory, which convinces Moritz to stop the construction of further housing.
- Friendly, Playful Dolphin: Dolphins can be found near the Kark Isles, and they'll let you ride on their back for a speed boost underwater.
- Grand Finale: The end of the line for Ryza.
- Hot Springs Episode: In Nemed, it turns out that the "hidden treasure" at the end of the world quest chain is an underground hot water source. Ryza and friends help turn it into a hot spring, revitalizing the small mountain village it's in, and they're rewarded by being the first ones to bathe in it.
- Interface Spoiler: When crafting the summoner's bell, some of the effects on the item mention a water beast and a land beast, before you find out you can tame additional beasts to ride.
- Promoted to Playable:
- Bos Brunnen, one of Ryza's friends that wasn't playable in either of the previous two games, is now a playable character.
- Empel Vollmer and Lila Decyrus, who were Demoted to Extra during Ryza's previous adventure, return to being members of her party.
- Running Gag: Aside from the recurring "Barrel!" gag, whenever you reach a new map, Ryza will use alchemy to quickly build a workshop. Each time this happens, every party member that joined you between now and your creation of the previous workshop express awe and incredulity at Ryza's ability to create a large building overnight.
- Shout-Out: In Photo Mode, the available poses include a "Staying Alive" Dance Pose and various JoJo poses.
- Super Sliding: The Wind Shoes, rather than simply increasing your running speed like in previous games, now allow Ryza to slide around at high speeds by holding the jump button after landing. You can reach very high speeds if you go downhill, but it's slower than walking normally without a large enough incline to get momentum.
- Video Game Caring Potential: Ryza can pet cats and dogs wandering around, and they'll thank her by giving her items.
- Wide-Open Sandbox: Less so than Atelier Firis, as the main story is linear, but the maps are much larger and more open-ended than before, with no loading screens between areas within the same region. Spending time exploring is highly encouraged, as if you don't search every nook and cranny of each region, you're likely to miss materials that are crucial for creating certain items and progressing through the game's many sidequests.
