Over at Taipei Game Show 2023, we got to chat with Game Producer Junzo Hosoi and Character Designer Toridamono in an interview for Atelier Ryza 3. In this interview, they go into detail about Atelier Ryza 3 before the game launches 24th March 2023.

[The interview is edited for clarity]

There are as many as 11 team members in Atelier Ryza 3, what considerations did the development team give to the balance of each characters?

Junzo Hosoi: Each character has their own characteristics, there are situations when specific enemies in the game will need certain characters to raid for a smoother process. Overall, we made sure paid close attention to character strength balance so that players won’t have to worry no matter what role they choose.

As Reisalin “Ryza” Stout grew older, do you have an image in mind when it comes to a design focused on her age?

Junzo Hosoi & Toridamono: In the whole Ryza series, I believe that the Ryza from Ryza 1 had the strongest impression on players, so we didn’t want destroy that image of Ryza in the minds of the players. At the same time, there’s still hints of maturity in her current design because of her age now.

Her character design in Ryza 1 is of a little yet mischievous farm girl, so we emphasized presenting a more mature personality in this game to show for her growth and experiences Ryza gained throughout her adventures in the first and second game.

The entire map in Ryza 3 is very vast and open, how will its playability differ from previous works?

Junzo Hosoi: We prepared an element of exploration for the large open map, which is the “exploration of landmarks” that was mentioned in a recent livestream. This is something that hasn’t been available in previous Ryza games before, and I believe players will find this to be a different experience when they play the game.

At the same time, because the map has grown larger, I also understand that players will take longer times to travel around. To prevent players from spending too much time in just travelling, we implemented a design which allows players to collect items when walking and running.

Additionally, when encountering an enemy, you’ll directly enter the battle seamlessly. And when the battle ends, you’ll switch back to where you were before the battle seamlessly too.

There are a total of 11 playable characters in Ryza 3. With such a large cast of characters, how will the plot and narrative of the story be like? And how will you show each character off equally?

Junzo Hosoi: We actually decided to have 11 characters at the beginning of development, so we paid attention to the problem of having many characters which may cause problem narrative-wise. We asked Mr. Yashichiro Takahashi for help with writing the script with having each 11 characters be highlighted equally throughout the game.

We wanted to make sure the story can maintain an even role for each characters and still make Ryza as the main character to go through the whole story.

In terms of story, Ryza 3 is much like its previous entries where its based on the theme of summer stories. Is there any special meaning to this decision?

Junzo Hosoi: There are two main reasons as to why I chose to make this decision. The first reason in my own mind, I think that a story that takes places in a short summer is rather melancholic when the summer ends. Because there is no such thing as summer vacation in Japan, you will feel that summer is long in Japan.

It’s like meeting up with a friend after a summer vacation, and they turn out to be a totally different person. So we think that traditionally, summer is a season that brings change and growth. My hope is that to present the growing process of Ryza slowly turning into an adult through a summer story in the Ryza series.

The season reason is that, when I think of summer, I think of youth. And for Ryza, what she does in the summer, the adventure, is a symbol of her youth. When summer comes to an end, it means that the story is also coming to an end. The combination of summer and the fantasy world was also on the reasons I chose such a narrative approach.

The “key” mechanic introduced in this game is an interesting idea where it offers a series of important effects on the exploration and combat. What was the inspiration for choosing the “key” as an important element in this game and is there any special significance of choosing it?

Junzo Hosoi: The reason why we chose the “key” as a new element is because that our new attempt to make the Atelier series into an open field exploration game. We hope to have a system that can run through all the elements of the game when we’re developing exploration.

This system must be suited for exploration, collection, syntheses, and so on to have an impact on the overall system. We chose to use the “key” as a symbol of such an element after evaluation.

As to the significance of choosing a “key”, I can only reveal that this key is related to the plot of the game. Not only does it have a close relationship with system, but also the story.

We mentioned that Ryza in this game will be more mature. In the second game, in order to make Ryza be in line with an image of an alchemist, the team abandoned the level concept from the first game and instead used a skill tree system. Will there be any relevant adjustments made in this game?

Junzo Hosoi: In Ryza 3, in order to present this Ryza that went through her adventures in the first and second game, we enhanced the character system used in the second game and applied it in this game.

Ryza seems to be the first character to be a protagonist trice in a row for a series, will this be a new trend for the Atelier series moving forward?

Junzo Hosoi: This time in the Ryza series is considered to be a precedent that the same character continued to be the main character of a three-part plot, which is something we have already done now. This is one of the options in the future, but it won’t necessarily be the norm for the entire series.

While the Ryza series trilogy is coming to an end, will there be a chance to see Ryza in the future in other works?

Junzo Hosoi: In the entire Atelier series, two other titles had done collab works. If the player are enthusiastic in supporting the Ryza series, Ryza might have a chance to debut in a similar way in other Atelier series.

The Atelier series ushered in a spurt of popularity with the Ryza series, and now that the trilogy is coming to an end, what does the production team think are the main factors of this series’ success?

Junzo Hosoi: I look back at the reason why the Ryza series can be so popular, and of course the main factor is of Toridamono’s characters are very popular. It’s one of the very important indicator of the popularity of the series.

From my observations, the Ryza series is not just a game that only sells because of the characters. Players also enjoy the game’s story, so I think the elements of this game are in the right places for it to be this popular.

Words to the players

Junzo Hosoi: The popularity of the Ryza trilogy is because of the very enthusiastic support of the Chinese players. It’s thanks to the continued support from the players that the Atelier series can be this successful. I hope that the majority of players can contiue to support the series.

Toridamono: I am responsible for the character design and illustrations throughout the development process, so I don’t know if it’s appropriate for me to say these words instead of the production team. But I would like to thank the players who enjoy my characters, especially Ryza makes me feel very grateful, and I want to solemly thank you all.

We would like to thank Junzo Hosoi and Toridamono for taking the time in answering all our questions about the game. Atelier Ryza 3 is set to be released in 24th March 2023 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and on PC.