Part 25: Bonus Update 4

Bonus Update 4

Artwork:

Vierzeberg 5
Hornheim 3
Hallos Village
Zweiteturm 2
Decayed Ruin Isle
Steinfeder 1
Steinfeder 2
Steinfeder 3

Building Block
Flower Smell
Reunion


Music:

Floating Islands
Since it was for islands that float in the sky, I made it floaty and sway-y. This song is also played on the website, so people might recognize it more. I put a taste somewhat similar to the old field songs in this one.

Vestiges of Technology
We were requested to make a slow song that you might be able to use for meditation. I made it so that it's as natural as it can be...but came out to have a weird beat. Hmm, interesting. It's one of the few songs that has flutes.

Moon Guidance
Since it was for the final dungeon, I used the melody from the theme song.

Invitation Flower -Winter-
Field songs are more on the quiet side, so I generally made the World Map songs lively. But this one is the single soft song among them. It kind of reminds you of that song, or that other song.

Manifestation
This one isn't just for any danger, but the feeling that something grand is about to appear that will shake the earth. Almost as dramatic as Lovecraft's stories. Also, songs like this are also effective for comical effect.

A Flower Blooming Nearby
Nio's theme. I've done a couple of character songs for the Atelier series that were like THE heroine's song, but this felt refreshing. I like the intro and the first chorus.

Artemis
In this game, the regular battle theme changes depending on the location. Before, the song would switch depending on your progress through the story, not according to the location.

Slag Toccata
They requested a Boss song that was orchestral, so I opened a drawer that I rarely use. The composition is orchestral, but the musical theme uses wind instruments. More than ever, the rhythm is nowhere to be found.

Slag Dance
I wanted to make it Russian-like at the beginning, but as I made it, Middle Eastern got mixed in, too. So it is a song of unknown nationality.

FJ: Raging Edge
From Linca's firm and dignified image came trance-pop music with a piano melody. For this one, I was going for a cool feeling from the start. Cuz the melody is so cool!

FJ: Ancient One
Just as the title says, I wanted mature and cool...but an older adult performing his "Super Move" isn't as mature as it sounds. He's over 40, and still saying things like his Super Move...hehehe.

Stars at Dusk
Rare (?) for the Atelier series, this is one of the songs where everything from musical composition was done outside of Gust. Having Yumi Nakashima on vocals, all the songwriting and performance was done by Chirinuruwowaka. (Okamura)

Commentary for game edit: With Chirinuruwowaka's vocals, Ms. Nakashima's song has a certain and retro atmosphere, so I knew it would match our image. When I first heard the song, I was so touched. It is a splendid song! (Okamura)

MARIA
A beautiful Boss Battle song featuring Haruka Shimotsuki's multi-recorded chorus. The lyrics are all onomatopoeia, but they do have meanings! Although I can't tell you, since that'll be revealing a secret!


Videos:

These extra three videos need some introduction. Midway through your hunt for the glowing flowers that bloom near ruins, you'll get a scene in Vierzeberg where Ranun talks about the sky and the past and all that stuff, and Ayesha asks about the location of flowers she heard about in the flower book, namely the flower that blooms during a solar eclipse along the sea. Ranun suggests that what the book is referring to is the Hornheim area, and says that the next solar eclipse will be on November 11th.

Because I got the flower for hunting down Poro and the flower in Hom Village, that event got marked as "Completed" even though I wasn't in Hornheim on November 11th to get the eclipse flower. Now, if you get that flower, and no others, soon after that event Ayesha will remark in her notebook that all the flowers she's found so far have bloomed near ruins, but she hasn't found any at Riesengang's ruins. This is your cue to go to the lowest level of Riesengang's ruins (which were unlocked via a scene with Regina where she unlocks the shortcut between Oesten Marshland and Riesengang), whereupon you'll get the third and final scene I didn't get in the main playthrough. You can view all three scenes in the videos below.

Ayesha, Ranun, and Flowers
The Eclipse Flower
The Riesengang Ruins Flower