Part 38: Bonus Update 6

Bonus Update 6

Like with my previous Atelier threads, each ending CG is listed in the Art section of this update, but be wary of spoilers if you click on them here.

Art
Stia concept art
Arls art
Arland art
Atelier Lulua Official Visual Collection cover
Lulua's Answer
The Two Luluas
Standing Together
People of Arland
People of Arls
People of Arklys

Bad Ending (Hope Rests in the Past
Eva Ending (Together with Eva)
Aurel Ending (Aurel's Quest for True Strength)
Piana Ending (Piana and the Alchemy Class)
Ficus Ending (Traveling Magicians)
Niko Ending (Niko and the Adventurers)
Rorona/Sterk Ending (Time to Depart)
Curry Ending (The Union of Alchemy and Curry)
Normal Ending (Busy Days)
True Ending (Her Choice)

Music

Kalma

This is a standard battle track for the later half of the game. As very few battles at this point end quickly, I have created a piece that gradually livens up as it continues. Still, I was somewhat concerned the chorus might not be heard, so I did hasten the lead-up to it a little. Ideally, in a pure musical sense, I do think the track itself would have benefitted more from being a little longer. However, balancing the tempo of gameplay with the music is always a game of trial and error. (Yanagawa)

I do wonder if the idea for regional battle themes might have changed at some point, since Kalma only plays for Machina Domain (I think) and Alt Fellsgalaxen, as I mentioned, which is very far from the "later half of the game".

Cygnus

Rather than focusing on the concept of defeating the enemy, I concentrated on conjuring the image of pushing towards a goal, incorporating a sense of mystery and intrigue that the protagonist would face on her journey. Our very own series regular Toshinori Hiramatsu is on guitar. Bravo! (Achiwa)

Flea Disaster

Battle lines are always difficult to come up with. Great effort is made tweaking bits here and there to ensure repitition is kept to a minimum. Maybe it's time to go back to basics and keep things simple. Meeting a particularly strong foe, "Woah, this looks tough!" comes out, but when delivered by a cute girl, this line would change to "M-monster!!", right? And, after defeating it, something along the lines of "Take that!" (Nakagawa)

Tale of Our Journey (Instrumental)

My instructions were to "imagine yourself resting after a long journey." This reminded me of the "Matatabi" stories of wandering gamblers. I had plans to call the track "Death by Matatabi Madness", playing on the pun on "Matatabi", this time written as silver vine, or even, "Sarunashi Baby", a variant of the Matatabi plant, but wary of the criticism to come, I went another way. Now that you've come this far, though, let me share with you the "true" name of this track, as a reward. "Sarunashi Baby!" Keep on playing. (Nakagawa)

Those would have made for some amazing credits theme names, gotta say. The director of this game must be quite the spoilsport.

Scorching Heavy Snow

Plus they've given us firm deadlines this time round! (Laughs.) Since the jingles are supposed to heighten the allure of each character, I decided that, this time, I should use the motifs from each of the character themes. Just imagine the effects of hearing the familiar tunes in the crux of a battle. Wouldn't it inspire you? (Achiwa)

Apocryphal Moon Frenzy

It was actually a member of the combat production staff that proposed the idea of the finishing blow, but just at that time, I was also consulting a programmer regarding the positive effects of adding music to the Ultimate Attacks. My query then was whether or not we could determine straight away if an enemy combatant has been defeated at the point the attack has been made. If the attack is deemed to have missed and the enemy rises once again, it becomes all for nothing. I received confirmation, though, that you can indeed determine victory right away, so I decided to go for it. (Achiwa)

Einzelkampf

And now comes someone who quashes all that I have blathered about regarding finishing jingles. I recall feeling truly gratified when his Ultimate Attack jingle was wrapped up for "Atelier Meruru". My love for game creation was reaffirmed there and then. Well, this is it from me for now. Hope you enjoy the game. (Achiwa)

Tale of Our Journey

I already revealed the alternative title for this track in an earlier commentary, but there is no way for those who have not played the game to learn what it is. This is a secret password for all players who have cleared teh game to share their glory with others of the same prestige. Although, this does reveal that the player reached a bad ending. (Nakagawa)

Bonus

Chim Dragon - Yuko Sanpei

Hello, everyone. This is Yuko Sanpei, the voice of Chim Dragon.

Thank you for making it this far through the game. It's been a while now since I first joined the "Atelier" team. And I just learned after a catch-up with my fellow colleagues that it's been as long as 9 or 10 years since we last saw each other. I played a Chim then too, but I bet no one could ever imagine they would grow up so much. I know I certainly didn't.

I was stunned at how well they communicate now. It made me rethink how I should portray Chim Dragon for this title. In the past, I've been fortunate enough to voice numerous characters not just in the "Atelier" series, but in other series too. And to be part of the new 2018 "Atelier" title befitting of the modern era is such an honor. The release of the new title is wholly thanks to all of you who have remained avid fans of the series, continuing to play and cherish Arland. I played other characters aside from the Chims, in the past, so I hope they come up in future series too. As a fan myself, I hope to see Arland and its people evolve and flourish exponentially.

I look forward to seeing you all again. Until then, I hope you will come to love all the characters, including Chim and Chim Marudayu, which I also voiced here. Thank you again for your time. This is Yuko Sanpei, bidding you farewell.

She was also the voice of Gino, for the record.

Stia Fellsgalaxia - Rie Kugimiya

Rie Kugimiya, here, playing the role of Stia.

I understand you guys cleared the game. Congratulations. Thank you for playing! Stia starts off a somewhat robotic character, but after pairing up with Lulua and heading off on adventures together, Stia clearly grows into a more sympathetic character. I was certainly grateful to be assigned such a profound role, and it was fun to portray. I hope it will be just as entertaining for you.

This game seems to have a tremendous amount of replayability, so please try out all possible options and get the most out of it. Thank you very much, everyone. Salutations from Rie Kugimiya.

Fun fact, another role Rie Kugimiya had was Haruka Sawamura from the Yakuza / Ryu ga Gotoku series, which I only realized after I listened to her voice here in the Bonus Gallery after my first playthrough. Stia and Haruka really sound almost exactly the same when Stia isn't intentionally sounding like a robot.



Well, that's it, everyone, although the endings will be listed after this. Another Atelier in the books from yours truly. Before I started this thread, I was envisioning myself doing a thread for Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists. The problem with that is that it's not really a game that can be LP'd comfortably, I think. Maybe I'll change my mind on it at some point, but that is a story for another time, just like Eva said in the final screenshot of this thread. I do hope to see you all again under another star. But for me, that's all Lulua wrote. For now, anyway.