Koei Tecmo and Gust have announced a new difficulty mode for Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout. The new mode comes after the game was launched in October 2019, and its sequel, Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy, was announced at the end of July.
The “Very Easy Patch” added a free update for everyone. The new difficulty mode reduces the majority of the gameplay so that players can focus more on the story. Some enemies who were quite powerful in the original version are not much easier to defeat. Players will also be awarded with more experience points and gold after winning a battle.
“Very Easy” difficulty is accessible within the options menu. There are no consequences, such as ending the game early or removing content if one chooses this setting. Gust decided to help players who loved the story and characters focus more on these parts of the game.
Although the game was released in October, the developer continues to update the game with various bug fixes. There has been an average of one update a month.
Overall, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness And The Secret Hideout has been the most popular installment in the series, selling more than previous games. This caused Gust to announced a major milestone for the series. The protagonist of Atelier Ryza, Ryza, is the first protagonist to star in a second game in the Atelier series.
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy is a direct sequel if the first game. Three years have passed since the first game. Ryza is the only member of her group that is still living on Kurken Island. One day, she receives a request from her friend, which brings her to the capital city of Ashra-am Baird. What begins as a reunion ends up as a new adventure to learn more about the ruins around the castle.
Atelier Ryza 2 brings back characters from the previous game, along with some new friends. Another special announcement that was made with the sequel was the production of a life-sized statue of Ryza. If at least ten people pre-order the statue, it will go into production in August 2021. The statue is around $24,500, and it’s currently unknown if the statue will meet its reservation goal.
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy is scheduled to launch this Winter.
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout is available now on PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, and the Nintendo Switch.