Today Koei Tecmo announced the western release date of its upcoming city-building/JRPG hybrid Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World.
The game will hit the North American shelves on March 26th, while European players will be able to play a few days later (as usual) on March 29th.
The PS4 and Nintendo Switch version will be released both physically and digitally, while the PC launch will come only in digital form as usual.
Together with the announcement, we also get some charming gameplay and a batch of screenshots, that you can enjoy below.
If you’re unfamiliar with the game, here is an official description directly from the press release.
“In Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World players assume the role of young noblewoman, Nelke von Lestamm; tasked with building up the quaint village of Westwald into a prosperous city. For her to develop buildings and extend the size of Westwald, she will need to earn money from the businesses she runs or sell synthesized items for cash.
Exploring the areas outside of Westwald with alchemists allows Nelke to collect raw materials perfect for synthesis. Though she is inexperienced in the art of alchemy, she’ll have to entrust one of the many alchemists in town to synthesize the resources into sellable goods. Each alchemist has their own specialties which allow them to offer improved item creation – players will have to carefully decide what would be the most effective alchemist for which items.
A Weekly Report is prepared at the end of each week which shows the current town population, the amount of income made, number of properties, and the number of synthesized items. Using this report, players can decide how they will spend their time in Westwald, perhaps they will tackle quests and town development during the weekday and develop relationships with residents on the weekend. As Nelke spends time with people in Westwald she’ll deepen her bonds with them leading to not only exciting events between characters, but new town facilities and alchemist skills which aid in both synthesis and battle!”
A collector’s edition will be available via NIS America’s online store including a hardcover artbook, the official soundtrack, a cloth poster, and an acrylic standee portraying Nelke herself.
If you’re interested in the Atelier series, you can also enjoy the first trailer of the upcoming mainline game of the franchise, Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland.
