That distinctive phallus has grown even more and returned! Liza's Atelier 3: The Alchemist of the End and the Key to Secrets - 30 Hour Review

Liza's Atelier 3: The Alchemist of the End and the Secret Key was released by Koei Tecmo Games on March 23, 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Steam (Steam on March 24). Here is a review of the Steam version.

What is "Liza's Atelier 3: The Alchemist and the Secret Key"?



The "Secret" series, which follows the adventures of the main character Liza, is a blockbuster series that has shipped more than 1.6 million copies of the first and second titles worldwide. The series has also released a number of figures and goods, and the first work will be adapted into an anime this summer, showing that the series' excitement continues unabated.


This is the latest in the "Secret" series, with the catch copy "Last summer, last secret. I will never forget this adventure. The second one is "I won't let you go. Even if I lose this power..." and now "Last Summer, Last Secret! This is a catchphrase that will be of great interest to existing fans as well as newcomers to the third game. In terms of the system, the character graphics have been revamped, the vast field allows seamless movement between maps within each region without loading, and party members include the familiar Liza, Claudia, Lento, Tao, Patrizia, Ampel, and Lilla, as well as newcomers In addition to the familiar Liza, Claudia, Lent, Tao, Patrizia, Ampel, and Rilla, the party now has a total of 11 members, the largest in the series, including the newcomers "Bossos," "Federica," "Dian," and "Kara.

Once again, the summer of adventure has arrived!


The story takes place one year after the second game, when news of a mysterious archipelago, later named the "Kirk Archipelago," appears near Liza and her friends' home island of Cuken Island, and Liza and her friends begin to investigate. As they investigate, they discover that the Kirk Archipelago is having a negative impact on the island of Kuken, and Liza and her colleagues search for the causes and solutions. Eventually, deep within the mysterious ruins they find in the Kirk Archipelago, they find a mysterious door so huge that they have to look up.


In search of what lies beyond this door, the identity of the mysterious voice echoing in Liza's head, and the means to save the island, Liza and her friends set off on an epic adventure for the "key" and the "root of alchemy".


More exhilarating and evolved battles!


Battle scenes, an important element in RPGs, have become even more strategic with the advent of the "key," a new element in this title. The "Normal Attack," a series of attacks that can be executed by timing the buttons, the "Skill Attack," which consumes AP (Action Points), and the "Guard," which is timed to defend against enemy attacks, are all the same as in the previous title, but with the addition of the new "Key" element, the scope of battles has been expanded. The key can be used in battle.



Keys can be used during battles to perform a series of normal attacks and skills for a certain period of time, and their effects vary depending on the type of key. Keys can be obtained in a variety of ways, such as from landmarks or from enemies during battle.


Further evolved blending system


One of the most exciting aspects of the "Atelier" series is the "mixing" system. In the "Atelier" series, most of the weapons and tools must be created by mixing, and mixing is an unavoidable part of the game. Therefore, those who are new to the "Atelier" series may have a hard time understanding the complex mixing system.



In order to mix ingredients, it is first necessary to collect materials.　Materials can be obtained through quests and battles, but most of them are gathered from points scattered throughout the field. However, in some cases, special gathering tools such as "hammers," "sickles," and "fishing rods" are required to gather certain materials, and these tools must also be mixed to create the materials. The amount of materials to be gathered will vary depending on the quality and characteristics of the tools, so unless one becomes accustomed to mixing to a certain degree, he or she will not be able to obtain the necessary materials and make good tools, which in turn will make it impossible to make good weapons.



As the game progresses, items created by blending become available for "item rebuilding," and once completed, blended items can be re-created and strengthened.


There are other advantages to mixing items. SP (skill points) are accumulated when mixing items, and these can be used to acquire useful abilities and recipes in the "skill tree". You can learn a variety of skills, including those useful for mixing and gathering, such as "gathering quantity increase" and "mixing recipes," so if you grow your skill tree early, your adventures will become even easier.



In addition, the new "key" element raises the recipe level for concoctions, increasing the quality of items and the number of items that can be created. In addition, "link calls" can be obtained from the skill tree. The effect is similar to rewriting item effects, so that an attack item with a fire effect can be changed to an ice effect by skillful use. Furthermore, the "super trait" can only be inherited once from a material, but it can be used to add one extra frame of super trait in addition to the three frames of trait originally prepared. With the addition of these new elements, the blending system has become somewhat more complex, and even the author, who has played all the existing games in the series, was at a loss at times. The only way to get used to this is to actually try mixing ingredients, so you may have to spend a lot of time collecting materials and mixing ingredients in the beginning of the game. The basic idea of mixing ingredients is simply to put them in a specific square. There are also functions such as "Omakase Ingredient Input," which automatically inserts materials, so it is a good idea to take on the challenge without thinking too much about the difficulties.

Who will you travel with? Let's embark on a journey to find your guess!


As mentioned earlier, this time the maximum number of party members is 11, from which up to 5 battle members are chosen to form a party.

As the story progresses, new characters will join the party, so if your favorite character has not yet joined the party, let's keep moving forward in the story.

There are differences in the abilities of the characters, such as "strong in physical combat" and "strong in magical combat," but there is not much difference in terms of combat ability. Although it is necessary to have a full complement of equipment, it will not be too difficult to form a party with only the characters you like, ignoring their characteristics. Also, the conversation during battle changes depending on the members of the party, so it is interesting to try out different combinations of party members.


By the way, "Claudia" is my first choice, "Patrizia" is my second choice, and "Lilla" is my third choice. If we can find the same person, we can have a good drink.



Mysterious door? Key? Boss? Our battle is just beginning!


I've talked mostly about the system, but the story is also very impressive. The story about the "key," which is literally the key to the game, the "mysterious door" that corresponds to the "key," the huge golem that protects it, and the confrontation between the "glass faction" and the "magic stone faction" that unfolds in the new city, the story woven by various characters is too large to be written in this article alone. It is a work recommended not only to existing fans, but also to gentlemen who are attracted to Liza's thighs.



So, I played "Liza's Atelier 3: The Last Alchemist and the Secret Key" for about 30 hours. This is the 24th title in the "Atelier" series, counting from "Marie's Atelier" released in 1997, but the system, scenario, and visuals have continued to evolve, and I must take my hat off to the highly perfected blending system, the consistently interesting story, and the spirit of challenge to include some new element in each title. I take my hat off to the spirit of challenge that has been incorporated in every installment of the "Secret" series.


The main character "Liza," who has grown both physically and mentally over the course of the series since the first title in the "Secrets" series, is fascinating, and the supporting characters all have their own back stories to tell, so the stories and growth of these characters are also worth paying attention to.　 We hope you will play "Liza's Atelier 3: The Last Alchemist and the Secret Key," which is different from the standard RPGs where you gain experience to make your character stronger and advance the story.


ライザのアトリエ３ ～終わりの錬金術士と秘密の鍵～
Liza's Atelier 3: The Alchemist and the Secret Key
View at Rakuten Ichiba View at Amazon.co.jp

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