Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis
Ninth Atelier entry with alchemy and turn-based combat.
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis is a role-playing game from Gust Co. Ltd., released for the PlayStation 2 in 2007. It marks the ninth installment in Gust's Atelier series and blends standard turn-based combat with alchemy mechanics. A later PlayStation Portable version added extra content.
The game's alchemy system, central to the experience, lets players craft weapons, armor, consumables, and complex ingredients. Materials are gathered through exploration, battle spoils, or shop purchases. Each item carries properties tied to elements, special abilities, or stat boosts, which can transfer into new creations. An "alchemy wheel" lets players adjust ingredient quality during synthesis, affecting the final product's traits. Recipes are learned by finding or buying books, talking to characters, or extrapolating from existing recipes by swapping ingredients.
On the field, players can avoid monsters by running and jumping over them, or strike first to initiate battle. The turn-based combat allows up to three active party members, with reserves that can swap in during a turn, deliver an extra hit after an attack, or replace a character about to be struck. Swapped characters need several turns to recover. As damage output increases, "Burst Mode" temporarily boosts attack power and rewards many hits. Around mid-game, Burst Mode can trigger a "Finishing Burst" if a condition is met—such as every team member attacking or healing a set amount—unleashing a special finishing move.
Character growth relies on both alchemy and combat. There are no experience points or levels; instead, combat earns "action points" used in a character-specific "grow book" to unlock new skills and bonuses like extra health or mana. These bonuses require completing recipes for specific items in the book, and each bonus can only be unlocked with action points after an adjacent item on the graph and the item itself have been synthesized.
The story unfolds over school terms, each spanning several weeks and bookended by events leading to a key battle. Players typically complete two or three courses, earning grades based on performance, followed by two or three free days. Failing to maintain a decent cumulative grade results in detention, where required tasks must be done. Free time allows odd jobs, conversations, and side quests involving party members.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis
- Developer
- Gust Co. Ltd.
- Publisher
- JP · Gust Co. Ltd. · NA · NIS America · EU · NIS Europe
- Composer
- Ken Nakagawa, Daisuke Achiwa
- Series
- Atelier
- Platforms
- PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
- Released
- PlayStation 2 / JP · June 21, 2007 · NA · March 31, 2008 · EU · March 27, 2009PlayStation Portable / JP · September 25, 2008 · NA · March 10, 2009 · EU · March 27, 2009
- Genre
- Role-playing
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game's main focus is on the lead protagonist, Vayne Aurelius, the son of a legendary alchemist named Theofratus who had disappeared sometime after Vayne's birth. Since then, Vayne has led the life of a hermit, his only companion being a Mana in cat form named Sulpher. Vayne is invited to the Al-Revis Academy for alchemy training by Zeppel, one of the professors. He is quickly indoctrinated into the school by becoming part of an atelier led by Flay Gunnar (an older student who is known as The Defender of Justice) along with two other students, Jess (a clumsy girl who is nevertheless adept at alchemy), and Nikki (an impulsive beastgirl). They are soon joined by Pamela (the school's resident ghost), Anna (an 11-year-old master swordsman), Roxis (the son of a famous family of alchemists who is quickly forced to join the workshop by Flay), and Muppy (an alien the group discovers on an assignment).
Reader's Guide
Mana Khemia shares many common elements with its predecessors, the Atelier Iris trilogy. At the core of the game is alchemy through which the player can create weapons, armor, usable items, and complex ingredients. The player gathers core materials through field exploration, spoils of combat, or by purchasing them in shops. A new 'alchemy wheel' allows the player to adjust the quality of each ingredient. Recipes are learned by finding or buying recipe books, conversing with characters, or extrapolated from existing recipes. Combat uses a turn-based system similar to previous Atelier Iris games, with up to three reserve characters that can switch in during battle. Characters earn 'action points' instead of experience points, used in a 'grow book' to unlock new skills and bonuses tied to completing specific item recipes. The game is presented as a series of terms at a school, each term made up of several weeks with courses and free time. The soundtrack was composed by Ken Nakagawa and Daisuke Achiwa, with opening song 'Run For Your Life' by Haruka Shimotsuki and ending song 'TOGGLE' by Yuuki Mizusawa. The PSP port added multiplayer battles, a Jump Start function for faster loading, and more synthesizable items.
Did You Know?
- The game uses a 'grow book' system instead of experience points or character levels.
- The PSP version was released in Japan on September 25, 2008 and in North America on March 10, 2009.
- The soundtrack includes 69 tracks across two discs, composed by Ken Nakagawa and Daisuke Achiwa.
- The game received a score of 31 out of 40 from Famitsu.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Atelier Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis?
It is a turn-based role-playing game developed by Gust Co. Ltd. whose core loop revolves around alchemy crafting. Players synthesize gathered materials into weapons, armor, potions, and advanced compounds that then feed directly into tactical combat encounters.
When and on which platforms was Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis released?
The original title launched on the PlayStation 2 in 2007. A content-expanded portable edition, retitled Mana Khemia: Student Alliance, arrived on the PSP in Japan on September 25, 2008, and in North America on March 10, 2009.
How does the alchemy crafting system work in Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis?
Players acquire raw materials through field exploration, battle drops, or shop purchases, then combine them into usable items. Every crafted piece inherits elemental affinities, special effects, or stat bonuses that can be layered into increasingly complex synthesis recipes.
Where does Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis sit in the Atelier series timeline?
It is the ninth mainline entry published by Gust, continuing the franchise's signature blend of alchemy crafting with turn-based battles. The title helped refine the series' crafting depth before the PSP port introduced additional content.
Why do fans often single out Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis as a standout entry?
It is frequently praised for its layered crafting tree, where item properties chain across multiple synthesis steps to produce highly specialized gear. The PSP re-release under the Student Alliance name also widened its reach beyond the original PS2 audience.
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