In this week's Famitsu, Koei Tecmo and Gust revealed new characters included in Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland and explained the game's battle system in detail.

We'll start by going through the characters. In Atelier Lulua, titular character Lulua lives in the city of Arcuris, set in the outskirts of the Arland Republic. At the start of the story, she finds a mysterious alchemy book and decides to go on a journey to solve it. She'll end up visiting many cities, including the city of Arland, the republic's capital, where her mother Rorona used to live. Here are some of the characters Lulua will meet in her journey:

Cole Dueller, who first appeared in Atelier Rorona. He used to be child merchant, now he's a famous blacksmith in the capital.  In Atelier Lulua, you'll be able to forge weapons and armor at his shop. Cole is voiced by Soichiro Miwa.

Lisa Fon Vaischmidt, voiced by Emiri Kato. She's a receptionist at the bar "Golden Great Axe" found in Arcuris. She looks like an elegant lady but eats as much as a beast. She's the one who'll give out quest rewards to Lulua as she reports them.

Reflet Fon Vaischmidt, Lisa's little sister, voiced by Kaya Okuno. She's the shopkeeper of "Silver Chisel", a jewelry shop in Arcuris. She's always been fascinated by pretty things, including gemstones and jewelry, and her knowledge on these subjects rivals specialized researchers. Because of that, she's also fond of Lulua, and wants Lulua to consider her as her own little sister.

Ielchie Elminars, voiced by Larissa Takeda Tago. A super excited and outgoing girl whose hobby is collecting autographs from famous adventurers. When she meets adventurers she's particularly fond off, she gets so excited that she reversely becomes all meek.

Vild Klinsman, voiced by Yuki Yonai. He used to be an outlaw but decided to walk the right path and study cuisine, after meeting a certain person and being moved by their cooking. He's now the owner of a dining restaurant in Arland. He pays particular attention to his appearance, especially his hairstyle and clothes. always trying to follow the latest trends. Like many other characters, he's fond of Lulua, asking her to regularly visit his restaurant, as watching her eating is relaxing.

Pamela Ibis, voiced by Asuka Tanii. Pamela is a ghost and a recurring character in the Atelier series, appearing in nearly every game in the franchise. She's the owner of "Pamela's Shop", set in the city of Arls, and is old friends with Rorona. Thanks to her lovely personality, her shop became quite popular. She's a bit surprised when she meets Lulua, realizing how fast people become adults and how Rorona got old enough to have kids.

Let's get to the battle system now. Atelier Lulua's battle system is based on Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings' battle system, with multiple changes. Five characters can participate in battles, with three characters on the front row and two on the back row, in a W-like formation. Characters on the front row will be your main attackers, while rear row characters are supports. When a character on the front row fulfills certain conditions with their actions, the rear character near them will do a follow-up Assist action. Characters in the back row also recover HP and MP over time.

Depending on the three characters you've put on the front row, you'll be able to use different Primal Arts. Primal Arts grant special effects such as an increase of items' attack power or a reduction of the damage received. In the same way, the Assist actions available depends on who's on the back row. Assist actions hold many different effects, and if you've fulfilled the conditions for multiple Assist actions to activate, they will all activate simultaneously.

Lastly, there's the Interrupt system, the previously teased system which lets characters use items even outside of their turn. Only alchemist characters such as Lulua, her master Piana, and her mother Rorona can use Interrupt. Alchemist characters in your party each have a gauge on the bottom right of the screen, and once that gauge gets full, they can use Interrupt to use an item. Moreover, items used this way won't be consumed and can be re-used. Plus, as you use Interrupt, an Interrupt Skill will also activate. Interrupt Skills are different for each Alchemist character. For example, Piana has an Interrupt Skill which lets you inflict a small knockback to an enemy of your choice in Break state. Meanwhile, Lulua's Interrupt Skill gives her a small chance of being able to use Interrupt again right away.

You can find portraits for each character along with some screenshots from Famitsu in the gallery below.

Please keep in mind that all names and terms in this article aren't official translations, and might be different in the English version of the game.

Other characters were revealed a few weeks ago, including Rorona herself and other returning characters. You can also watch the game's first Japanese trailer.

Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland releases for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on March 20 in Japan, and for the same platforms plus PC in Spring 2019 in the west.

Update: The gallery has been updated with direct-feed 3D model portraits and screenshots. A video with samples from Atelier Lulua's soundtrack was added as well.