The game is set in a world called Regallzine - a world sustained by spirits called Mana and their elemental powers. Every substance and object in this world is formed by the elements and people live under the protection and guidance of Mana. A few select people in this world can use the elemental powers of Mana to create something out of nothing. These people are called Alchemists.

Players will take on the role of a young hero called Klein Keisling, striving to achieve his dream of becoming an alchemist. As the story develops, Klein and friends he meets on his travels get involved in a massive adventure to save the world in which they live in. On the journey, Klein learns more about Mana and about how to become a great Alchemist, working with nature and elemental powers along the way. There is a mass of things to do, evil forces and monsters to battle and, as a result, countless hours of gameplay in Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana.

Commenting on the release of Atelier Iris, David Hope, General Manager of Koei Ltd said, "We are now building on the interest in the PlayStation 2 RPG gaming genre we have created over the past two years, and the release of Atelier Iris is another significant move in this area. We are very happy to be bringing Atelier Iris to European shores - the interest in the title has been intense and we are very pleased that we can confirm our plans and meet customer demand for this title."