A remake of Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland
The game opens with a brief introduction to the city of Arland-- a city that is slowly being industrialized, but also a city that uses technology possessed by an ancient civilization. We are then introduced to the main character, Rorolina Frixell (Rorona, for short), who is forced to work for a master alchemist (Astrid Zexis) to pay off a debt her parents owe. One day, Sterkenburg Cranach (Sterk, for short), a knight of Arland, comes to the alchemy workshop and informs Rorona that the shop will be shut down, unless she is able to prove that it can function in the city's economy. Over the next three years, she must pass 12 examinations to assess the ability of the workshop to do this.
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This review contains spoilers
Unbalanced start and absurd difficulty scaling, ie; you can stomp all the game up to dragon bosses. Dragon bosses, the actual good challenging part of the game, it requires you to actually use skills, crafted dmg and heal items and exploit weaknesses, which 99% of the game doesnt requires. Alchemy is a side quest (feels like) in a game where you are an alchemist. Crafted gear only matters in overtime which is post game. Side character stories are fine, easy to trigger and are decent written. Story in general is decent but cant carry the rest of the game. Overall a mediocre game and the first european title of the atelier saga from ps3. Wanted to drop it because its boring most of the time but kept playing hoping it would get better, and it does, but only in like 4 or 6 fights. I had expectations but made me take a break from atelier saga
[EDIT LATE GAME] Out of the blue, without warning and chance to escape you are forced to fight an overpowered enemy which for sure will full party wipe your team. If i didnt have a 10k money hired overpower side character with the skill permanent guts i would have lost hours of game. Fun game. Fuck off
[EDIT LATE GAME] Out of the blue, without warning and chance to escape you are forced to fight an overpowered enemy which for sure will full party wipe your team. If i didnt have a 10k money hired overpower side character with the skill permanent guts i would have lost hours of game. Fun game. Fuck off
Turn based RPG with an alchemy system where you make your own usable items, armor, weapons for use in battles. Also crafting items to fulfill requests.
If that concept sounds interesting, this game is super simple in the best way imaginable on top of having great characters. The Atelier games after might be better, but this game has such charm and simplicity that I can't not give it a 5/5.
If that concept sounds interesting, this game is super simple in the best way imaginable on top of having great characters. The Atelier games after might be better, but this game has such charm and simplicity that I can't not give it a 5/5.
Finally got around to replaying this, and I can see why it is one of my favorite games of all time. The chill atmosphere and lenient time limit is what makes the game. Also, the characters are adorable, especially Rorona. It is so charming to just watch the characters as their everyday lives progress.
My only complaint is that the Vita version has a software error that I didn’t experience my first time around several years ago. The error kept me from seeing the last few scenes no matter how much I tried, as well as the ending I would get. Thankfully, I got the true ending on my first playthrough years ago…I really wish for this to be fixed though, since I beat all bosses and assignments, and am curious about what ending I got.
That aside, this is a near, if not flawless game for me! Play it if you want a chill game with cute characters and a carefree story.
Rating in 2019: 5 stars
Rating in 2023: 5 stars
Edit on 11/11/23: Finished again with all endings and 94% to platinum. Some of the endings are a joke, but still worth getting all-around. Highly recommended; can’t say it enough!
My only complaint is that the Vita version has a software error that I didn’t experience my first time around several years ago. The error kept me from seeing the last few scenes no matter how much I tried, as well as the ending I would get. Thankfully, I got the true ending on my first playthrough years ago…I really wish for this to be fixed though, since I beat all bosses and assignments, and am curious about what ending I got.
That aside, this is a near, if not flawless game for me! Play it if you want a chill game with cute characters and a carefree story.
Rating in 2019: 5 stars
Rating in 2023: 5 stars
Edit on 11/11/23: Finished again with all endings and 94% to platinum. Some of the endings are a joke, but still worth getting all-around. Highly recommended; can’t say it enough!
Was a bit skeptical over whether I'd like a game one but hey, it's cozy, it's cute and Rorona has massive failgirl 'she just like me fr' energy. I'm still doing a New Game+ save because somehow I missed one of the requirements for the Good Ending and despite less things carrying over than I'd like, I'll probably still enjoy chipping away at a "perfect save" every night for the coming weeks.
One of my favorite games! The time limit isn’t too bad, and it is a pleasure to play. Rorona is so cute!
I've had this in my backlog forever, and never played it because the concept seemed so weird despite all the praise I'd always hear about the series. I finally played it because some of the newer titles were on sale, and I wanted to see if I liked the concept before adding them to my ridiculous backlog!
Let me just say that now I'm hooked on the series. This game was tremendous fun, and I even really enjoyed the time limit mechanic that apparently fell out of favor in later iterations in the series. Battles are simple, but you can still get wiped if you aren't prepared. And the alchemy is legitimately addicting. Plus, Rorona the character is ridiculously charming. Definitely glad I played this one finally!
Let me just say that now I'm hooked on the series. This game was tremendous fun, and I even really enjoyed the time limit mechanic that apparently fell out of favor in later iterations in the series. Battles are simple, but you can still get wiped if you aren't prepared. And the alchemy is legitimately addicting. Plus, Rorona the character is ridiculously charming. Definitely glad I played this one finally!