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Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland Review; It's a funny game.
Topic Started: Jan 15 2011, 07:23 AM (610 Views)
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Cute Snugglepuffs

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What? JRPG
Who? Gust
When?
* JP June 25, 2009
* NA September 28, 2010
* EU October 22, 2010
How? Playstation 3


So I was going to wait until I finished this game to review it, but I decided not to wait when I noticed, much to my surprise, that it had already stolen over 100 hours of my life, making it the longest first playthrough ever for me.

* Before you get put off the idea of plaything this game because it took me forever and a day despite being a bit of a speed-run-freak, you should know that the game can be finished in as little as 15 hours (apparently).


Okay, so you in this game you follow the story of a kind-hearted and cute young girl called Rorona who is desperately trying to save her little alchemy shop in the kingdom of Arland. Because she isn’t too bright she is often made fun of and taken advantage of by those around her, in fact, the shop isn't even her shop at the start, it belongs to her boss who is, by the way, a total witch. At the start of the game she forbids you from making pies just because she doesn’t like the fact that Rorona is good at something, I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of anything much crueler than banning a person from making pies. Especially if pie-making just happens to be the only thing they’re good at.

But isn't it a really nice thing to give a person a shop? Not today! Your bosses shop is threatened with closure by the kingdom if she doesn't get off her lazy behind and start selling since the shop has apparently hardly had any customers in weeks. The only reason she gives you the shop in the first place is so that you (Rorona) has to do all the hard work to keep it open. To prove the shop isn't a worthless waste of space you must complete 12 assignments given to you over the next three years by the kingdom and the only help you get is from your hired allies (you get no help from your boss because she's so lazy). The is one character who will help you for free and the hiring fee’s of your other allies can be reduced by completing friends requests for the characters you want a reduced hiring fee with.


These assignments will have you running around gathering materials so you can sit around for days doing spooky alchemy stuff in your bosses (witches) alchemy cauldron (see? She even has a cauldron). By days I really do mean days. In the top left-hand corner of your screen you have a mini calendar because pretty much everything you do consumes days. This game is all about the days. Going out to gather materials takes days, creating goods with alchemy takes days, probably some other things take days too. It's all because you have to finish the kingdoms 12 assignments by the end of the third YEAR.
It almost sounds like a timed game and very dreary, but the weird part is, this game is actually very enjoyable for the most part.

That's not all there is to it though, there's also orders from the town folks, yeah..that makes the game sound even worse. If you're not into JRPG you probably won't like this game. If you are into JRPG you'll probably find this game strangely addictive and fun. Plus you do actually get plenty of time to explore, so you shouldn’t feel rushed by the days going by.

This game also has massive replay value as there are many different endings to collect. How well you do on each assignment and your reputation with the town determines what ending(s) you obtain, character endings can also be obtained, but you can only view one per playthrough.


Gameplay

The difficulty level of this game feels fairly inconsistent. The first area of the game seems really hard for a first area, I was thinking it was going to be one mean game, but when you get your first heal spell suddenly it becomes very easy until you get to the later areas when it gets slightly harder if you're still wearing your starting gear like I was. It was around the time it started to get harder that I realized I could create a nice ring for myself with alchemy! Suddenly my characters went back from being weaklings to being like guerrillas again. That is until I found the first world bosses, these are brutal if you aren’t well prepared!

The combat is a very simple turn-based setup. The only original thing here is that your hired muscle will sometimes leap to Rorona's aid if you press the shoulder buttons fast enough when the prompts appear.

Skills in this game cost HP instead of Mana/Energy/Rage like in Saga Frontier. You don't get many HP for the entire game as far as I can tell so you may feel reluctant to use your skills, but a good offence is a good defence - that rings true in this game like no other.

As, I have said already though, this game is oddly addictive. I personally wouldn’t have thought a game where you’ll probably spend most of your time fulfilling requests for people would be so enjoyable. But it is.

7/10



Story

Hah, you pretty much know the whole story already from what I've already said! There's hardly any story here, there is no huge evil threatening the planet or whatever other regular RPG stories you're used to. Just the cute girl, the witch and the wardr--shop.
The heck!? RPG are all about story! Don't worry story-fans; there are plenty of very funny and sometimes awkward scenes between Rorona and friends (?) That may not sound too thrilling, but trust me, the dialogue in this game is actually fantastic, you'll forget that there's no story and you’ll be laughing along with the game, its that well written. This is actually the funniest game I’ve ever played.


8/10


Sound


This game boasts wonderful music that I firmly believe any JRPG fan will enjoy! Honestly. The music is always very fitting and pleasant.

The voice acting was a nice surprise; I found the English and the Japanese to be about as enjoyable as each other! And even if you do get sick of one language you can switch between the English and the Japanese whenever you feel like it.


8/10


Graphics

In this game there's a great deal of very pretty, high quality, artwork. The artwork does a good job of distracting you from the not-so-impressive cell-shaded graphics. It's just a shame that most of the game looks like a PS2 game in HD to me. However, you must keep in mind that Gust isn’t as big and rich as the companies you’re probably used to buying games from.


5/10



Overall I give this game seven alchemy flasks out of ten!



This is a great game to pick up should you be feeling the need for something a bit more old-school. The game won’t provide you with much of a challenge, but it will provide you with many-a-smile, potentially a great many hours of entertainment and something a little bit different. All for a low price!
Edited by Gumdrop, Mar 31 2011, 08:27 PM.
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Cute Snugglepuffs

Did I seriously only give this game a seven? I'm thinking 8-9 now. <3 <3 <3
I mean it's totally one of the best RPG this gen, it makes you feel warmed and amused. It has charm and its memorable to boot.


..maybe I'm not being very logical, I was just listening to the music and it made me realize I missed the game even more than I thought. Your ass is going platinum on my list, Rorona! But not yet, I have other games to attend to before I can show you all of my love. <3

The music should get a nine though, you're likely to love it if you like older style RPG musics.
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Fate
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p r i n c e

4/10 for graphics? But I liked the cel-shaded graphics. I thought some of the cutscene graphics were incredibly done.
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*updated*

I don't usually read over what I've written for a review, but I did for this one and have made numerous improvements. =]
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Fate
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p r i n c e

I give this game a 20/10 for good characters! Kooru! <3
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Oh, gawd. :p

I now give this game TEN alchemy flasks out of ten!

It has greatly grown on the love scales.

~Princey
Edited by Fate, Jun 14 2011, 06:21 AM.
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Fate
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p r i n c e

WOW, I agree!
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Cute Snugglepuffs

Don't edit me. D:<
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Fate
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p r i n c e

I was merely fixing something you thought in your head. D=<
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Cute Snugglepuffs

There is nooo such thing as a perfect game. D:<
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Fate
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p r i n c e

YES, THERE IS. D=<
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Cute Snugglepuffs

...no, there isn't. xD
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Fate
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p r i n c e

I think there are!
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Alpacalypse
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Fate
Jun 14 2011, 07:53 AM
I think there are!
....Well, it would all depend on the person playing it. There will always be different opinions and preferences.
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The person who seriously thinks that would probably have to have developed at least one game, or not really notice flaws. :lol:
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