Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland for PlayStation 3 Reviews by Gamers

Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland is not a game with much depth; if there is any at all. Basically, you have 3 years to complete a series of tasks for the kingdom in order to keep your lazy master's alchemy workshop open to the public, whereas the kingdom would like to see it shut down.
You must create various concoctions for the kingdom every 3 months, which require you often to venture outside the realm of Arland to find. Sounds easy enough, right? That's because it is. Too easy, in fact. You might think that you have to rush in order to collect the items and mix together in time to beat the deadline; when in fact you pretty much only have to spend usually less than 20 days out of the 89 available to complete the tasks successfully. You can perfect your concoctions like I did, but there is little point in doing so.

There aren't any real challenges or intellectually-stimulating puzzles to solve, just a bunch of running back and forth between destinations to gather the necessary supplies to complete the simple tasks set for you by the kingdom.

I played it through to completion just to see what would happen (if it would get any better), but it never did. The plot was full of holes, and left me wondering what was supposed to be going on between the main character and some other nefarious figures who apparently factor into the story somehow.
Loooooooooong story short, this game is not worth playing, unless you truly have NOTHING better to do with your time. Like me ;)

I am a long time fan of the Atelier series, and Mana Khemia! I was a little scared when the new game is cell shaded and not my favorite 2d sprites. Well I can now say after playing the game beginning to end that I like the change. If you are a fan of any of the other Atelier/Khemia games then dont miss out on the new edition. If not I have two questions, do you like goofy rpgs? and do you like alchemy? If you answered yes to either of these than give this game a try. You will be given three years to try and say you alchemy workshop. Every three months you will be given an assignment to complete, most are alchemy based, making items and what not. At the end of the three months you will be graded and if you pass the story moves forward, if you fail its gameover and you have to start the game over again.......this is next to impossible to do. You will have several people from the town you can hire to take out with you while you search diffrent dungeons and forest for things you will need in your alchemy recipes. There are tons of mini quest you can complete for the towns people and even your friends for money and also respect. The more request you complete for friends the cheaper they are to hire, and the more you complete for the townspeople the better the ending you can get. The game has a ton of endings to look for and is wiz to play through after you run through the first time. Over all really fun game, tons a replay value and a really cute rpg for the ps3. Dont miss out!

For all the obsessive-compulsive people out there, or anyone who enjoys forging/synthesizing/item-creating in MMORPGs, your drug of choice has just appeared. There's a light-at-heart, character-driven narrative that takes place over the three-year story, and rather than fighting an evil villain, you play Rorona, an apprentice alchemist who is tasked with keeping her workshop afloat.

Gameplay breaks down neatly into two categories: Alchemy and Adventure. You'll Adventure to go out into the field, fighting monsters and harvesting goods from their corpses and from the colorful dungeons. You'll then Alchemy those components into new items, items that can then create other items, be forged into armor/weapons, or be used to complete assignments from your party members and, most importantly, from the king. All of these actions eat up days, and the flow of the game is broken up by 80-90 day deadlines, at the end of which you must have submitted enough of the king's requests to satisfy him. If not . . . game over.

The trick is time-management, which would be fine if the game didn't force you to memorize character locations and then run about every few days to check in with them for new requests, and if it weren't so frustrating to organize and deliver those items. But to the game's credit, each month brings a new twist to the system: new shops open, new characters join, and eventually, you are given the ability to store up to ten items in each shop--allowing you to buy them in the future, rather than eating up days on end to make them again. Moreover, you're also given a Mystery Bag that eases management--but like I said, if you're not into that, it won't matter.

The good news is that the game is fairly easy to breeze through; the bad news is that if you want the good ending, then you'll be grinding elixirs like there's no tomorrow. The dialogue is whimsical enough to keep you going, and there's always something new in store, but unless you like repetition, stay away.

I don't know why I like this more than dead rising, but I do.
I guess it is one of those hit or miss games so it can either be really good or really bad. But like most of my reviews, I have to post the pros and cons.

PROS:
You can choose which characters you want to choose as your two friends to help you with your quest.

There are a lot of girls (I'm a guy so yeah, the more the girls the better, don't even kid yourself if you don't know what I mean)

You can make a lot of things through alchemy.

The game is a block of cheese, it's an acquired taste.

CONS:

YOU HAVE TO HIRE FRIENDS. yeah, it's pretty sad you have to buy to have friends to come with you to do missions. You are a loner 14 year old whom have pedo stalkers.

A lot of the girls are 13 year olds (OH NO, LOLICON!!!!!!!!!) and the 25 year old knight likes the 14 year old rorona, yeah...that bad..

It takes a lot of money and time managing skills to make items and it's hard to make money.

If you are afraid of playing a relatively girly but manly oriented game...well then this isn't for you...the girls blush like there is no tomorrow and bleh... it isn't as bad as other gust games however.

Leave out the pedo undertones in the game. It is terrible! Fighting is poorly designed and the game plays like some weird version of Harvest Moon.

I've tried to find my niche in gaming, searching for a relaxing title that stimulates my brain right before bed. This game has: relaxing music, simple storyline (with some adorable innuendos), cute costume-decked-out chicks setting out to "battle", all the while having ongoing missions to keep you occupied on many levels. To compare, FF13 - that was an incredible let down. A small segment of this game (when you confront monsters) resembles that fighting style, and I like how it's done. Although Atelier Rorona starts a little slow with the storyline, and many twists and turns throughout the game leave you saying ("what the !?"), it's done in full anime style. It's a very popular and successful formula, so if you weren't expecting that, then not sure what to say to those who gave it a 1 or a 2?
Visual: Beautiful screenshots, artfully design graphics, character sketches, and frame shots were made in every step of the game. It blends a style of single frame with full, bouncy 3-D type rooms. Rorona can jump, but I'm not sure why (haha), and there are many areas of the 3-D rendered town which seem to present absolutely zero purpose. Between the synthesizing and character interactions, it's a great game to gather, buy/sell, explore, complete missions, and not having to worry about dying! (No time constraints or stress in failure!) For those who pointed out some of the holes in the game, I'm not sure what they were complaining about, other than not a difficult challenge.
Could have done better: in the town areas, the people are just walking like zombies. maybe some more interaction and dialog would be nice. Also, putting some real purpose and more depth into the town areas. Other than that, I like the fact they kept it simple!

This game just wasn't my cup of tea. Extremely slow to start and boring. I usually like playing things like this on pc but only while doing something else. not just getting things for "alchemy". Too much story early on for me personally.

This is a fairly challenging game if you don't plan on doing any level grinding. But if you have the time to invest in it, it can be pretty fun. The characters are cute, the music is relaxing, and the art is beautiful. If you're expecting teenage angst and villains that want to destroy the world, you won't find it here. Just enjoy your stay in Arland.

This is my first time playing the Atelier series but I would have to say the gameplay was awesome and the storyline was fun to follow. Although the game may have been a bit easy I still found it entertaining and relaxing nonetheless. Most recipes really didn't take much longer than two weeks to complete and for the most part they give you a month deadline to complete assignments. (So basically play at your own pace while taking the time to enjoy all the other aspects of what the game had to offer.) All that plus the captivating artwork, compelling characters and beautiful music, I would highly recommend that people buy this game if not at least try it. Five stars.

I thought there was tons of replay value. You won't get the best endings without without doing some challenging tasks/ fights. The time management required adds an interesting element. It starts out slow, I think the 1 ratings came from people that didn't give it a chance.

i bought this from game stop on a whim thinking it might be an interesting rpg from japan. BOY WAS I WRONG! if your into reading books and not playing games this is for you. almost all of the time you are in dialogue cut scenes that you cant even interact with. they might as well have called it an animated series. the only reason they didn't is because even the story is garbage and i would have been canceled. then when you finally get to go into the world and interact with people, places, and things. it is SO limited that i cant believe this is being called a game. i feel like im playing a regular Nintendo game as far as complexity and even saying that is giving it to much credit. the graphics are lacking as well for how simplistic the game was. it should be a crime to sell and/or rent this "game" to anyone.

THIS IS A WASTE OF YOUR TIME AND MONEY.

"Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland" could have been a cute and fun RPG with its simple story of a girl taking on jobs from the king to save the alchemy shop she works in. Unfortunately, things are poorly put together, making it unlikely that most players will even continue playing this for more than an hour and then packing it up to ship back. On the plus side, graphics are done in a nice, bright anime style. They're not on the level of a "Valkyria Chronicles", but they're decent enough. The characters are somewhat likeable, and the voice acting for the main character of Rorona suits her. Which brings us to the beginning of the problems with this game. It starts out with the game being fully voiced, though the acting is just adequate at best. Then for some reason, it turns into static reading scenes. Explanations are minimal, with the text almost too small to read. Plus they tend to be rendundant- the game tells you how to do things in a colorful font, then repeats itself in smaller text in a black box. Combat is fairly simple, as is creating items through synthesis. The music is truly annoying here, as it never seems to truly match the scene being shown. This is barely a rental, and definitely can't recommend for anything beyond renting. It kills an hour, at least till you tire of it.

This game is really fun if you have alot of time and a abundant amount of patience.

I was soooo excited when this game came out because I am an avid fan of the whole Atelier iris series. Played every one that is available in the US. I even played the Mana Khemia games but thats a different story.

Atelier Rorona was fun..until the glitches started?

When i first got the game I decided I wanted to get 100% and I decided I would look up some other reviews. The first thing that popped up was loading screen glitches? I was like yeah right no one wrote about those glitches on gamefly so I'm good.

Mistake. There is a loading glitch in the game I got anyway in the Mines. Out of all places why the dang mines? I couldnt get the screen to load so i couldnt collect anything there?

End of story sent Rorona back, Plus honestly the story was boring. Do 12 assignments to save the workshop? Where is the evil boss come to take over? pssh.

This game, is absolute garbage. First off, the concept isn't about leveling up so much as it is - finding ingrediants/items etc to create other items, that are being requested of you. And while they do this, the monsters are insane - enough said - and you have to complete the task of getting the items, to make the requested items in a time limit usually revolving around 80 days, while for he most part those days get quickly cut short, by trying to 'sleep' to maintain your characters HP which, use of skills, use of the alchemist synthesist, and damage on the field take down drastically, and if you can't complete the items in the time limit? Game over. All of this done, while in a PS1-look, and a story line that is goofy, to say the least. I wouldn't even give this a 1. If I could go into the negative.

Atelier Rorona is about a young alchemist trying to save her workshop from being shut down. While the story is decent, where this game really shines is the sythesis system in which players make their own items for the appointed tasks. You are always on a time limit but not a short one. This game gives you plenty of time to craft and explore the region.

However, this game suffers dramatically in the combat department. Your party will consist of 3 people, being the main character and 2 people you hire to collect ingredients. The combat system is relatively basic but has an element bar that changes as you use certain skill and as the fight goes on. While this is a neat feature, the battles are quite short and it cannot be utilized fully. DO NOT expect epic boss battles with insanely awesome rewards either, this game is almost devoid of any true boss confrontation.

So to sum up, Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland is, in it's own respect, a great game. It's fun to make and create your own items and well as experience the story. However those who are into RPGs for the combat sequences and epic cut scenes should probably avoid this game completely.

This was the worst game I have ever laid eyes upon. It was so bad I got about seven minutes into it and couldn't take it anymore. You know the gamefly commercial where all those people were freaking out because they got a bad game? I felt like that. So please, if you value your sanity, do not rent this game.

If you are a 12 year old Japanese girl enrolled at college with a triple major in chemistry, pharmacy, and small business administration and you need a game simulation to aide your studies, then this is the game for you

Well, at least thats the feel I got during the hour I forced myself to play this game hoping it would get better.

I am really only a casual game enthusiast and perhaps I am missing the point and hidden value of this game, but I found it to be painfully tedious. It seems like the game is really just solving a bunch of somewhat complex math problems before a deadline to keep the shop you are managing from being shutdown. That activity might be stimulating if the game play was not so 2D and 1987. There does not seem to be any realtime or 3D interaction with the world. You are forced to read alot of on-screen conversations, clicking through each sentence in lockstep format. Battle is painfully boring turn based. Graphics are lacking. Much of the game play is watching motionless 2D character renderings have conversations. I have played various RPGs for years and enjoyed them, but got no enjoyment from this game

All i have to say about this game is "lazy" all it is is a string of chores and errands and the battle system is lazy and boring the graphics are not ps3 quality they barely pass as ps2 quality, the story is absolutely horrid and the dialogue feels like ive heard every word before i strongly reccomend you dont even look at this shame to the rpg genre

its okay it will make you mad bc of all the tweaks save a lot

Worst game I've ever loaded up. I cut my losses after 10 minutes. Don't tell me to give it more of a chance. It was that bad.

I've always been a fan of the Atelier/alchemy type games. They have always been a lot of fun even if they are rather easy.

However, this one has a single flaw that will make it close to impossible to even play for a large portion of people.

If you don't have an HD tv, a lot of the text in the game is so microscopic and blurry that it is impossible to see. Many other games have had this problem, but this has to be the worst case I've ever seen..

The normal chat text and incombat text is perfectly readable and at a fine font.. however most of the status screens, items, equipment, etc use this font that just doesn't translate to a SDtv.

Is it playable? technicly yes it is, but only if you like headaches and trying to read font that is impossible to decipher even at extreamly close range..

Now, I know what you are thinking. "Well genius, go out and buy a HD tv, they arn't that expensive these days." I agree with that to a point. yes, I should upgrade soon. However, most other games on the ps3 are able to use font that is perfectly readable.

Also, from what I have read, even if you have an HDtv, the font problem is still pretty serious.. it's not as blurry, but it is still very very small.

It could have been a very fun game.

The story is not that good to hold your attention and make you want to finish it. The game mainly consist of go here and do this to gather items. Think of this game as harvest moon with alchemy.

i thought it was gonna be a good game....i spent 15 minutes then i sent it back to the usps..

from the very begining it makes you feel stupid,the opening was good but they cant even do motion moving during conversations.i t just a stupid picture and another stupid picture.the cell animation i could do with but the other i cannot.from the very begining A STRANGER OBVIOUSLY A MAIN CHARACTER COMES IN AND SHE WELL CANT SPEAK AND IT SOUNDS SO STUPID,O THIS UM THIS IM SORRY THIS,ITS WASTED MY TIME WITH THIS GAME



GF SAYS IT IS A BAD WORD?