A great place to try out the Atelier franchise for the first time.
What They Say:
･Atelier Rorona ~The Alchemist of Arland~ DX
The first release in the Arland series. The main character Rorona must save her Atelier from being closed by the Kingdom. Using Synthesis, Exploration, and Battle, gain recognition for the Atelier and save it from being closed. See a variety of endings by obtaining a certain level of recognition in a set time period and by fulfilling certain conditions.
･Atelier Totori ~The Adventurer of Arland~ DX
The second release in the Arland series. In a search for her missing mother, Totori tours the world of Arland as an adventurer accompanied by her friends. Use Synthesis, Explore, and Battle to fulfill requests, raise her rank as an adventurer and venture into brand new lands.
･Atelier Meruru ~The Apprentice of Arland~ DX
The third release in the Arland series. Princess of the small frontier country of Arls, Meruru plans to use alchemy to stimulate the growth of her small country. Use Synthesis, Explore, and Battle to increase the population within the time limit and boost the advancement of the kingdom.
The Review:
As someone with only cursory experience with the Atelier series, I have wanted to really enjoy the games given my love for JRPG’s and last year’s Blue Reflection. While I tried Atelier Lydie & Suelle previously, it just didn’t click. What did click, though, was the Atelier Arland Series Deluxe Pack. For those who don’t know, this collection brings together the entire Arland trilogy of the franchise.
Previously released during the last generation, this trilogy is now available for Switch and other platforms. Without a doubt, it is a fantastic entry point to the series. The trilogy is loosely tied together but you can certainly play them separately and out of order if you’d like. That said, these games aren’t for everyone.
However, the best place to start (given how forgiving and teaching it is) is the first game in the trilogy Atelier Rorona. Rorona follows the titular young alchemist as she is tasked with taking over her master’s workshop and stopping it from being shut down by the kingdom.
In a lot of ways, it’s a traditional turn-based JRPG mixed with Stardew Valley-style relaxing gameplay. Essentially, the Atelier Arland Series fosters multiple different gameplay systems that somehow work in tandem nicely. For starters, you have the obvious alchemy aspect that is at the core of everything you do in the game.
As a budding young alchemist in each game, you have to learn new recipes and create items constantly. As a whole, alchemy works really well in the game. It can be a little overwhelming at first given the complex and detailed UI. There are a good number of menus and each individual menu has a lot of information to it.
Thankfully, there are decent tutorials that certainly make everything easier to understand. Also, the game very gradually introduces you to each system so that you generally have an understanding of each thing before moving onto another. Each item you create requires multiple different ingredients.
Those ingredients, in turn, are gathered in the exploration areas. There are numerous locations that you unlock, again, gradually over time. For the most part, these are just your typical forests, caves, ruins, and so on. The locations aren’t that special to look at or explore as each interconnected area is mostly just a corridor with a couple of branching paths.
This isn’t necessarily the worst thing since you aren’t exploring the entire time like in a game like Stardew Valley. Sometimes I would go weeks (even months) in an in-game year without doing any gathering in the different areas. That’s actually one of the biggest positives for the title as you are always constantly shifting between tasks.
You may be gathering for a good portion of time but even that is broken up by the turn-based battles. There are enemies spread throughout the areas you explore that you can run into and fight. Initially, battles start out pretty challenging as you level up and gain new allies to fight with you but do become pretty easy a few hours in.
In a way, I actually liked the easier difficulty. It creates a really relaxing atmosphere that doesn’t demand too much. It’s honestly the perfect palette cleanser compared to more action-packed games, even other JRPG’s. The turn-based combat is pretty simple, allowing you to use normal attacks, a few skills, items, and guarding.
It’s a streamlined combat system that makes sure you aren’t ever battling for too long or getting bored. It’s honestly an addictive cycle of going out to gather, fighting battles in between getting items, and then coming back to synthesize alchemy items. Then you can take those items to sell at shops or complete various requests for citizens.
The money and rewards you earn from those activities then allow you to buy more ingredients and new recipes. It’s a cycle that continuously pours into one another and makes a really strong hook. In the midst of all of this, the Atelier Arland Series Deluxe Pack are pretty plot-heavy, too.
Each game has their individual theme, whether it’s Rorona trying to keep her workshop open or Totori looking for her mother. The story in these games aren’t that standout but they do emphasize the characters. While the story doesn’t propel you forward, the characters do. You are frequently introduced to new friends or foes who keep things interesting. The three main girls also have nice character development that kept me engaged.
In Summary:
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the Atelier series, the Atelier Arland Series Deluxe Pack is for you. This is, without a doubt, a great starting point for newcomers. If you’re a returning veteran, there is a turbo mode and the included DLC that improves over the original games.
Better yet, the general gameplay hooks of gathering ingredients, battling, and synthesizing items work great portably on Nintendo Switch. All three games in the Atelier Arland Series Deluxe Pack are worth checking out equally, whether it’s for the addictive gameplay or interesting characters.
Grade: B-
Released By: Koei Tecmo
Developer: Gust
MSRP: $89.99 (Full trilogy bundle), $39.99 (individually)
Release Date: December 4, 2019
Platform: Switch (reviewed), PS4, Steam
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.