Atelier Rorona Plus The Alchemist of Arland Review (PS3)
Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland holds the honour of being the first Atelier title on PS3, but does the added Plus content give you enough reason to pick it up again? Have a look as we play the game and synthesise a conclusion.
I’ve played many Atelier games before, but I’ve never played one of the re-released Plus ones, so I’m not sure if I was expecting a great graphical change or mind-blowing new gameplay elements, but it feels like a refined Atelier Rorona with DLC; Plus seems to be Tecmo Koie’s way of saying game of the year. They haven’t been marketed as anything more so this is fine, and the Atelier games can be quite tricky to get a hold of these days, and the extra content isn’t available elsewhere or separately.
Of course the story and characters are the same as before, with the exception of new playable characters, and so this will all be familiar to those who played the original Atelier Rorona. You play as Rorona Frixell as she undertakes assignments to save her alchemy workshop. This includes synthesising items and exploring the world to find new materials, some of which can only be obtained by defeating monsters. The story is lively and light-hearted, with Rorona working to save her workshop with her friends, and if you haven’t played it before then you’ll find plenty to enjoy.
Gameplay is more or less the same too, just refined. Battles, gathering items and synthesising are slightly changed to reflect the gameplay from later installments, but you won’t find much new content to tide you over if you’ve already played Atelier Rorona. Honestly, I expected more, especially when the character models were described to now look more similar to the original artwork, but they look very similar to as they did before, even with the supposedly enhanced graphics.
You’re now joined by several characters who weren’t playable in the previous edition, including Totori and Meruru, the protagonists from the sequels. Other new content includes DLC costumes, being able to decorate your workshop which can in turn bolster your stats, new dungeons (remakes from dungeons in the later games), illustrations and events.
Again, it feels like a game of the year edition with small changes rather than a remake, with nothing leaving me wanting more after having played the original. Other than the graphics, it feels like the rest of the content could’ve been included in a free patch, as none of it is new, and might have worn out on players who’ve played the sequels or Dusk games.
If you haven’t played an Atelier game before, then you’ll quickly find out that there’s an even balance between gathering items, fighting and synthesising. You need to synthesise items for your assignment every 3 months, otherwise your workshop will be closed down. Gathering is as simple as pressing square when prompted, and battling is traditionally turn-based. It doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but it is solid, if not a bit slow. The synthesis system helps the series to stand out, as it’s a unique and fresh feature, even if it can be quite simple.
The graphics are what let me down the most, though. Koie Tecmo boasted revamped graphics and worded it in a way that I booted up the game thinking I’d be blown away. Apart from a bit of shine and glitter to a couple of moves, and the character models have seemingly been stretched to not look so chibi-like, it doesn’t look like much has changed at all. When compared to other PS3 games, including other JRPG’s, the Atelier series is still staggering to look fluid and smooth, a problem prominent in the previous version, too. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous, and the animated models and 3D environments rarely do it justice.
The 2D animations are spectacular, and it’s a shame that the 3D environments look relatively empty and small, and that the characters look lifeless. Whereas the art team has gone above and beyond to create beautiful illustrations which wouldn’t look out of place framed on a wall, the graphics team seemingly thought that the game might just look too nice and thus created stiff and emotionless 3D models to match the likewise dull areas.
You’re able to choose from the English and Japanese dub, which will please many fans, and both voice-overs are impressive, even if the English one does tend to sway to the ‘ditzy, floaty girl’ voice which can sometimes be grating. The soundtrack is lovely to listen to, especially the menu theme, and they’ll surely delight you during the course of the game.
I’ve had a bit of a love-hate affair with the Atelier games. I feel that the time limits are poorly imposed, that you’re cruelly punished for making a mistake by losing several days of in-game time, and that it feels like a new game + is required to really enjoy the game and experience everything within it. The original game is decent enough, if not very memorable or engrossing, but the Plus edition does nothing to really enhance the game.
Atelier Rorona Plus is a game of the year edition, with minimal new additions and slightly better graphics that many may not really notice. As someone who played the original Atelier Rorona only earlier this year, and has played and enjoyed many games in the series, nothing jumped out at me and blew me away with this installment. Hopefully, if Atelier Ayesha gets the Plus treatment, Koie Tecmo will spend more time on the game itself, rather than the dressing room and breast physics, something which makes sense in Dead or Alive but now Koie Tecmo are forcing the exaggerated feature into every game of theirs. Brand new content would be nice too, rather than what seems to be ported content.
The original can be picked up for about £10, and Koie Tecmo are asking for £39.99/£34.99 on the European PlayStation Store on PS3 and Vita respectively. This is borderline insulting, however, if you’re new to the series and are looking for a good place to start, then Atelier Rorona Plus is perfect, although I’d advise you to wait for a price cut as the added content really isn’t worth £30 extra.
Although, if you’ve played the original, then I can’t recommend this to you and can say that there’s almost zero point in buying the Plus edition, unless you want to experience everything that there is to offer. Sadly, it feels that the new stuff on offer has been available in the sequels and will do little to excite new or returning fans.
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