Review: Atelier Rorona ~The Alchemist of Arland~ DX (PS4/Switch/PC, Standalone/Arland Deluxe Pack)

[@ChannelN8]

Great review! I've never played an Atelier game before and was thinking of picking this one up on sale. After watching your incredibly well written and detailed review, I think I'll give this series a shot. Thanks for posting!

[@ChrisMeadows1992]

I'm trying to place your accent lol, great review btw, about to start this one as my first Atelier and really one of my first JRPGs in general.

[@a.tapes_]

mostly because of your reviews i've decided to try the series and have gotten this game and am halfway through it, i got lydie and suelle on the way and ryza preordered. and will probably slowly keep buying others. thanks but also damn you :P

[@ZenoTheWanderer]

Wow, I seriously just finished this one a few hours back. Great review, your pacing did a great job of covering all of the details of the game! Can't wait to try Totori and the many other Atelier games!

[@Grayard]

10/10 review nicely done =D I played rorona and I agree with your point of view Totori has better story, is more challenging and it has more bombs *_* I'm playing meruru atm and I'm having a blast =D Hope you can finish the three games =) Thanks for the video ^^

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

10 hours is WILD. You speed ran the game ahahaha. I recently got into the Atelier games, and currently only have played Rorona. So far I have 182 hours clocked on Steam! I see a lot of people online say they range from 30-60 hours. Coming from mostly live-service games, I was shocked how few hours put into the game. My first play through excluding overtime was 47 hours and got a normal ending. I loved the game but I already heard that the ending will be lackluster if I missed most of the events. With overtime, I spent about 58 hours. But I went in blind(intentional to experience the game organically) so missed most of the events. I spent the second playthrough(NG+) to try to get all endings which brought the play time to 150 hours. I'm happy I got through all the main bosses for the adventurer ending without any traits on my gear(just quality lv 90+ LV.9 gear sets) or used any consumables. I got everything except for the rich ending. And this time on overtime, I spent a lot more time carefully crafting endgame gears(no essence traits tho) and True Dragon Hourglass. The crafting is very easy to learn but quite hard to master. I managed to beat all three overtime bosses. I only crafted a pepped up/recovery/spiritflower elixer (no infinity meteor or pinwheel) for the Demonkin and Ozean Kaiser and beat them both. I managed to complete all but one objective (I can't seem to get Iksel the Manager cutscene to happen on overtime) with 16 days remaining on overtime (NG+). Just need to do random stuff casually until I get the good overtime ending. I think I will play Totori next, but I intend to come back for a NG++ and try to get all the CGs and cut scene events. I'm missing ones for Male Hom, and some other stuff (like ignoring Iksel and Cordelia in the first year).

[@JRPGJungle]

In hindsight, 10 hours is absolutely wild, I agree - I’ve literally done 10 hours replaying it and was nowhere near finished; this is definitely one of my weirder reviews for that reason (honestly I hope to go back to Rorona one day and get the true end and update my thoughts haha might be a while though lol) Your playthrough is much cooler! It really is a deep game if you get into it (I own the Japanese guide for it and was pretty surprised when I saw how many endings, events, etc); I love all the post game stuff you’ve done! I would to get that deep into it one day although I don’t know where I’ll find the time, so it’s cool to hear someone do it (and Rorona is still one of my favourite Atelier girls :)) Hope you enjoy your next playthrough and Totori when you get to it (Totori is great too! 💖)

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

@@JRPGJungle I think your review is still very good despite the 10 hour playthrough XD. I'm very much looking forward to Totori already. Is the Japanese guide book more in depth? The English PDF one that came with the game on Steam seem to only discuss the basic mechanics and gameplay loop. While I don't know if this is true for all atelier games, Rorona feels like a matryoshka doll. The first year didn't feel all to special from my experience. But from second year onwards, with most of the game mechanics introduced, the gameplay got a lot more interesting. Also there was a lot more event cutscenes from my experience. Then third year is where the time limit started to become a challenge. Just when I thought I experienced everything the game has to offer, seeing all the endings (or most of it at least) and events made me love the characters so much. Then with how challenging the overtime areas are, the complexities of the crafting system really showed itself which I spent hours on ahaha. It's like a gift that keeps on giving :) The relationship between all the characters is fantastic IMO, a lot of stories tend to put everyone into one big friend group. In Rorona, everyone's relationship with everyone else is different with different facades. The story is not super deep due to the Slice of life genre, but it is still competently written within that framework. Sorry if I'm talking too much about my own experiences. Given that it is a bit of a old game, there isn't a lot of active discussions going on sadly.

[@Makoto03]

I would love to replay the Arland series with these re-releases but they are way overpriced, imo. $40 a pop on the psn store and $90 for all 3 bundled. Thats pretty crazy considering how old these games are.

[@darkmist977]

thats KTs pricing for you.

[@buckroger6456]

It could be worse they could do what Nintendo does and sell you the game at a full 60 dollars.

[@2BooG]

What KT needs to do is remake Ar Tonelico and Mana Khemia series. I would most definitely pay for thoses games again

[@Heroinedown]

They have sales on the psn and I remember seeing the trilogy on the vita for something aroud 40 bucks once so you can expect the same thing happening on the ps4 a couple of minths from now. All it takes is a lot of patience and to keep an eye out each week to see if it doesn't appear in the list of sales or if it's not a flash sale that happens once a month. Good luck.

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

​@@2BooGKT doesn't really develop the games Gust does. So I don't think KT has much of a say other than suggest it based on their market analysis. KT just advertises, distributes, provide customer support, and sets the price.

[@jorgecifuentes3589]

Thanks for the wonderful review 🙂👍

[@johannesmakila2459]

I am not really fan of games that have time dependent events so I am easily skipping this one. That said I do feel that anime style games age far better than 3D games that try to look realistic so that really helps this one still look good without having too much updated.

[@lufasumafalu5069]

you need more like and sub for this clear and concise review of this great series.. liked and subbed

[@Theoriginaldollbritney]

Love your reviews of the franchise so much would Love tips and tricks also 💕✨💖

[@DiaborMagics]

I just finished Rorona yesterday and I am a little torn between starting Totori, as I really want to continue in the series, or going for new game + and more endings.... I do thing my roughly 40 hours in Rorona were enough for now though so I think ill play Totori. Good review though, it's basically the same for me. One thing aside: at the start it was hard for me to get into it, coming from usually more combat heavy jrpgs and I found Rorona a bit uneventful and put it down a couple times cause I got bored. However as the story progressed I started to really get into it. Sadly the characters a bit of a mixed bag for me and I think the combat is balanced weird. I hope I'll enjoy Totori more, but I'd give Rorona a 6.5 myself, so far. not including the post-game scenario and not having seen all endings.

[@magicalcat-girl5272]

Great review. I'm thinking about buying atelier rorona for the nintendo switch later on, the game really looks good and I'm also thinking about getting atelier totori and atelier meruru for the nintendo switch too. ^_^

[@JRPGJungle]

I have a soft spot for the Arland trilogy. It's a little older/less polished mechanics than the more modern ones, but if that doesn't bother you, the characters are really special :))

[@magicalcat-girl5272]

@@JRPGJungle okay, I'm really interested in the arland trilogy games for the nintendo switch and it really doesn't bother me at all that the games are a little older and have less polished mechanics than the modern ones. I also really like the characters too and they really are special. ^__^

[@musiclover01ization]

Good review. I'm still playing Atelier Escha and Logy and I have over 17 hours so far. I might chevk out Rorona if I get the chance.

[@JRPGJungle]

Thank you! I would love to try Escha and Logy and other games in the Dusk trilogy sometime :)

[@Leirsonpkk]

Again ,amazing Review!! Cant believe i dont knew your about you estou, keep up the great work!

[@JRPGJungle]

Thank you so much! :)

[@MrValgard]

2:44 thats one strong girl :D

[@junzeroni]

Great review. Where does the music in this review come from?

[@nevertrumpfromthejump]

Wow, really thorough. I enjoy what reviewers take the time to cover more than a handful of the standard and generic points like is so common anymore. Ten minutes is a pretty great length in my opinion. Not too long nor too short. May i ask, how long did it take you to compose the script for the video? I guess otherwise considered the actual review itself. Also, any plans for your next review?

[@JRPGJungle]

Thank you :3 this script probably took a whole day if I factor in editing. The writing is always quicker than the edit for me lol I wrote this one completely right after playing it in an evening, looked at it the next day and fixed it a lot and fixed some stuff when I read it while recording too so probably a day haha but it was done between other videos which is why it took so long :3 I’ve written the other two Arland reviews now, so they’ll be next (although I have another video planned before that) :) and then probably onto KH3! :)

[@nevertrumpfromthejump]

@@JRPGJungle I was planning on not replying to your reply so you can get on with your day (or night, idk) but when i saw that KH3 part... I am compelled to say YESSSSS!! I cannot wait for that game and cannot wait for your coverage. Anyway, good day! (Or night)

[@JRPGJungle]

Have a good day too :))

[@kat.]

Would you recommend this to a newcomer to the Atelier series or is there another one that may be better? I’ve been looking into playing an Atelier game but the different series and characters can get a little overwhelming lol!

[@JRPGJungle]

I'd probably recommend Lydie and Suelle before this one since it doesn't have the time limit. It's the one I started with and was much more approachable than Rorona and thanks to having played it, I was able to pick up the trickier parts of Rorona more easily :3 In saying that, Atelier Lulua is coming out this year so if you wanna be caught up on the Arland characters before I might recommend trying the Arland trilogy from Rorona onwards anyway :3 but if you have time, I think Lydie and Suelle could be a good starter since it was for me :) I hope that helps!

[@Kaze450]

If you have a ps4 or PC I would probably recommend Atelier Sophie as its the beginning of the Mysterious trilogy in which Lydie and Suelle is the last of (also doesnt have a time limit) .

[@kat.]

JRPG Jungle thanks a bunch!

[@kat.]

TheCriticalHit sounds like a plan! I’ll definitely look into that, thank you :)

[@akiradkcn]

@@JRPGJungle honestly, the time limit isnt really harsh on the player

[@GrooveOnAMV]

Love your content JRPG Jungle!!!

[@JRPGJungle]

Thank you so much! :)

[@joilynnloner897]

Hi I'm your new subscriber, I'm from Philippines 😊 i like your review 💖 I'll play Rorona next year.

[@JRPGJungle]

Thank you so much ^__^ hope you enjoy Rorona :D

[@joilynnloner897]

@@JRPGJungle You're welcome 😊.. Thank you 😊

[@James-rc8wr]

This may come across as strange, but what's the background to the accent? For the most part it sounds typically American but then there are strange intonations in your way of speaking that come across as otherwise foreign. I get a partly Australian vibe to the way you speak. Great vid btw, been meaning to check out the Atelier series

[@JRPGJungle]

Not strange at all! Haha I’m from Australia, but my accent’s been a bit all over the place for a while haha I also live away from Australia and work with people from different countries too so my accent gets buried :3 it’s always there a little though!

[@James-rc8wr]

@@JRPGJungle Wow! Thanks for letting me know! I've always found accents quite interesting

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

@@JRPGJungle I love your accent actually

[@xLadyDushi]

Hi I wonder if this game is hard? Like is the time limit okay? Or will it be stressful. I like the atelier games with no time limit, where I can just be lost and take my time everywhere so I am kinda scared the time limit will make my game play stressful.

[@dukenukem7043]

atelier games are pretty easy

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

Depends on what your goals are. If it is just clearing the game with bare minimum, it is very easy. If you want true end, its still easy. If you want Astrid ending, you probably need a guide but otherwise fairly easy. With adventurer or rich ending, it's mildly difficult as a new player. Time limit matters the most with rich ending if you want to get it on the first play through but otherwise you can carry money over to new game plus. If you want to do overtime, it depends if you want to beat the endgame bosses or not. If not, it's easy. If you want a good overtime ending, it is about as hard as the adventurer ending. For overtime bosses, you will need to look up some equipment and crafting guides if this is your first atelier game. But if you aren't completely new to gaming in general, the overtime bosses is plenty doable, even if quite a bit challenging. There are definitely way harder games out there. Overall, the game is easy but has a bit for everyone(those who want a challenge) as an option.

[@acebreaker7]

Yeah I notice that I’ve rushed thur my playthough because when I look online I see that I missed a few playable characters and scenes which lead to one of the normal ending. I still perfer the Iris style of atelier games by a long shot

[@LeonGun8]

Rorona is probably the hardest when it comes to the amount of missable events. And that's even after the Plus/DX improvements (in this version you don't have to save scum for several endings, Friend Requests and rewards in general was streamlined, among other things). I may also add that Atelier Rorona was designed as a return to roots for the series, focusing on Alchemy, strict deadlines and 3-5 year time limits. Atelier Iris was the first Atelier to ditch time management (although Iris 3 had a bit of it) and slowly moved the series into traditional JRPG stories.

[@acebreaker7]

LeonGun8 and that’s why I love iris the focus on story and characters were awesome and imo better than the arland series not to say it’s bad

[@Chronoflation]

10 hours!? I spent 55 hours on my first playthrough 😅 though, I did the extra year, even though it's kinda spoilers for Totori and Meruru. My second playthrough was another 40 hours too, though, admittedly, I think I left it on while doing other stuff a few times, maybe 4 or 5 hours, and I spent most of that time debating how to synthesis my weapons and not actually accomplishing anything, and losing over and over again to the Ocean super boss 😂 I regretted keeping Rainbow Power over any stat boosts or other effects cause the post game bosses were immune to status effects and I didn't realize cause I never got to them the first time 😅 but I still beat one of the super bosses, so worth it

[@JRPGJungle]

Haha I’ve learnt from the other games you can definitely lose time thinking 😂 this was my first older Atelier and I really didn’t realize how valuable it was to do more than the bare minimum until the end of my short campaign :3 it taught me about how not to play Atelier which has helped me in others; I think if I went back and did a full playthrough (which I absolutely should cause I love Rorona and the pressure now haha :3) it would be at least 30+ hours haha I gotta do the extra too now I’ve finished Arland, thanks for reminding me haha glad to hear you had fun ^__^

[@Chronoflation]

@@JRPGJungle Hahaha, glad I could remind you. I hope you have a really fun time replaying the adventure and doing the post-game for the first time :)

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

I never even reached the Ozean Kaiser or Demonkin on my first playthrough with overtime. You are doing pretty well I think. On NG+, I learned how to properly carry traits over. I did opt for rainbow power though but yea not that useful on the bosses but i seen it recommended several times. I managed to beat both without any essence traits, no pinwheel item, no infinity meteor; only crafted a pepped up elixer with spiritflower and recovery. Seems like all that was needed. My gear had stuff like Power Hitter, Master Skill, Speed Star, Eco-Skill, Stats Power, Life Guard, Mental Guard, and a mix of the weaker tiers on my accessories(due to cost problems) like Speed Boost, MP Cost Cut etc. Quality of armor and weapon were 110-120, and accessories was quality 100+ gnardi ring and warrior mask. Rorona used the Friendship Necklace. I think a lot of online discussions over emphasize on the necessity of pinwheel and infinity meteor or essence traits. They likely make things easier but definitely doable without them. Both bosses took 3 attempts but doable. Mainly need to learn about the quirks of the boss, and which skills and combo chain to use to maximize damage. I would recommend using Totori's Squall Rain, Meruru's pinwheel, and Rorona's Angel Spirit for the Demonkin. For Demonkin, don't use any healing items, it will use some OP attack in response. Let elixers auto activate only. Also block attacks for Rorona against the Demonkin so at least Rorona doesn't get debuffed and do 1 damage every hit. Other than protecting Rorona, save the combo gauge until 3x and use Meruru first, then Totori, and then Angel Fullheart. Use the Special attack whenever it is up. For Ozean Kaiser, have Guts S. The lightning attack will one shot you(doesn't trigger Elixer) and can use that like 2-3 times per turn. The tsunami attack also doesn't trigger pepped up Elixer. So having Guts S is essential to have a chance of surviving and activating Pepped up trait. Use Totori's Chim Bomb, Meruru's Pinwheel, Rorona's Angel Spirit, and once again save for 3x combo gauge and use the same combo chain as above. Also use the special attack whenever it is up.

[@Chronoflation]

@@neurofiedyamato8763 I appreciate it. Been some time since I played Rorona. I kinda wanna play it again now. I've tried playing more Atelier games, and I like them all. I really get into them hardcore by halfway, but the first half, when I'm learning the people and getting invested, is somewhat of a struggle for me, outside of Rorona. I still haven't even finished Meruru (also cause my wife gets mad when I get too into it and then zone in for like 4 or 5 hours without even looking at her, lol). Maybe also cause I'm playing on Switch and the poor performance is just taking me out of it. I'll get all of them on Steam and hook up my laptop to my TV next go around. Should be fun. Or maybe the Switch 2 will boost performance to at least stabilize the frame rates. That's all I want and I have basically the whole franchise on Switch at this point, so I'd like the next console to play the games, not even better looking, just smoother

[@DerTendou]

This game can become pretty brutal and frustrating. If you seriously want to achive the most of it, you have to exactly know what you are doing. Miss a certain character scene and you are screwed. You are also screwed in the post game if you don't know how to craft powerful gear and weapons. It's definitely not beginner friendly if you want to do everything. But if you are ok with the normal ending, go get it. Everyone can make it.

[@nonsononessunooko4066]

can you lose even playable characters?

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

@@nonsononessunooko4066 No, when you die, you return to the atelier with the travel time deducted. Unless you have the magic carpet(I think) decoration which teleports you back to the start of the area you died in.

[@nonsononessunooko4066]

@@neurofiedyamato8763 thanks even if have passed 3 years

[@ivanastorga1641]

Is this game worth compared to those previous games? (Iris series and Mana Khemia's)

[@akiradkcn]

Much better than mana khemia and the older ones, they aged pretty badly

[@Food4Dogs]

So the DX version sounds like it's the same as the Vita Plus version? I'm still playing it on Vita!

[@JRPGJungle]

Ah interesting to hear! I’ve heard it’s based on that, so makes sense :) good to know too since I wanna get into the Atelier Dusk games as well and I’m pretty sure they all have plus versions on Vita :D

[@LeonGun8]

It's not just based on it but quite literally the same game. They merely ported it and rebranded it as "DX" instead of "Plus". Even the trophy list for the PS4 version is a blatant copy-paste of the Trophy List for Rorona Plus. Personally I'd wished they would have worked harder on it. Well,not on Rorona DX since Rorona Plus was basically an improved Rorona already. But when you play Totori DX and Meruru DX you will notice a step backwards in mechanics and overall quality because Totori Plus and Meruru Plus were just Vita versions of the original games with a little bit of rebalancing and the paid DLC pre-packaged. I especifically hate the fact you have to go back to save scumming for endings because the game doesn't let you pick the ending you qualify for in the end, it just railroads into whatever ending has highest priority.

[@JRPGJungle]

Interesting to know, thank you for that, I found a few articles saying what was added but I guess they probably meant from the PS3 version to the Plus rather than Plus to DX like I’d assumed. And very good to know about the save scrumming since I’m still playing my second playthrough, so thanks :3

[@LeonGun8]

Yeah, the Dusk series all have Plus versions with the DLC. If you have a working VIta I'd even argue you buy those for the most "bang for your buck" experience. If you don't like the tight time limitations of Rorona too much then you will likely enjoy the fact the Dusk series doesn't follows such a strict limit (beyond the "game ends after x years) and the last Dusk game doesn't even have a time limit at all. Now Sophie and the rest of the Mysterous series don't have Plus versions so those can be gotten for any system, Vita included (though there's only a Switch version for Atelier Lydie).

[@samuelgonzalez-tovar3936]

Is it possible to get the same ending twice ?

[@2BooG]

Do you know if there is goin to a physical release date for all 3 for the PS4, cuz I do know all 3 are comin to the Switch in a pack but in stand alone cartridges

[@JRPGJungle]

From what I've seen on the website it's an all digital release, at least in the West. Would love to see physical versions, but I don't think it would happen outside of a special edition or something (could very much be wrong though!)

[@letisiaariyurisimancas1911]

do you still recommend this game?

[@JRPGJungle]

Absolutely! It's a harder Atelier time limit-wise, but I really like the challenge and the amount of personality the cast have :)

[@cHoIthewatamon]

Did you just... harvest a fish? lol

[@Zodia195]

I do have a question. My biggest pet peeve in gaming is the time mechanic. It's why I could never into The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask because you had a time limit (yes you had the means of going back in time at one point, but I could never enjoy myself with that time limit over my head). I wanted to get into the Alterier franchise, but the time restrictions make me nervous. The closest I've played to this series is Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis. There I had little to no time restrictions, like I could explore as much as I wanted and not have to worry about loosing energy. Only time I didn't have control of the game was during major events, but that was fine with me. I did have to worry about the time of day since monsters were stronger at night though. So my question is this, would you recommend this series even if you hate time issues? Or are there other Atelier games where I won't have to worry about time as much like in Mana Khemia?

[@cemetery895]

Yeah I didn't like it in Rorona and Totori tbh. But it actually is miles better in Rorona Plus/DX, because you get overtime for a year to work on your build if you need time and you get to keep the items equipped to your atelier. So you can start a NG+ run with container access while gathering mats for example (along with increased bag space), since you keep those on top of regular equipment, it is a HUGE difference because there were similar items in the older games, but now you actually keep them in Rorona Plus/DX. Just I reccomend you don't play it completely without guides if you want access to all maps, but if you don't need the platinum or all endings you can just pass all the assignments easily. Also picking up materials and starting battles won't waste time (huge waste of time in the original if you don't keep track), just travelling and synthesizing will waste your time so you can actually calculate the time it will take exactly without estimation before you gather or synthesize. The endings are the only parts that are actually hard though (I still need a few I have 87% done overall), but you can get most blindly in your first run if you seperate saves before the last assignment, except maybe Astrid is the only hard ending. The hardest bosses don't require best traits on gear (I used self ressurection with decent traits on my elixir/meteor, no pinwheel except Meruru, so I know it is possible), I reccomend the best characters and a decent build for overtime bosses, but synthesis/battles are much easier than Atelier Shallie (which has no time system) since there isn't hard mode (on ps3 IDK if DX has Hard or Despair) and the best 120 quality items don't require max alchemy level, only traits are hard to get and optional.

[@fuumaxkamui]

Wow, taking your time to properly play a game rather than bum rushing it gives you a better experience of the game....damn who could have seen that coming

[@SpJrD]

Nice jrpg game BUT The game is bit too girly for a big guy with beard in his 30s 😅 can’t imagine if my sisters walk in saw me playing these games 😂

[@dynastystar5515]

I think that is mostly how the game looks to outsiders and not all of the series are this "girly". I found that the Atelier Iris games are far less girly, and Mana Khemia looks alot less girly so try giving some of that a shot.

[@johannesmakila2459]

There is no shame in playing girly looking JRPG like this one as long as it's fun to you and you enjoy playing it.

[@SpJrD]

Dynasty Star FFX-2 was the most girly jrpg game I ever played and I was 18 back them, nothing personal but I think certain games are meant for certain type of gamers

[@dynastystar5515]

@@SpJrD I really liked FF10-2, or at least my boner did when I played it.

[@SpJrD]

Dynasty Star ugh 🤦🏻‍♂️