Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland DX

Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland DX is a traditional jRPG with a turn-based combat system, which is part of the Atelier series, created and developed by Gust, a studio owned by the Japanese company Koei Tecmo. However, the title is not a completely new installment of the series, but an improved version of Atelier Rorona, which was originally released in 2009 on PlayStation 3. In the following years, it has also seen several sequels.

The DX edition offers additional content, which was introduced in the port on PlayStation Vita, released in 2013 and in the re-edition on PlayStation 3. These are new scenarios and events, improved graphics, as well as a slightly different combat and alchemy systems, used in the sequels.

Plot

The story presented in the game shows the fate of Roroline Frixell, an alchemy adept called Rorona by her friends. Left to herself by her mentor, the girl has one goal. She must convince the king that she is capable of running an alchemical workshop. Otherwise, it may be closed. In order to do so, she will have to deal with twelve tasks assigned to her by the ruler.

The narrative is presented in a way typical of visual novels. Static images of characters are accompanied by dialogues read by actors, and the player only sometimes has the ability to influence course of the sotry. The choice of dialog options and the number of side tasks performed by the player largely determine which of the many endings we will see.

Mechanics

The gameplay system in Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland DX is a classic example of the Japanese gamedev school. In the city, which is our starting point, we talk to the characters we meet and take on tasks from them. In the surrounding locations we collect alchemical resources and fight monsters.

After initiating a battle, the game takes us to a separate combat screen. The fights are turn-based and last until one of the parties is defeated or escapes. During combat, in addition to regular attacks, we can use special skills and items. It is worth mentioning the alchemy system, so characteristic for this series. From the loot found after the battles we can create more than a hundred unique items, which we will later use in our journeys. Alchemy is also essential for us to fulfil all the main tasks assigned to us by the king.

Technical aspects

Rorona Atelier: The Alchemist of Arland DX introduces a number of minor and major corrections to improve the visuals The most important change is the use of completely new three-dimensional character models, as well as a change in the interface, making the game similar in this respect to Atelier Totori and Atelier Meruru. The DX version is also characterized by improved stability and performance. As usual in the case of Gust games, a great soundtrack deserves a mention.

Last updated on 13 December 2018