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I played through Atelier Rorona earlier this summer as my first atelier game, and really enjoyed it. It had its flaws, such as strict time limits, battle system quirks (using HP for skills), and the voice acting was mediocre. Totori fixes all these issues, plus adds an element of free-roaming that the first Arland game didn't have. Playing Totori makes me want to go back and play Rorona again, but I'm not sure I can knowing how much improved Totori is!
I always like to condense things into pros and cons lists, so here goes:
Pros:
Beautiful graphics. I could look at them all day.
Good alchemy system that allows you to add traits after synthesizing an item, and also TONS of items to synthesize.
Extra rewards for quests depending on if you go above and beyond the request or provide very high quality synth items. Quests have dates further in the future so you don't have to run back and forth constantly.
Fun characters, plus reasonably priced DLC to add several more playables, as well as music DLC if you so wish.
Much more free roaming than Rorona. Some places will take you a month or more to get to, so this requires strategy of what to bring in your basket!
It seems like there are more cutscenes and story elements in Totori, although I suppose I could have just missed some in Rorona
Quests picked up in one city can be reported in another
Cons:
If you didn't play Rorona, you might be a bit lost. It's not a MUST to play the first game, but highly recommended.
Takes two weeks to travel between towns to upgrade your adventurer license.
Money is still a bit tight, so if you want all those alchemy books and good items, you need to do a lot of quests and get bonus rewards.
Quite a few enemies carry over from Rorona, which makes sense but at the same time it would be nice to see more new faces.
Dialogue is not as overtly racy as in Rorona, but still has its awkward moments.
Totori's nearly-see-through skirt slightly bugs me. I realize this is an NIS game, but at least Rorona had opaque material!
Time flies, and your expectations aren't really spelled out for you.
Overall, I love this game. If you enjoyed Rorona, you will LOVE Totori. Everything works pretty well in terms of the battle system, alchemy system, etc. to make a truly enjoyable game.
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Update: Important information here. Several other reviews state that you have 'plenty of time'. This is not true. Without including too many spoilers: save often and onto various save states. I was able to achieve my permanent license within the time limit, however, I had failed to complete one task of importance so I got a bad ending. The issue I have is that I didn't have earlier save states to pop back to, so I was stuck starting over. They do give you a sort of new game +, but really you just start over with your equipment and money, not any of the items, levels, or anything else from the earlier run through. The only reason I found it annoying is because I didn't have the option to just suck it up and keep playing with no possibility of gaining another ending. Also, there was never really any notice that I would suck it up and get a 'bad ending'. Actually the opposite is true. I kept on working towards my permanent license because I figured then I would have time to do all of these other things. I would have been content just sything and hunting until I leveled enough to beat some really tough baddies.But just be forewarned. Keep a couple of extra save files on hand so that if this happens you can go back a bit if you wish and try something different. Otherwise be prepared to get VERY frustrated by losing a lot of hard work and effort.
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I will update the review as I progress farther, but even in the first few hours, this game is simply a blast.
Thanks to some other reviews, I opted for the Japanese audio track, and I am happy with the voice acting. Some of the female characters are a little "kawaiiiiiiiiiiii" (cute), but it works well with the theme.
Things start off slowly, but with a lot of hilarious and fun scenes involving the principle characters. This is a great introduction to the personalities of the game's characters. They are all interesting and quite a blast to interact with.
The game itself is amazing. Exploration and gathering is fun. Time passes as you battle, gather, and travel. Spend too much time out and you become exhausted and cannot fight well. Also, many of your quests have time limits, so be aware. Also, many ingredients deteriorate over time. So get those fresh, high quality ingredients back to your workshop ASAP!
Battles are actually fun. They remind me a bit of the Grandia series. Nice character animation, pretty average to bland backdrops. But this is okay, because the action is fast paced, and the lack of super detailed backgrounds during battle helps you stay focused on the action. It's a time based/ turn based system like Final Fantasy 10 and the Grandia games. But the battles are so fast that they never seem to drag. There is a pretty good challenge as well.
Totori is pretty awful at battling, but this is actually a fun little addition to the tactics. She is the only party member that can use items, and she can do some amazing things with her synthesized goods. She can use items to heal, attack, or assist. Other characters can perform special attacks and use magic, and are generally better at battle. Totori is so helpless that often when she is attacked, you will need to tap L1 or R1 to have a nearby party member guard against an attack in her place. It's a system that works, and it fits her character very well since she keeps saying how helpless and clumsy she is.
The music is nice, but doesn't seem to really be anything grand. It's a nice and pleasant background.
The character interaction scenes are nice. They have a manga style feel to them. I think it was the right choice. When interacting, the main screen blurs a bit and the hand drawn characters are placed on screen and change depending on the characters reactions. It's a lot of fun.
Synthesizing is fun and can be challenging at times. Especially when trying to craft higher quality items. But the game does hold your hand a bit since you need a recipe to craft. Though with hundreds of items, just tossing random ingredients into the pot to try and craft things would be insane. But you have to find or buy recipes, so you don't just have access to every recipe right off the bat.
If you are expecting something like Demons' Souls or Elder Scrolls, then you might want to pause before buying this game. It's fun, but it's definitely a true JRPG and really geared towards players who have had experience with these types of games. Where some people would feel the game is limited, I think it's the limitations that put a fun spin on things.
If you've enjoyed games like Rune Factory, Grandia, Dragon Quest, or any of the Atelier games, then you should pick up a copy. I'm just sad I didn't get the collector's edition!
Buy Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland Now
Last year's Atelier Rorona: The Alchemists Of Arland was one of the most charming games I had played in a long time. The story was light-hearted, the characters were endearing, and the gameplay was very easy to get in to. I had long suspected that the sequel, Atelier Totori, would reach North America, and sure enough, we've been allowed to journey once again to Arland. What I had not expected however, were this game's vast improvements over its already brilliant predecessor. Totori's journey, like Rorona's, is one that JRPG fans will not want to miss out on.The story revolves around the young alchemist Totooria Helmold, or Totori as people call her. She lives with her father and sister in the fishing village of Alanya. One day, she decides to become an adventurer so she can travel the world and look for her missing mother, an adventurer herself who disappeared years ago and is believed to be dead by everyone else. Along the way, she is aided by many different people, from new characters like her childhood friend Gino and the aristocratic Mimi, to old favorites like the famous alchemist (and previous main character) Rorona and the knightly Sterk. Those who played through Atelier Rorona will find the occasional nod to previous events, referencing characters like Astrid, Gio, or Esty, but it is by no means necessary to play through Atelier Rorona first. After all, Totori herself doesn't know the events of the previous game either, so she'll be just as in the dark as you. There's certainly some fun in store for those who played Atelier Rorona, but don't let that deter you from purchasing this game if you haven't.
Like Rorona's tale, the story is generally light-hearted, being mostly filled by the various interactions between the characters. As such, the overall strength of the story is heavily dependent on the characters being crafted well by the developers, and Atelier Totori does not disappoint. Each of the party members in the game has enough personality and charm to be of interest to the player (however note that some may not necessarily seem that way at first. Just like with real people, you'll need to get to know them better before you see the depth of their character). Indeed, even many of the NPCs have more depth than some games' main characters. Veterans of Atelier Rorona will be pleased to note that many of the NPCs are returning characters, but that's not to say the new characters are boring; on the contrary, I enjoyed interacting with new characters like Gerhard and Ceci just as much as old favorites like Hagel and Pamela.
The overall gameplay is very similar to Rorona. At first glance, things may seem to be the same, however it quickly becomes apparent that Gust has managed to polish almost every feature from the previous game. The battle system has been made more sophisticated, exploring now utilizes a large world map to travel from place to place, item synthesis now gives more control over the traits for synthesized creations, and items can be turned in for quests directly from the container, rather than needing to move them to Totori's basket first (veterans of Rorona will no doubt appreciate that last change immensely; for everyone else, suffice to say that this is a very, *very* welcome addition even if it may look minor at first).
I could go on about the new changes, but I think it's important to address the overall gameplay and goals instead. The overall gameplay is based around Totori becoming a skilled enough adventurer so that she can go looking for her mother. In the beginning, she will only have access to a limited number of areas, but as she improves her adventurer ranking (by a combination of item synthesis, world exploration, and battling monsters), she will gain access to new areas. Eventually, if she does well enough, she will determine where she needs to go to find her mother. The actual battle system is a turn-based battle system with a slight twist that allows Totori's allies to occasionally perform assist moves via the L1 and R1 buttons, while the item synthesis allows the player to mix various ingredients together to make new items. Unlike most games, the item synthesis is very well-developed and is a key part of the game. Every ingredient can have a different quality level and different traits, and by using various combinations, you can get a wide variety of results. It is a very simple system to learn, but offers a surprisingly large amount of depth for those who wish to get the most out of it. Expect between 20 and 30 hours for a single run through the game, depending on how you choose to play the game.
Which brings me to the next point -the freedom of choice. While Totori's adventure has a definite path with a definite overall story, the path that she ends up taking is entirely up to you. You might choose to spend more of your time adventuring and mastering the battle system. Or you might focus more on alchemy and item synthesis. You might synthesize powerful weapons for your party members, or you might synthesize special items to be used by your alchemist characters in battle (ex. healing potions, bombs, etc.). Even your choices of party members will change the game -by choosing to utilize one character in your party more often than another, you may get different events and cutscenes. For instance, I saw many scenes with Melvia and Marc in my first run through the game, but very few with Gino and Mimi, simply because I rarely used them in battle. This freedom in both gameplay choices as well as story events gives Atelier Totori a degree of replay value that few single-player games can rival. I fully expect myself to put in over 100 hours into this game.
Atelier Totori also has some DLC available for it. There are some music packs that you can purchase to change some of the background and battle themes in the game, featuring tracks from previous games in the Atelier series (some of which have never been localized in North America). I have not purchased these, so I cannot comment on them, but for the number of tracks given, the price seems about right. You can also purchase 3 additional party members, making the NPCs Ceci, Cordelia, and Iksel playable in battle. It's quite a great addition, as each character has a full set of moves available to them, adding even more replay value to the game. Note however that even if you do not purchase them, there are still plenty of party members to choose from within the game -you aren't getting an incomplete game without the DLC. The DLC is mainly there for people who want just a little bit more (or in the case of Cordelia and Iksel, nostalgia for Atelier Rorona). Also note that there is some free DLC for the game as well (not much, and not game-changing, but a nice addition.)
Overall, Atelier Totori is one of the best games I've played all year. Indeed, it is probably one of my favorite games on the PS3. Certainly it is one of my favorite RPGs on the system. It's a charming, light-hearted, and unbelievably addicting game to play. And the best part? We'll be getting the sequel, Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland, this spring. I'm eagerly looking forward to spending many more hours with Atelier Totori, and then spending even more hours with the upcoming Atelier Meruru.
(Note: if you can still get the Premium Edition for a reasonable price, I'd highly encourage you to go for it. While the artbook is sadly not quite as good as the previous hardcover art books given for Atelier Rorona, it is still a nice addition, and the soundtrack is excellent -well worth the cost. Something to consider before making your purchase.)
Read Best Reviews of Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland Here
I play a lot of JRPG's and generally have less inhibition about buying them than other types of games. However, my purchases of White Knight Chronicles and Hyperdimension Neptunia have made me much more wary of spending money on unproven JRPG's.Enter Atelier Totori. I have not previously played any Atelier games, so this game was actually my introduction into the series. Having played nearly every other JRPG this console generation, Atelier Totori actually ranks pretty high right up there with Tales of Vesperia.
Gameplay: 9/10
Atelier Totori's gameplay is similar to the other alchemy games from Gust as far as I can tell from watching reviews and a friend play Atelier Rorona (AR). It has a greater emphasis on combat than AR, but still retains the rather addictive alchemy portion of the game. You can increase your "adventurer rank" which determines your overall access to the game world by either slaying mobs, making items through alchemy, or exploring. On my first playthrough I was slightly obsessed with making tons of items through alchemy so I ended up with the "bad end". If the same happens to you, do not be discouraged! The game lets you start over with all your gear and money after the bad end. My second playthrough was much quicker and I found myself way ahead of the time constraints. My one small complaint about the gameplay is the emphasis on keeping your party the same if you want to do both alchemy and battle. If you want to make a lot of items through alchemy, you don't really have time to grind all the characters and ones you do not use are left at a much lower level.
Sound: 8/10
The game music is appropriate for the setting and slightly above average for a typical game in this genre. I really like the OP though.
Voice acting: 9/10
A critical factor in any JRPG is the voice acting. While the JP voices are quite good, the game pleasantly surprised me with excellent english vocals, especially Rorona.
Graphics: 8/10
About what you would expect from a highly stylized JRPG. They are sub-par compared to FFXIII, but definitely better than Nier. The cartoony look is quite appropriate for the overall ambiance.
Value: 10/10
I've put in over 30 hours and I am not finished. Atelier Totori isn't a marathon game, but it is quite fun to play and will not leave you any regrets with your purchase. If you are like me and have been disappointed with recent JRPG's (Looking at you WKC...), then play Totori and just have a good time.
Want Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland Discount?
Atelier Rorona was the series first jump to full 3D. While Rorona was good, simple fun it was fairly iffy in visual design and most of the gameplay functionality was a drop down from past games although refocused into an interesting time-management typeTotori keeps the few strengths of Rorona and drops incredible, high polished upgrades on everything else. The visuals, most notably are some of the best on any console for my tastes. Very high end character modeling and everything is well filtered and anti-aliased, rare for a console game.
Gameplay has all been improved too, quest flow to management to balance to feature set is all upgraded, boss fights and dungeons and all of the meat is just so much more cohesive.
In the end this is one of the best niche titles available on the PS3 so if a little frill and lace don't scare you off give it a shot.
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