Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland

 PlayStation 3
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
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  1. USgamer
    Jun 23, 2014
    100
    For Atelier veterans, Rorona Plus deftly addresses pretty much every criticism that could be levelled at the original Rorona while providing plenty of new content to enjoy. For Atelier newcomers, this is a solid, enjoyable and charming game that marks an ideal entry point into the broader series as a whole.
  2. Digitally Downloaded
    Jun 20, 2014
    100
    The Rorona remake isn't a massive change over the original game. And it didn't need to be. The original had all the ideas right, but was a little raw on execution. The remake shows that GUST has in subsequent games refined the experience significantly, and now Rorona is now up to the standard of its fellows in the series.
  3. NZGamer
    Jul 1, 2014
    90
    In conclusion, if you are picking it up for the first time, this is obviously the version to get. This is an improvement in so many ways - including navigation of Arland, swappable costumes, and everything you can harvest from such as wells, are highlighted.
  5. Push Square
    Jun 28, 2014
    90
    If Atelier Rorona Plus has taught us anything, it's that you can probably mix one up out of an old piece of paper and a couple of pebbles.
  6. Digital Chumps
    Jun 27, 2014
    88
    Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland, while not perfect, is an improvement over the 2010 version.
  7. ZTGD
    Jul 2, 2014
    85
    Whether you’ve already experienced the world of Rorona or are looking to check it out for the first time, you won’t be disappointed.
  8. Gaming Nexus
    Jul 1, 2014
    85
    Atelier Rorona Plus may not reinvent the role-playing genre, but it does add new life to the poorly-received 2010 game. By fixing many of the original game's problems (including combat, crafting, exploring, visuals, etc.), the developers have turned an otherwise middling RPG into one of this year's most surprising releases.
  9. RPGamer
    Jul 9, 2014
    80
    If the original Atelier Rorona's major drawbacks and barriers to entry were its difficulty and time-consuming crafting, then Rorona Plus fixed one and made the other less relevant.
  10. Game Revolution
    Jun 27, 2014
    80
    It's not a perfect game: the visuals are dated, the combat spikes wildly at the end of the game, and the character interactions can be total anime cheese. However, it's a game in which I cared more about the characters and story than most boilerplate save-the-world JRPG melodramas.
  11. PlayStation Universe
    Jul 12, 2014
    75
    Atelier Rorona Plus is good value for those wanting to enjoy the end of the Arland trilogy on PS Vita. If you have purposely skipped this game the first time around, nothing about this version will change your mind. Still, Koei Tecmo and Atelier fans will not regret picking it up.
  12. LaPS4
    Jul 8, 2014
    75
    Atelier Rorona Plus offers some playable enhancements which will help newcomers to enjoy Atelier's world. It also offers improvements in characters modelling and time management system, but aside from that, it doesn't offer anything new to the saga's vets.
  13. RPG Fan
    Aug 4, 2014
    72
    It's better than the original Atelier Rorona, but I'd still rather be playing any other Atelier game.
  14. Meristation
    Jun 24, 2014
    72
    An example of IP with personality, Atelier's series can be recognized just taking at look at the screen. After Escha & Logy, Tecmo brings to the West another Atelier, second in a row in the same year, to keep the fans of its crafting system entertained the whole summer. It's better in all aspects than the original Rorona, but if you have already played that back in 2010, this Plus version dosen't have so many new things to pay again for the experience unless we are real fans of the game. The best part is that now we have the Arland trilogy complete on PS Vita.
  15. SpazioGames
    Jun 28, 2014
    70
    Atelier Rorona Plus, while being a nice addition to the PsVita library, has simply not enough new contents to appeal to the ones who already own the 2010 version for PS3. Still, we're talking about a nice and happy JRPG, different from the usual fare.
  16. Everyeye.it
    Jun 27, 2014
    70
    The Alchemist of Arland is back in a sort of Director's Cut, that fans will probably enjoy. For everyone else, it's not easy to point at this chapter as an entry ticket to the saga, mainly because of complicated menus and the slow pace.
  17. 3DJuegos
    Jun 20, 2014
    70
    An interesting makeover of an already solid but a bit bland JRPG. The Cross Save functionality is a good touch.
  18. God is a Geek
    Jun 19, 2014
    70
    Rorona Plus is not an instant classic, but accessible and enjoyable enough that it deserves to be more than just a curio.
  19. Vandal
    Jun 19, 2014
    70
    The additions are not likely to be enough for those who own the original episode, especially with so many rivals on PS3. However, it is a very recommendable option on PS Vita.

Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best PS3 Game of 2014
60
#60 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2014
20
#20 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2014

User Reviews

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User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 45 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 45
  3. Negative: 7 out of 45
  1. TheDestroyer
    Dec 10, 2014
    2
    This is an angry rant on Atelier Rorona Plus because the original review posted got taken down. And this will continue to be reposted becauseThis is an angry rant on Atelier Rorona Plus because the original review posted got taken down. And this will continue to be reposted because I paid 50$ for this game on the playstation store, and played this nightmare through to the end so I earned the right to speak out. Everyone will know how bad this game truely is.

    - Right off the bat, the game begins with a 30 minute tutorial, explaining synthesis, and how to recruit party members. Doesn't even give time for the player to collect their thoughts or look around as all areas are blocked off with invisible walls until it's over. Don't start your games like this!!! It makes new players feel uncomfortable having to process so much information at once. And not everyone can. And if skipped, they won't know what they're even doing. Break up your tutorials piece by piece; don't dump it all at once!

    - This game has good story, graphics, voice acting, and atmosphere, but fails to do everything else right.

    - A knight named Sterk gives you assignments to complete throughout the game. They range between crafting and killing monster. Miss one assignment within the in-game timer and it's game over, and you have to reload a save. All of this is just house chores! Here's what gameplay is like: you go out and kill monsters, collect ingredients, return to watch cut-scene, synthesis, then turn in assignments for your next headache! Rinse & repeat about 200 times! This isn't fun!!! Any real gamer can see that these are mini side-quests forming into the main quest storyline. You have to do them too, which is the torture of it all. It is boring and unacceptable for today's gaming. The game attempts to color it's synthesis menu by giving you a variety of things to make. But the problem is you end up making the same thing 20 times during gameplay. And when you run out of ingredients, you'll magically notice an assignment involving an item you just did 10 minutes ago!!! **** ARP!

    - This game continues to taunt players with what could have been a really enjoyable battle system. But it's destroyed by the in-game timer described above!

    - The deafening soundtrack will destroy you if you don't download the free BGM DLC on the store, because the few good songs isn't worth sticking it out for.

    - There is no enjoyment for doing anything outside of cut-scenes. I paid 50$ of my own money on the playstation store to tell everyone if this game was worth it, and it was some of the worst 30 hours of my life.

    Fortunately, Atelier Rorona Plus isn't the worst game I've ever played, but it's still pretty bad. I feel sorry for the developers who actually had to make this crap because this game isn't fun. No one should buy this game. No one needs to endure this torture.    … Full Review »
  2. raccoondaddy
    May 13, 2017
    8
    This was my first game in the series for me. Playing it during my Playstation Now subscription, I wasn't expecting much. Atelier Rorona wasThis was my first game in the series for me. Playing it during my Playstation Now subscription, I wasn't expecting much. Atelier Rorona was a colorful blend of the right amount of anime humor, item creation and good ol' turn based RPG combat for me. Sadly, my subscription ended and I haven't gotten a chance to get back into this. But I certainly intend to at a later time.
    When I was playing, I had fun. Period.    … Full Review »
  3. tomvs123
    Dec 3, 2016
    8
    The best of the Arland Atelier games on PS3.

    Here's what the PS3 Atelier games are all about: - Amazing crafting, primarily used to make    The best of the Arland Atelier games on PS3.

    Here's what the PS3 Atelier games are all about:

    - Amazing crafting, primarily used to make items and equipment for battle.
    - Traditional JRPG turn-based battle system.
    - Time limits. The game will end early if you don't meet set goals on time.
    - The story is about daily life and the interactions between the characters. No epic conclusions or final bosses.

    Atelier Rorona Plus is a remake of the original Atelier Rorona with updated character models, a few other updated features, and a bonus 4th year of gameplay, which takes place after the other games. This is a replacement for the original game, so don't buy that one if you get this one. Here's the chronological play order for the Arland games:

    1. Atelier Rorona Plus (First 3 years, up until the first ending)
    2. Atelier Totori
    3. Atelier Meruru
    4. Atelier Rorona Plus (4th year after loading your clear save data)

    In this game, the kingdom decides that the Alchemy workshop should be shut down and puts you through a series of tasks to see whether or not they should. If you pass all tests, you "beat the game" and the shop stays open. If not, the game ends.

    The tasks primarily involve creating items through alchemy and turning them in. Though there's some combat-related tasks. Crafting an item takes a minimum of one day and you normally have about 90 days to complete a task.

    To get crafting items crafting, you must leave town and go to various monster-infested areas. Getting to different areas takes 1-7 days and each area has sub-areas which take 1-5 days each to explore. After you get into a sub-area, you can fight and gather all you want and no additional time will be taken (which is different from the other Arland games).

    So this is primarily a time management game, though it's relatively easy to meet the minim requirements and complete your tasks. It only gets hard when you try to meet the game's sub-objectives, which aren't all clearly defined. Those are:

    - Defeating powerful boss monsters, which have rare items and block paths to new areas.
    - Completing sub-objectives from the castle, for which you're awarded prizes and vouchers for purchasing rare items.
    - Increasing your fame through turning in items and defeating monsters for townsfolk. High fame is required to see certain events and endings.
    - Befriending the other characters in the game by going out to fight with them or completing their job requests. High friend levels are required to see certain events, including the various character endings.

    Getting everything done in one playthrough (max all friendship levels, do all optional tasks, see all events) is possible, but is very difficult. Completionists: steer clear unless you're using a guide. If you do want to see everything, there's a new game + feature that retains all character equipment from the last playthrough, which makes subsequent games easier.

    The best part of this game is the interactions between the characters. Rorona is quite dumb, but is very kind and dedicated. Seeing her interact with the wide variety of other character personalities is quite entertaining. Don't let the art style or premise fool you. These are very well written and believable characters that put most other game characters to shame. Though they are just going about their daily lives, so that might not be so interesting to some.

    To contrast the characters and storytelling to another game I recently played; Dragon Quest Heroes is downright childish in comparison. In DQ Heroes, there's lot of bad/generic dialogue, very cliched characters, typical bad guys that want to rule/destroy the world, and the power of friendship (which kills bad guys and revives your friends). It's like it was pulled straight from cartoon for 7-year-olds (Besides that, it's a great game, though). Rorona and the other Arland games are much more mature in this respect. Although some silly and magical things happen, it all makes sense within its world, and you really grow to know/love these characters.

    And for the reasons like like this better than the other Arland games:
    - The overall goal is more intimate and meaningful than Meruru, and easier to obtain than Totori.
    - I prefer this time system over the others. In the others, every item gathered and every battle fought takes time, which led to more reloading.
    - Costumes. There's collectable costumes in-game (about 5-8 for certain characters) that are DLC in other Atelier games.

    In comparison, what's not as good is:
    - The animations aren't as good. Rorona's running, jumping and swinging animations are sub-par.
    - Combat is more basic. Though it's a great starting point if you haven't played the others yet.

    Overall a great game (as long as you like games like this), and a great starting point for Atelier games.    … Full Review »
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