1. Sieghardt

   9

   A charming cast of characters and entertaining script elevate this RPG above the crowd. If you're looking for a save the world story, look elsewhere but if you love character interaction and lovable personalities this is top drawer stuff. As with most Gust games it also boasts a fantastic soundtrack.
   
   In gameplay terms the battle system is quite average, standard fare turn based combat. Thankfully combat is not the core of this game. Instead the item synthesis system takes center stage and this is incredibly well fleshed out. The game employs an addictive time management system where you'll hunt for ingredients, use these ingredients to make items, and use these items to fulfil requests for townspeople, improving your reputation and unlocking further quests.
   
   Overall a fun slice of life piece of pure enjoyment, free of the melodrama so many RPGs are plagued with.… Expand

   • Helpful? 8 of 14 users said Yes.
2. Magnvs

   8

   Atelier Rorona is a throwback to the pre-Iris days of the franchise, when the management of time, alchemic resources and money was the center of the experience and not simply a feature (albeit a prominent one) in an otherwise traditional turn based JRPG. In Rorona you have no great, epic quest, nor evil opponents: it is the story of a young alchemist apprentice striving to save her workshop during a three-years period, performing quests given her by the Kingdom to prove her usefulness. The slice of life atmosphere of the plot, coupled with the sheer number of things to do (kingdom quests, quests for the citizens of Arland, quests for other characters etc, not to mention little plot branches and many different endings) manages to give the game an unique identity (at least if you haven't played the japanese pre-Iris Atelier or Ds' Atelier Annie) and, even if some features could have been better (the battle system is a little on the simplistic side), Rorona is an highly enjoyable experience provided you don't expect a traditional JRPG formula.… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 6 users said Yes.
3. ryuzaki57

   7

   Although graphically poor, Atelier Rorona is quite innovative since no Atelier game made it to Europe before. The crafting system is really hooking and makes your brain overheat at times. Character design is fabulous (NISA really rocks for that). The sense of humor is brilliant, I had a lot of laugh quite of few times, which doesn't happen that much in today's JRPGs. Time and progession system are also pretty good, since it makes the difficulty very well balanced.… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.
4. seieko_pherdo

   3

   I'm not going to lie I haven't played the pre-Iris days of this franchise. Mana Khemia was what got me into this series. Now I don't mind not having to save the word or playing a game where I'm not going on some grand quest. For the most part you'll be finding ingredients to make a bunch of things for a kingdom, some of your friends, and other people. And I'd be perfectly content doing that. However this game walks in with a serve injury that cripples it the entire time. The imposing time limit which is attached to everything you do. I could only play this game for 4 hours before the seer claustrophobic feeling made never want to touch it again which really is a shame since I might have liked everything else the game had to offer. Now for those who can handle the overbearing feeling of time may enjoy this but I wouldn't recommend this game purely for how overbearing the time limits are.… Expand

   • Helpful? 13 of 19 users said Yes.

See all 8 User Reviews