I'm so glad you mentioned the lack of QoL features missing between Rorona and Totori, it was a massive surprise when I got through the games. It's also interesting how people tend to say Rorona is the hardest game in the Arland series with each entry getting easier when in my opinion I found Totori to be the hardest. Although Rorona has a strict time limit, if you do end up failing your assignment, you can always just restart from the beginning of said assignment. But Totori on the other hand, if you fall behind you more or less gotta start from the beginning. I know Gust wanted Totori to feel like a wandering adventurer not bound by an atelier, but to me it's a game where a guide is almost mandatory.
I think rorona is harder due to structured time limit style rather than free exploring style like totori and meruru. In rorona, although you cant get lost easily as totori, you are rather restricted and need to plan your journey much better since you can't rush your story to get shoes and gloves to reduce your time spent and most player didnt know what to do with the rest of the time after completing the main assignment, but in totori As long as you're not greedy and not mindlessly gathering and attacking shit, totori is rather easy imo, just frequently save your game and plan your journey better and get tools to reduce your time when traveling asap, and you have tons of times to explore and craft the best gear. I didnt use guide and although i didnt greedy and saved frequently, i still waste a lot of time since I didn't know i have to build a ship asap. Even then i still able to kill every superboss with my near ultimate equipment and items in my first playthrough. I only use guide when it comes to character events and ended up getting mimi ending. I didnt bother to get best ending since tye requirements is too complicated unlike rorona or meruru, but i did get every character ending requirements except Cecilia's.
I agree with the lack of qol in totori compared to rorona lol, i was surprised but then i realizef its similar what happened to god eater. Rorona plus is a remake and released after totori, thats why rorona is closer to meruru when it comes to qol. God eater resurrection is a remake of god eater 1 and released after god eater 2 rage burst, so initially, i was surprised and confused why some mechanic are gone in GE2RB compared to GERm
I actually become a gust fan because of their PS2 games library 🥲 Atelier Iris, Mana Khemia and Ar Tonelico series are among my most cherished gaming memories.
Same here, I was perplexed when I played Sophie (didnt play arland and dusk series because I didnt have a PS3) then I found out the PS2 series are considered the black sheep of the series by Japanese fans
Me too, I also played atelier iris 2 &3 on the ps2 back when i was younger and i also played mana khemia but i never really played ar tonelico before. I also love the atelier games too.
The whole reason I'm playing the atelier series still are the Mana Khemia, Atelier Iris and Ar Tonellico series... In fact I considder the Arland series as a bit of a black sheep due to the missing QoL and lowered focus on the combat xD (I also kinda miss being able to make Super-Uni's some 7 days into the game xD) To this day I can still recall the shrill shrieks of Amalgam when played with J-VA's... I swear; the howl of that thing will haunt my dreams
I haven't laughed so hard in a long time at 30:00 - 30:15 or so. I thought the jokes were over because the voice-over started back up but then RPG out of nowhere.
The Arland games are some of my favourite among the franchise and you've done a good explaining why that is. Not only is Lulua my personal number 1 Atelier game but my 2nd favourite game of all time. I delved deep into the alchemy, creating some unforgettable traits. One of which did this: 50% instant kill/ 50% critical hit. Totori is still one my favourite protagonists among those in the franchise, honestly the Arland quartet cemented my love for the franchise as a whole.
Fully agree .. the arland games have their very unique charm and atmosphere .. that simply couldn't be reproduced after. Though, they do come with the time limits .. so in order to experience it all .. a guide is almost necessary unless you like the try/fail/repeat type of thing. Rorona was also my first Platinum trophy and the game that kind of got me into the Atelier series (ignoring the PS2 era here, because .. that was kind of a different thing altogether). Also .. Totori despite her weak and clumsy appearance is paired with honestly a very savage personality. Ever so often she makes a lot of remarks that hit right into the weak mental areas of other characters. She is kind of an expert bully that knows to hide that well. Made me smirk quite a few times.
37:00 don't forget "the final solution" as a story mission Lulua is easily my favorite though, I handled the alchemy despite it being my first game so yeah it's kino
I played through the Arland Trilogy last year and I just finished the fourth Arland game 'Atelier Lulua' last week. It's so nice to see the evolution of the Alchemy systems, handling of time limits and returning characters. These games are a definition of a 'feel-good game' with beautiful art design, music and heartwarming and funny dialogues. And yes, I took a while to get into 'Atelier Totori' too especially after playing the Plus version of 'Atelier Rorona'. I think out of the first 3 games 'Atelier Meruru' was my favourite, but that was partly because of character comebacks and tweaks to the systems. 'Atelier Lulua' gave me that nostalgic 'remake' feeling and brought the characters from Arland to a modern age and expanded the lore, the world and brought everything together to a satisfying end... Although I think the Arland games have amazing characters that could be used for more games in the future.
One change between Rorona amd the other games that you kinda glossed over: you have to hire people using money in Rorona, until you basically finish their events. They got rid of that as of Totori.
The price to hire astrid lol, I don't exactly remember but its kinda sucks you have to pay cordelia too lmao, i mean she's your frieeeend ahaha, or maybe im wrong and shes free , idk. Atelier before rorona except iris and MK also require you to hire and pay people sincr most are mercs. In marie only her childhood friend is free and shes pathetic as fuck, even weaker than Marie.
Before I even watch the video, from someone who has yet to touch an Atelier game-yet from screenshots, character/art design, tone and vibes alone the Arland games always stood out to me as my favorite. If I were to choose my favorite looking Atelier era it would be the Arland games!
Atelier Arland Games are my first Atelier games, i already played all of them. Here's my impressions from what i remember feel. I played it on PC. Atelier Rorona, at first the game have slow pace with the time limit available but when in middle end game the pace suddenly increased with more area unlocked. Overall ok game. Atelier Totori, this game, i don't like or hate the game. The story only interesting for me when Totori go into Snow area and that i instant remember why Totori got into Adventure. Atelier Meruru, i like the game the gathering easier, time limit ok, Meruru likeable character. The battle i always bring Esty she's great, the OST i really like the Forest Dance, the Alchemy improve from previous game. I forgot what ending i get. Atelier Lulua i bought the game with Meruru and Totori DLC, i like the game, Lulua is likeable MC. The story is good. The alchemy system, i will say this is one of alchemy system in Atelier games that i really like it, easy to understand at least for me. Great video, watching it made me realize some aspect of the game that i don't know.
I started playing the Arland trilogy soon after finishing the Dusk trilogy (my first and favorite atelier experience), it took some time for me to get comfortable with some of the old mechanics (mp consumption for crafting caught me off guard lol), but after a delightful time (and a REALLY hard time getting Totori to work on PC since the game decided to crash every now and then, making the first atelier that I had to mod it to play it). I can say that the Arland trilogy is indeed underrated. Such a heartwarming and enjoyable journey that is.
The Arland trilogy has always been my favorite out of the Atelier series, although I played them in a weird order, I played Meruru first, Totori second, and Rorona Plus last, I didn't realize they were part of the same trilogy when I got Meruru (I only had enough to purchase one game during a sale, and I wanted some more games for my Vita at the time). At the time, I don't think Rorona Plus was out yet, so the only other game I could get at the time on the Vita was Totori, and later on Rorona Plus released so I got that. Loved all of those games from their characters and the artstyle, trying to be as efficient as I could with time, the music (of course for a GUST game), the crafting system, and honestly I enjoyed the combat quite a lot too. Meruru is still my favorite with how you build up the kingdom. Also wow does that game have a lot of endings... I've still only gotten one of the many different endings so far. I played Lulua a bit later, and it's been really fun to revisit Arland and Arls, of course that one I have yet to finish yet, but I've enjoyed what I've played of it so far.
Atelier Rorona was the second game in the Atelier series for me to completely adore. Thanks TKN for letting me relive one of my gamer memories and also encouraging me to play the rest in the series!
I actually started with Totori of all things, because I heard about Rorona having problems and Plus wasn't yet. Despite its challenge, i fell in love with the character-focused plot. Plus you had DLC that let you replace any song in the game with any other song from previous Gust games. They severely limited that feature in the series as time went on, which makes me sad, but it's still good.
The only Arland series that I've played are Rorona, despite get a bad ending and Lulua. Also, for real though, Lulua's difficulty spike is no jokes, I get wiped out numerous times in the bonus gathering area that you can unlock from alchemyriddle. The alchemy in Lulua is the one of most satisfying alchemy system on the series after Sophie 2, L&S, Shallie and Ryza although I wished they keep the pair system from L&S for the battle system.
the Arland trilogy was what got me back into Atelier after a long, LONG time of waiting for a new title after Mana Khemia 2. Thank you for covering the series, it was much deserved! PS: I share you preference of Meruru's OST being awesome. Very Mana Khemia vibes imho. Will you also be covering Mana KHemia as well?
I'm not sure if this was only in the DX version, but IIRC in Rorona, you could fail your main task once. Sterk gives you one more chance in the next task. If you fail that one, too, that's when you get the game over.
Rorona was the first game in the series I have ever played, and I have been slowly getting them all since, I am missing the Iris Trilogy, the second mana khemia, Escha & Logy and Shallie though... and of course the older ones like Marie
Ah, great video man, Really glad you enjoyed your time with Arland! Totori is my favourite protagonist across the series and agree that among Dusk, Totori has one of the best stories. Speaking of music, not sure if you would of heard it as I think only one special boss has it, Flash Frost from the Atelier Rorona Arrange cd is incredible.
I did, and it was great! Rorona had solid songs within it but I just think as a collective it's not as strong as the ones I've seen before or indeed the other Arland games.
@TheKisekiNut Oh awesome. For sure, I can definitely agree with that. For me, I think Shallie and the Ryza series had the most songs that I really enjoyed but as you said, there's solid and amazing tracks across the series and I definitely have favourites from each game, especially Arland.
The time limit broke the first game for me in the end. Somewhere quite far into the game there was a sudden spike in difficulty as the item to be created did need certain ingredients... only available in a dungeon where I was pummeled into returning to the atelier even in easy fights. And I was so far behind that I was unable to catch up in levels and equipment... things I could go through everything before that dungeon.
The issue with the series is how hard it is to get into it. The games cost almost full price even years after release and despite having outdated graphics at times. They are spread across platforms and they're mostly trilogies or duologies. The issue here is coupled with the price - if I love the games, great, more fantastic games and I'll pay the price to see the continuation. If I merely like the game, I still want to keep playing but now I'm looking at paying a huge sum for the other 1-2 games as well. That's what's keeping me from trying out Atelier and I don't want to pirate games either and then 'have to' replay the legit copy on Steam.
Yea put me from playing the Ryza 2 and 3 cause I don't want to pay full price even with loving the 1st game. And really it is also cause I just have quite a few JRPG on my backlog to care to buy a newer JRPG at full price or on minor discounts like they do for these games.
That' s the biggest issue with Koei tecmo games, they never go down in price digitally. Physical versions if you are lucky you can find them at less, but they become rarer as time pass of course
Havent played Rorona or Totori yet but I have beaten Meruru a few times and its definitely one of my favourites of the series and what I played of Lulua so far I have enjoyed
Great video. I really love the atelier games. I'm also thinking about getting the arland trilogy games for the nintendo switch too. I'll start with atelier totori first since she's my favorite protagonist in the atelier series, then I'll get atelier rorona and meruru and atelier lulua later on.
Plan to play them someday. Was put off by the time limits at first but after playing entries like Firis and Marie don’t think they’re that much of an issue.
The only one where it's an issue is Totori, and that ended up being my favourite. I'm a person who hates time limits normally, so I'd like to think if I can get through it then others can too.
Great video, Totori is my favorite of the original trilogy and personally I thought the true ending was worse than the character ending with Mimi I got when I played the PS3 version so it's good you didn't waste your time with that. I thought that the True Ending actively tried to sabotage what Totori went through on her journey and doesn't do enough for me to make it worth it. Even though they do spoil what happens with that ending in Meruru in passing, I'm fine with the casual mention of "oh yeah, remember that thing from the last game? a Wizard fixed it" I actually think that's a funnier way and more in character way to deal with it anyway. Also, thumbs up for the Resleriana trash talk.
The Arland games have always been my favorite subseries. They are sooo good. I do think Escha & Logy is the best single game in the franchise, the Dusk trilogy as a whole doles not hold up to Arland. On the DX versions - I actually don't think it makes much difference for Totori or Meruru, but Rorona does play quite a bit different. It looks better, but at least in my opinion much harder. I think this is where your observation that Totori has less QOL features, since Totori didn't get all the upgrades that Rorona did. Regardless, Totori was my favorite until I played E&L many years later. I'm curious what ending you were going for in Totori? If you went for the true ending and only had to restart twice, I am very impressed. I was never able to when I was younger, despite getting all other endings and trying specifically for true ending at least half a dozen times.
I didn't get the true ending, I got one of the character endings. The true ending was a bit too involved for me, so I just watched it on YT once I finished.
I tried the Arland games, but I found that Rorona and Totori just... made it too hard to tell if you were doing well or not. The timeline is too long and the goal too big with no real 'check points' to give you any guidance to know how you're doing. That lack of ability to tell how my progress was really made me lose interest around halfway through. When I realized I was about halfway through my time in Totori and had no idea if I was 10%, 20%, 50%, or 75% of the way done my overall objective... I stopped wanting to put time into it. That being said, I don't necessarily think they're bad because of that... just that lack of any way to monitor progress made it really hard for me, personally, to get engaged. The Dusk series is my personal favourite, and I doubt that will ever change. Escha/Logy and Shallie are absolutely masterful - the best pacing, the best crafting, and the best casts in the series.
I managed to buy the trilogy recently thanks to sales, which honestly only seems to happen once in a blue moon when it comes to this franchise, so I pounced on it.
Its been a while since i played the arland series my favorite is totori since its the only one that i got the platinum for but the time constraints in trying to do it in 1 playthrough is really strict
I binged the Arland series right after the Mysterious series (+ Ryza 1 and 2) and needless to say, I got seriously burned out by the end of it all 😂 my favourite is still the Mysterious series just simply because of the characters. Arland had great simplicity though and I actually really enjoyed the time limits. I did try to get into Lulua last year but for some reason it’s the ONLY Atelier game that gave me a pretty bad motion sickness. Had to drop it halfway and sell off my game unfortunately.
I agree people who started with the Iris Trilogy and Mana Khemia didn't like them at the time for not being like the PS2 games without knowing they were the black sheep. The fans of the Dusk, Mysterious and Ryza games weite them off because they "aged poorly".
I did enjoy Tortori's dreadful time limits and was both pleased and disappointed when other games were easier for better and worse. :) With the Atelier series I always go in not expecting much from things like its combat system, but am often left quite pleased with the depth it has, even in the spin-off that was Nelke which had a trailer that made said combat look like garbage, which turned out to be enjoyable.
These games look kinda cute but not for me. I am glad you had a good time though. The time limit is the main reason why I never got Majoras Mask for the 3DS. I just can't deal with playing a game while having a giant clock looming over my head. This is also my main reason for not getting that Genealogy strategy war game you hate so much. Not the grinding or length. No, my problem is the super strict time limit looming over your head for when you want the true ending. But these games do look kinda fun. I just prefer Fire Emblem and other RPGs. I hope you do enjoy the other games and am glad you are having a fun time. I really need to play Ys 6, but I am having stomach issues and prefer to play games while not having stomach issues. I am only 4 hours in so far. I need to grind more. For better swords. And to counter act bio terrorism. I do think Bio terrorism is fun though. I wonder if Atelier lets you do Bio terrorism? It would be fun if that was possible. Bio terrorism rules. And by that, I mean poison. I wish you a very fun weekend.
I enjoy the first 3 arland games enough not nearly enough as iris or mana kehmia. Never got around to lulua and honestly not interested in that or the atelier series since im burnt out and waiting for a huge overall change to hit the series before going back
Arland games are a completely different animal: they are time management strategic games. After all the notorious "first otome game" was also in reality a strategic game for girls and not an otome and in my op. the atelier series originally follows in the same vein of Angelique (also Koei Tecmo!). In Alan u also have disgaea-ish sense of humour.. the lesbian mistress in Rorona trying to hit on any young girl including a ghost... the self realisation story instead of the saving da world trope... All these traits have progressively been stripped off and that was the price to pay for bringing these niche games to the masses. Atelier games today are average JRPGs with a sprinkle of pastel colour on top.
Originally I knew of the atelier series but it wasn't on my radar* what brought me back to the series was the Ryza release (do I need to elaborate, enough said 😂) But back during the early 2010s when I was trying different animes, I did stumble upon a anime know as "Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky" (and I watch it, not being aware that the anime was a adaption of a atelier game turn into a anime) Heck I though it was the male character who was the protagonist of that series, but he only shares half of the spotlight, and the part regarding alchemy was kinda looked over/skim through) So I do appreciate that there are reviews about the other atelier games, on your channel, plus you even break down the gameplay of all the atelier games (Ryza excluded) ty for that
I'd like to pick these up, but I'm primarily a physical collector. I've bought the DX Dusk and Mysterious trilogies for switch from Play Asia. It looks like the only option for physical right now is to hunt down the PS3 versions?
Arland is too timelimited for me (I hate to be time-limited), except for Atelier Lulua which is fantastic game. I finished all the games from Dusk arc (all three games included) to lastest Secret arc included. In Atelier Ayesha I can't get good ending, the game gives too tight timelimit I never fit in. My favourite arcs are Dusk and Secret. Mysterious is a mixbag, and Arland... there's only Lulua playable for me.
I didn't play the Arland series at all because I read about the strict time limits and avoided it (I'm not very good at the game). I ended up starting with Ayesha instead
I started my journey with Atelier some time ago, starting with Arland games. I'm on Sophie now and to be honest, there is certain something in Arland games that is missing. I appreciate new mechanics and systems but while I breezed through Arland and Dusk trilogies it takes me months to complete Sophie simply because I don't really want to play that game. It just bores me to tears. The only thing that always bothered me about Arland trilogy are those clearly sexual jokes that the games are full of. It just feels weird to see the blacksmith asking a 13-year-old girl for pictures of hers in a new outfit. Like... what is he going to do with those pictures exactly? I'm glad that these kind of jokes are not present in later titles (at least I haven't encountered any of them up to Sophie). I think Totori may be my favourite atelier game so far. I just wish they updated it to Meruru standards just like Rorona was.
Also I didn't realise that there was a feature making totori fall lol mist the time I just kept making her say barrel 😂, I was surprised when I started playing sophie 1 that I got a trophy for it😂
Time limit really push people back imo. I remember i put down rorona for a year before trying it again end endrd up liking it AFTER playing ayesha. Arland is my favorite due to some reasons, its 2d sprite is adorable and for me, simply better than what they did in ayesha and forward games. The 3d models rather suck imo, even in sophie 3 and ryza 3, it still isnt better imo, only minor improvements, i think thr ability to see your dlc outfit outweigh the use of 2d sprite i guess. 2d art makes the character more expressive and less stiff imo, vibrant too. The crafting system of arland game is so simple and i love it, all you need is pp and level and knowledge to transfer your properties, no minigame whatsoever, others are great but i like simple things more since end game crafting are less tedious. Items arent omnipotent and fighters are reliable. In term of combat gameplay, arland isnt exactly stellar, but engaging enough, however what i like about it is your non alchemist characters arent inferior to the alchemist with their items, and items arent omnipotent that able to one shot anything. Compared to other series, like dusk except ayesha, mysterious and ryza, items are stupidly powerful. Fighters often useless and more like a support role. The worst offender is atelier lulua where fighters are near useless ind end game with charisma difficulty. It is not a deal breaker, but i liie using flashy skills more rather than one shot anything.
Man, i’m not gonna lie, Totori’s time limits almost made me quit the game. I didn’t but i didn’t get a decent ending either. Gonna go back to it one day with hopefully a better understanding for how it all works. Haven’t played Meruru yet but i think the same approach will be needed. Loved Rorona because it was easier to manage the time limit. Otherwise agree with everything you said, at their core they’re wonderful games.
Meruru is a lot easier than Totori’s time limits. It’s actually more similar to Rorona than Totori. The only thing you need to keep note of is that you cannot get the true ending without doing NG+.
Gameplay wise, Meruru is by far the best game of the arland series, with the best combat system, the best character progression including the best alchemy system and the most rewarding exploration in terms of material gathering, while Rorona probably had the best story and the most interesting characters and world, it was probably the weakest game in terms of gameplay
I doubt you'd have a chance to hear this on a first playthrough, so listen to Flash Frost and try to say that Atelier Rorona has underwhelming music again.
Gonna be honest I disagree with you on this one. Aside from Lulua, these games have a very basic and boring alchemy and a basic and boring combat system. Not to mention some questionable and intolerable side characters..... You know who I mean. The time management alone is not enough to carry them at least imo. Now Lulua is a different story, its one of the best atelier games I've ever played right next to Sophie 2
Sorry, but I only want a *remake* of 2 Atelier games, being *Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana (PS2)* and *Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny (PS2).* Why? Because I prefer a *male protagonist as main character* and also ever since then the series turned into a *cringy feminist fan service franchise* and I turned away ever since then.
Atelier always had female protagonists ever since the first couple of games. The PS2 games were the exceptions, not the rule. I do think they’re cool for having male protagonists, but the series didn’t ‘turn into’ anything; it was always this way.
Atelier Rorona was the second game in the Atelier series for me to completely adore. Thanks TKN for letting me relive one of my gamer memories and also encouraging me to play the rest in the series!
I'm so glad you mentioned the lack of QoL features missing between Rorona and Totori, it was a massive surprise when I got through the games. It's also interesting how people tend to say Rorona is the hardest game in the Arland series with each entry getting easier when in my opinion I found Totori to be the hardest. Although Rorona has a strict time limit, if you do end up failing your assignment, you can always just restart from the beginning of said assignment. But Totori on the other hand, if you fall behind you more or less gotta start from the beginning. I know Gust wanted Totori to feel like a wandering adventurer not bound by an atelier, but to me it's a game where a guide is almost mandatory.
Totori will likely remain the hardest game I'll play in the series. Very tight timing at points if you want certain endings, but very satisfying too.
I almost got the good end in Totoori, I missed out by one day. I didn't have enough powerful items for the tower boss at the end.
I think rorona is harder due to structured time limit style rather than free exploring style like totori and meruru. In rorona, although you cant get lost easily as totori, you are rather restricted and need to plan your journey much better since you can't rush your story to get shoes and gloves to reduce your time spent and most player didnt know what to do with the rest of the time after completing the main assignment, but in totori As long as you're not greedy and not mindlessly gathering and attacking shit, totori is rather easy imo, just frequently save your game and plan your journey better and get tools to reduce your time when traveling asap, and you have tons of times to explore and craft the best gear. I didnt use guide and although i didnt greedy and saved frequently, i still waste a lot of time since I didn't know i have to build a ship asap. Even then i still able to kill every superboss with my near ultimate equipment and items in my first playthrough. I only use guide when it comes to character events and ended up getting mimi ending. I didnt bother to get best ending since tye requirements is too complicated unlike rorona or meruru, but i did get every character ending requirements except Cecilia's.
I agree with the lack of qol in totori compared to rorona lol, i was surprised but then i realizef its similar what happened to god eater.
Rorona plus is a remake and released after totori, thats why rorona is closer to meruru when it comes to qol.
God eater resurrection is a remake of god eater 1 and released after god eater 2 rage burst, so initially, i was surprised and confused why some mechanic are gone in GE2RB compared to GERm
I actually become a gust fan because of their PS2 games library 🥲
Atelier Iris, Mana Khemia and Ar Tonelico series are among my most cherished gaming memories.
Same here, I was perplexed when I played Sophie (didnt play arland and dusk series because I didnt have a PS3) then I found out the PS2 series are considered the black sheep of the series by Japanese fans
Me too, I also played atelier iris 2 &3 on the ps2 back when i was younger and i also played mana khemia but i never really played ar tonelico before. I also love the atelier games too.
Similar experience, Mana Khemia in particular to me was special :"
The whole reason I'm playing the atelier series still are the Mana Khemia, Atelier Iris and Ar Tonellico series... In fact I considder the Arland series as a bit of a black sheep due to the missing QoL and lowered focus on the combat xD (I also kinda miss being able to make Super-Uni's some 7 days into the game xD) To this day I can still recall the shrill shrieks of Amalgam when played with J-VA's... I swear; the howl of that thing will haunt my dreams
I haven't laughed so hard in a long time at 30:00 - 30:15 or so. I thought the jokes were over because the voice-over started back up but then RPG out of nowhere.
The Arland games are some of my favourite among the franchise and you've done a good explaining why that is. Not only is Lulua my personal number 1 Atelier game but my 2nd favourite game of all time. I delved deep into the alchemy, creating some unforgettable traits. One of which did this: 50% instant kill/ 50% critical hit. Totori is still one my favourite protagonists among those in the franchise, honestly the Arland quartet cemented my love for the franchise as a whole.
Fully agree .. the arland games have their very unique charm and atmosphere .. that simply couldn't be reproduced after. Though, they do come with the time limits .. so in order to experience it all .. a guide is almost necessary unless you like the try/fail/repeat type of thing.
Rorona was also my first Platinum trophy and the game that kind of got me into the Atelier series (ignoring the PS2 era here, because .. that was kind of a different thing altogether).
Also .. Totori despite her weak and clumsy appearance is paired with honestly a very savage personality. Ever so often she makes a lot of remarks that hit right into the weak mental areas of other characters. She is kind of an expert bully that knows to hide that well. Made me smirk quite a few times.
If only the price is lowered id be glad to buy all the series..it quite expensive in my country
There’s a Koei Tecmo sale right now on Steam and the trilogy is currently 50% off
I recommend them (obviously), but they do go on sale at certain points of the year.
@@DulyDullahan they racked up prices in many regions up to 400-1000%, so 50% discount doesn't help at all (((
Waiting for your review of The Dusk Trilogy 😊
37:00 don't forget "the final solution" as a story mission
Lulua is easily my favorite though, I handled the alchemy despite it being my first game so yeah it's kino
'hah, what wimp' killed me
I played through the Arland Trilogy last year and I just finished the fourth Arland game 'Atelier Lulua' last week. It's so nice to see the evolution of the Alchemy systems, handling of time limits and returning characters. These games are a definition of a 'feel-good game' with beautiful art design, music and heartwarming and funny dialogues. And yes, I took a while to get into 'Atelier Totori' too especially after playing the Plus version of 'Atelier Rorona'. I think out of the first 3 games 'Atelier Meruru' was my favourite, but that was partly because of character comebacks and tweaks to the systems. 'Atelier Lulua' gave me that nostalgic 'remake' feeling and brought the characters from Arland to a modern age and expanded the lore, the world and brought everything together to a satisfying end... Although I think the Arland games have amazing characters that could be used for more games in the future.
This is definitely going to be the next chunk of my Atelier journey when I get back to the series.
One change between Rorona amd the other games that you kinda glossed over: you have to hire people using money in Rorona, until you basically finish their events. They got rid of that as of Totori.
Didn't really see it as too important personally, but they did make a running joke out of it for the rest of the series.
The price to hire astrid lol,
I don't exactly remember but its kinda sucks you have to pay cordelia too lmao, i mean she's your frieeeend ahaha, or maybe im wrong and shes free , idk.
Atelier before rorona except iris and MK also require you to hire and pay people sincr most are mercs. In marie only her childhood friend is free and shes pathetic as fuck, even weaker than Marie.
Meruru was my first Ateliers game (It was the one the library had, not my fault). And it was he game that got me addicted to the series as a whole.
I'm playing this series right now! Loved Rorona, and I'm loving Totori also! Very good games!
Before I even watch the video, from someone who has yet to touch an Atelier game-yet from screenshots, character/art design, tone and vibes alone the Arland games always stood out to me as my favorite. If I were to choose my favorite looking Atelier era it would be the Arland games!
You posted this just after I started Atelier Rorona and I've been having so much fun, I recommend it
I never played the first three Arland games, but I loved Lulua. The characters were so funny and cute and the gameplay was really good.
I only played the Mana Khemia games and liked them both. Had no idea it was part of the Atelier series until way later.
Atelier Arland Games are my first Atelier games, i already played all of them. Here's my impressions from what i remember feel. I played it on PC.
Atelier Rorona, at first the game have slow pace with the time limit available but when in middle end game the pace suddenly increased with more area unlocked. Overall ok game.
Atelier Totori, this game, i don't like or hate the game. The story only interesting for me when Totori go into Snow area and that i instant remember why Totori got into Adventure.
Atelier Meruru, i like the game the gathering easier, time limit ok, Meruru likeable character. The battle i always bring Esty she's great, the OST i really like the Forest Dance, the Alchemy improve from previous game. I forgot what ending i get.
Atelier Lulua i bought the game with Meruru and Totori DLC, i like the game, Lulua is likeable MC. The story is good. The alchemy system, i will say this is one of alchemy system in Atelier games that i really like it, easy to understand at least for me.
Great video, watching it made me realize some aspect of the game that i don't know.
I’ve bought several games I only beat 4 so far two out of the 3 Arland games and I beat the first two Riza games and I love this series.
Finally someone to point this out. Arland is absolutely my favourite Atelier saga, it has everything.
I started playing the Arland trilogy soon after finishing the Dusk trilogy (my first and favorite atelier experience), it took some time for me to get comfortable with some of the old mechanics (mp consumption for crafting caught me off guard lol), but after a delightful time (and a REALLY hard time getting Totori to work on PC since the game decided to crash every now and then, making the first atelier that I had to mod it to play it). I can say that the Arland trilogy is indeed underrated. Such a heartwarming and enjoyable journey that is.
The Arland trilogy has always been my favorite out of the Atelier series, although I played them in a weird order, I played Meruru first, Totori second, and Rorona Plus last, I didn't realize they were part of the same trilogy when I got Meruru (I only had enough to purchase one game during a sale, and I wanted some more games for my Vita at the time). At the time, I don't think Rorona Plus was out yet, so the only other game I could get at the time on the Vita was Totori, and later on Rorona Plus released so I got that. Loved all of those games from their characters and the artstyle, trying to be as efficient as I could with time, the music (of course for a GUST game), the crafting system, and honestly I enjoyed the combat quite a lot too. Meruru is still my favorite with how you build up the kingdom. Also wow does that game have a lot of endings... I've still only gotten one of the many different endings so far.
I played Lulua a bit later, and it's been really fun to revisit Arland and Arls, of course that one I have yet to finish yet, but I've enjoyed what I've played of it so far.
Atelier Rorona was the second game in the Atelier series for me to completely adore.
Thanks TKN for letting me relive one of my gamer memories and also encouraging me to play the rest in the series!
Have the whole quatrology, and I still need to play any of them.
I actually started with Totori of all things, because I heard about Rorona having problems and Plus wasn't yet. Despite its challenge, i fell in love with the character-focused plot. Plus you had DLC that let you replace any song in the game with any other song from previous Gust games. They severely limited that feature in the series as time went on, which makes me sad, but it's still good.
The only Arland series that I've played are Rorona, despite get a bad ending and Lulua. Also, for real though, Lulua's difficulty spike is no jokes, I get wiped out numerous times in the bonus gathering area that you can unlock from alchemyriddle. The alchemy in Lulua is the one of most satisfying alchemy system on the series after Sophie 2, L&S, Shallie and Ryza although I wished they keep the pair system from L&S for the battle system.
the Arland trilogy was what got me back into Atelier after a long, LONG time of waiting for a new title after Mana Khemia 2. Thank you for covering the series, it was much deserved!
PS: I share you preference of Meruru's OST being awesome. Very Mana Khemia vibes imho. Will you also be covering Mana KHemia as well?
I'm not sure if this was only in the DX version, but IIRC in Rorona, you could fail your main task once. Sterk gives you one more chance in the next task. If you fail that one, too, that's when you get the game over.
Rorona was the first game in the series I have ever played, and I have been slowly getting them all since, I am missing the Iris Trilogy, the second mana khemia, Escha & Logy and Shallie though... and of course the older ones like Marie
Played Rorona on my PS3 and loved it. Would like to play Lulua, but the whole series is still very expensive in my country.
Ah, great video man, Really glad you enjoyed your time with Arland! Totori is my favourite protagonist across the series and agree that among Dusk, Totori has one of the best stories. Speaking of music, not sure if you would of heard it as I think only one special boss has it, Flash Frost from the Atelier Rorona Arrange cd is incredible.
I did, and it was great! Rorona had solid songs within it but I just think as a collective it's not as strong as the ones I've seen before or indeed the other Arland games.
@TheKisekiNut Oh awesome. For sure, I can definitely agree with that. For me, I think Shallie and the Ryza series had the most songs that I really enjoyed but as you said, there's solid and amazing tracks across the series and I definitely have favourites from each game, especially Arland.
The time limit broke the first game for me in the end. Somewhere quite far into the game there was a sudden spike in difficulty as the item to be created did need certain ingredients... only available in a dungeon where I was pummeled into returning to the atelier even in easy fights. And I was so far behind that I was unable to catch up in levels and equipment... things I could go through everything before that dungeon.
I’m playing Totori on the Switch atm. It’s weird how much nicer Rorona DX looks graphically.
I very much liked the Iris and Mana Khemia series. Played them a long time ago on PS2 and PSP and recently on Vita and PCSX2
The issue with the series is how hard it is to get into it. The games cost almost full price even years after release and despite having outdated graphics at times. They are spread across platforms and they're mostly trilogies or duologies. The issue here is coupled with the price - if I love the games, great, more fantastic games and I'll pay the price to see the continuation. If I merely like the game, I still want to keep playing but now I'm looking at paying a huge sum for the other 1-2 games as well. That's what's keeping me from trying out Atelier and I don't want to pirate games either and then 'have to' replay the legit copy on Steam.
Yeah, the price is nuts and they never put their games on Plus or Game Pass. Destined to be niche forever.
Yea put me from playing the Ryza 2 and 3 cause I don't want to pay full price even with loving the 1st game.
And really it is also cause I just have quite a few JRPG on my backlog to care to buy a newer JRPG at full price or on minor discounts like they do for these games.
Yeah, I have the same issue with the Atelier games, they are too expensive even on sales.
That' s the biggest issue with Koei tecmo games, they never go down in price digitally. Physical versions if you are lucky you can find them at less, but they become rarer as time pass of course
Man I tried playing Ryza 1 and that jump feeling was just so bad I could not continue past the first 10 minutes
Havent played Rorona or Totori yet but I have beaten Meruru a few times and its definitely one of my favourites of the series and what I played of Lulua so far I have enjoyed
I'd really like to get stuck into the Atelier series, I think I'd really like it! Loved the video my dude 😎
Great video. I really love the atelier games. I'm also thinking about getting the arland trilogy games for the nintendo switch too. I'll start with atelier totori first since she's my favorite protagonist in the atelier series, then I'll get atelier rorona and meruru and atelier lulua later on.
Plan to play them someday. Was put off by the time limits at first but after playing entries like Firis and Marie don’t think they’re that much of an issue.
The only one where it's an issue is Totori, and that ended up being my favourite. I'm a person who hates time limits normally, so I'd like to think if I can get through it then others can too.
Great video, Totori is my favorite of the original trilogy and personally I thought the true ending was worse than the character ending with Mimi I got when I played the PS3 version so it's good you didn't waste your time with that. I thought that the True Ending actively tried to sabotage what Totori went through on her journey and doesn't do enough for me to make it worth it. Even though they do spoil what happens with that ending in Meruru in passing, I'm fine with the casual mention of "oh yeah, remember that thing from the last game? a Wizard fixed it" I actually think that's a funnier way and more in character way to deal with it anyway.
Also, thumbs up for the Resleriana trash talk.
The Arland games have always been my favorite subseries. They are sooo good. I do think Escha & Logy is the best single game in the franchise, the Dusk trilogy as a whole doles not hold up to Arland.
On the DX versions - I actually don't think it makes much difference for Totori or Meruru, but Rorona does play quite a bit different. It looks better, but at least in my opinion much harder. I think this is where your observation that Totori has less QOL features, since Totori didn't get all the upgrades that Rorona did. Regardless, Totori was my favorite until I played E&L many years later.
I'm curious what ending you were going for in Totori? If you went for the true ending and only had to restart twice, I am very impressed. I was never able to when I was younger, despite getting all other endings and trying specifically for true ending at least half a dozen times.
I didn't get the true ending, I got one of the character endings. The true ending was a bit too involved for me, so I just watched it on YT once I finished.
@@TheKisekiNut Ahhh okay, that makes sense.
Did you ever go to TH-cam and watch the NG+ scenes for Meruru? It's been a while but I remember that the scenes actually hit pretty hard.
I tried the Arland games, but I found that Rorona and Totori just... made it too hard to tell if you were doing well or not. The timeline is too long and the goal too big with no real 'check points' to give you any guidance to know how you're doing. That lack of ability to tell how my progress was really made me lose interest around halfway through. When I realized I was about halfway through my time in Totori and had no idea if I was 10%, 20%, 50%, or 75% of the way done my overall objective... I stopped wanting to put time into it.
That being said, I don't necessarily think they're bad because of that... just that lack of any way to monitor progress made it really hard for me, personally, to get engaged. The Dusk series is my personal favourite, and I doubt that will ever change. Escha/Logy and Shallie are absolutely masterful - the best pacing, the best crafting, and the best casts in the series.
How are you able to bomb those rocks at 3:14? I had to use Tera bombs 😂
I managed to buy the trilogy recently thanks to sales, which honestly only seems to happen once in a blue moon when it comes to this franchise, so I pounced on it.
Koei are pretty bad in regards to keeping the prices at top dollar pretty much 24/7.
Its been a while since i played the arland series my favorite is totori since its the only one that i got the platinum for but the time constraints in trying to do it in 1 playthrough is really strict
I binged the Arland series right after the Mysterious series (+ Ryza 1 and 2) and needless to say, I got seriously burned out by the end of it all 😂 my favourite is still the Mysterious series just simply because of the characters. Arland had great simplicity though and I actually really enjoyed the time limits. I did try to get into Lulua last year but for some reason it’s the ONLY Atelier game that gave me a pretty bad motion sickness. Had to drop it halfway and sell off my game unfortunately.
I agree people who started with the Iris Trilogy and Mana Khemia didn't like them at the time for not being like the PS2 games without knowing they were the black sheep. The fans of the Dusk, Mysterious and Ryza games weite them off because they "aged poorly".
mana khemia is my first atelier game,it got good main story. I like the twist
Totori's true end was really good, shame you missed out.
Thanks for the video!
I did enjoy Tortori's dreadful time limits and was both pleased and disappointed when other games were easier for better and worse. :)
With the Atelier series I always go in not expecting much from things like its combat system, but am often left quite pleased with the depth it has, even in the spin-off that was Nelke which had a trailer that made said combat look like garbage, which turned out to be enjoyable.
The games are on sale right now
Finally someone says it! i knew you would like them!
Are you gonna make a video about the dusk games?
These games look kinda cute but not for me. I am glad you had a good time though. The time limit is the main reason why I never got Majoras Mask for the 3DS. I just can't deal with playing a game while having a giant clock looming over my head. This is also my main reason for not getting that Genealogy strategy war game you hate so much. Not the grinding or length. No, my problem is the super strict time limit looming over your head for when you want the true ending. But these games do look kinda fun. I just prefer Fire Emblem and other RPGs. I hope you do enjoy the other games and am glad you are having a fun time. I really need to play Ys 6, but I am having stomach issues and prefer to play games while not having stomach issues. I am only 4 hours in so far. I need to grind more. For better swords. And to counter act bio terrorism. I do think Bio terrorism is fun though. I wonder if Atelier lets you do Bio terrorism? It would be fun if that was possible. Bio terrorism rules. And by that, I mean poison. I wish you a very fun weekend.
I’ll check the series out someday
Arland series, such beautiful games, when Atelier was still alive ._.
Aggressively sell water to afford the books from the shop 😂
I enjoy the first 3 arland games enough not nearly enough as iris or mana kehmia. Never got around to lulua and honestly not interested in that or the atelier series since im burnt out and waiting for a huge overall change to hit the series before going back
Arland games are a completely different animal: they are time management strategic games. After all the notorious "first otome game" was also in reality a strategic game for girls and not an otome and in my op. the atelier series originally follows in the same vein of Angelique (also Koei Tecmo!). In Alan u also have disgaea-ish sense of humour.. the lesbian mistress in Rorona trying to hit on any young girl including a ghost... the self realisation story instead of the saving da world trope... All these traits have progressively been stripped off and that was the price to pay for bringing these niche games to the masses. Atelier games today are average JRPGs with a sprinkle of pastel colour on top.
Originally I knew of the atelier series but it wasn't on my radar*
what brought me back to the series was the Ryza release (do I need to elaborate, enough said 😂)
But back during the early 2010s when I was trying different animes, I did stumble upon a anime know as "Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky" (and I watch it, not being aware that the anime was a adaption of a atelier game turn into a anime)
Heck I though it was the male character who was the protagonist of that series, but he only shares half of the spotlight, and the part regarding alchemy was kinda looked over/skim through)
So I do appreciate that there are reviews about the other atelier games, on your channel, plus you even break down the gameplay of all the atelier games (Ryza excluded)
ty for that
I'd like to pick these up, but I'm primarily a physical collector. I've bought the DX Dusk and Mysterious trilogies for switch from Play Asia. It looks like the only option for physical right now is to hunt down the PS3 versions?
There were dx physical versions for vita but low print runs make them very expensive
Arland is too timelimited for me (I hate to be time-limited), except for Atelier Lulua which is fantastic game. I finished all the games from Dusk arc (all three games included) to lastest Secret arc included. In Atelier Ayesha I can't get good ending, the game gives too tight timelimit I never fit in.
My favourite arcs are Dusk and Secret. Mysterious is a mixbag, and Arland... there's only Lulua playable for me.
I didn't play the Arland series at all because I read about the strict time limits and avoided it (I'm not very good at the game). I ended up starting with Ayesha instead
They're really not as bad as people make them out to be outside of Totori. The rest of them are either lenient or have none at all.
Next the Dusk and mysterious Games pls
I did the Mysterious games a while back, Dusk is the only one left for me for the modern games.
I started my journey with Atelier some time ago, starting with Arland games. I'm on Sophie now and to be honest, there is certain something in Arland games that is missing. I appreciate new mechanics and systems but while I breezed through Arland and Dusk trilogies it takes me months to complete Sophie simply because I don't really want to play that game. It just bores me to tears.
The only thing that always bothered me about Arland trilogy are those clearly sexual jokes that the games are full of. It just feels weird to see the blacksmith asking a 13-year-old girl for pictures of hers in a new outfit. Like... what is he going to do with those pictures exactly? I'm glad that these kind of jokes are not present in later titles (at least I haven't encountered any of them up to Sophie).
I think Totori may be my favourite atelier game so far. I just wish they updated it to Meruru standards just like Rorona was.
Did u notice the funny thing with Pamela through the 3 games
Indeed, and Hagel. It was similar to the Mysterious games.
@TheKisekiNut still have to play the Mysterious saga. Still have to get my hands on a copy of lulua too
Also I didn't realise that there was a feature making totori fall lol mist the time I just kept making her say barrel 😂, I was surprised when I started playing sophie 1 that I got a trophy for it😂
Who are the two characters at the end supposed to be?
Time limit really push people back imo.
I remember i put down rorona for a year before trying it again end endrd up liking it AFTER playing ayesha.
Arland is my favorite due to some reasons, its 2d sprite is adorable and for me, simply better than what they did in ayesha and forward games. The 3d models rather suck imo, even in sophie 3 and ryza 3, it still isnt better imo, only minor improvements, i think thr ability to see your dlc outfit outweigh the use of 2d sprite i guess. 2d art makes the character more expressive and less stiff imo, vibrant too.
The crafting system of arland game is so simple and i love it, all you need is pp and level and knowledge to transfer your properties, no minigame whatsoever, others are great but i like simple things more since end game crafting are less tedious.
Items arent omnipotent and fighters are reliable. In term of combat gameplay, arland isnt exactly stellar, but engaging enough, however what i like about it is your non alchemist characters arent inferior to the alchemist with their items, and items arent omnipotent that able to one shot anything.
Compared to other series, like dusk except ayesha, mysterious and ryza, items are stupidly powerful. Fighters often useless and more like a support role. The worst offender is atelier lulua where fighters are near useless ind end game with charisma difficulty. It is not a deal breaker, but i liie using flashy skills more rather than one shot anything.
Man, i’m not gonna lie, Totori’s time limits almost made me quit the game. I didn’t but i didn’t get a decent ending either. Gonna go back to it one day with hopefully a better understanding for how it all works. Haven’t played Meruru yet but i think the same approach will be needed. Loved Rorona because it was easier to manage the time limit. Otherwise agree with everything you said, at their core they’re wonderful games.
Meruru is a lot easier than Totori’s time limits. It’s actually more similar to Rorona than Totori. The only thing you need to keep note of is that you cannot get the true ending without doing NG+.
Totori is the hardest one I've played, and that's for all Atelier games not just Arland. Meruru is quite lenient and Lulua has no time limit at all.
I was never able to complete even Rorona. I don’t know what’s underrated there, to be honest.
Gameplay wise, Meruru is by far the best game of the arland series, with the best combat system, the best character progression including the best alchemy system and the most rewarding exploration in terms of material gathering, while Rorona probably had the best story and the most interesting characters and world, it was probably the weakest game in terms of gameplay
I doubt you'd have a chance to hear this on a first playthrough, so listen to Flash Frost and try to say that Atelier Rorona has underwhelming music again.
I did, I still think it's underwhelming as a whole compared to the others.
No, no, no, no, no, no ... noooooo! Seriously: You can't do this! 😪
How long should my »pile of shame« become?🥴😉
for real
Gonna be honest I disagree with you on this one. Aside from Lulua, these games have a very basic and boring alchemy and a basic and boring combat system. Not to mention some questionable and intolerable side characters..... You know who I mean. The time management alone is not enough to carry them at least imo. Now Lulua is a different story, its one of the best atelier games I've ever played right next to Sophie 2
Sorry, but I only want a *remake* of 2 Atelier games, being *Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana (PS2)* and *Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny (PS2).*
Why? Because I prefer a *male protagonist as main character* and also ever since then the series turned into a *cringy feminist fan service franchise* and I turned away ever since then.
in other words, you are not open minded
"Feminist fun service"
Ahah, man...
Mfw Ryza’s peak proportions were supposed to appeal to feminists all along: 🤯
Ah yes, feminist fan service, the best kind of fanservice.
Atelier always had female protagonists ever since the first couple of games. The PS2 games were the exceptions, not the rule. I do think they’re cool for having male protagonists, but the series didn’t ‘turn into’ anything; it was always this way.
Atelier Rorona was the second game in the Atelier series for me to completely adore.
Thanks TKN for letting me relive one of my gamer memories and also encouraging me to play the rest in the series!