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It feels like every time I talk about a game in Gust’s Atelier series, it comes down
to the same three points: There’s a whole lot of blushing anime girls in moderately
suggestive situations, the gameplay emphasises item collection and time management while
relegating RPG action to the sidelines, and there’s not much difference between this
and its sequels. So if clamboring about the countryside, finding interesting bits of grass,
and bringing them home to pitch into a cauldron so you can make a cannon or some pie or something,
all while suffering a massive blood rush to the head because your teacher made a pass
at you sounds like your cup of alchemically-synthesized tea, then you can thank Jerid in Missouri
for donating this... tea.
I might be oversimplifying, but then again, this is a pretty simple game, all told. The
RPG side of it, anyway. The alchemy system’s a melange of quality values, traits, subclassifications,
and item collecting that comprises the bulk of the “Game” here. As the eponymous Rorona
(which is short for something longer and even more ridiculous), you’re living the easy
life, being the moe plaything of a delinquent alchemist... until some strapping young man
from the castle comes a’callin and informs you that the shop’s gonna get shut down
because no one in town likes you. Unfortunately, you can’t just Venkman him into using the
magic word, so your only recourse is to bend over backward, taking on assignments from
the bureaucracy until they deign to let you continue your business. And if that wasn’t
enough busywork, you can also take on fetch quests from the Office Of Fetchquesting (or
so it SHOULD be named) to try to rebuild the town’s faith and trust in you. Good freakin’
luck.
I know I sound kinda down on the whole enterprise here, but... honestly, I expect more. I happen
to know that you can do alchemy-heavy item crafting in the context of impressive, innovative
RPG mechanics and a compelling story. It was called Mana Khemia. Sure, it was in 2D and
reeked of Harry Potter. But it felt... substantive. Atelier Rorona’s biggest problem is that
it doesn’t really hook the player at all... it’s just fetch quests, enough innuendo
to make you uncomfortable at the cheezyness of it all, and the occasional reminder that
you have to spend time and effort making new weapons and armor that take you from “get
your *** handed to you” to “no contest.” But if you’re just looking for a study in
combinatorics, blushing, and DORE O TSUKAOU? Yeah. Put on your apron and you get to alchemy.
I, on the other hand, will be playing through Mana Khemia again.