Atelier Rorona

Chaunt about Atelier Rorona here.

Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland is the bloomin' eleventh (or the sixteenth, depending on how you bloody well number 'em) game in Gust's well-known Atelier and by Jove! has the game already been an astounding success. Being the first of the lot to sport 3d graphics (previous games were proud upholders of the sprite tradition), be on the chuffin' PlayStation 3 as well as returning to the series' good old-fashioned Item Crafting -based gameplay.

The tale takes place in the grand old Arland Kingdom, which has made astonishing leaps in technology with the advent of steam power, giving it a rather uncanny resemblence to Victorian Britain (and now you know why the entire bloomin' article's written this way. (Though there are some Japanese values thrown in, and none of the characters talk this way). We're introduced to a young lady named Rorona Frixell, an apprentice alchemist who happens to be rather lazy and ditzy, certainly not a proper example of an alchemist, I must say!

However one fine day a rather grim-looking fellow named Sterk arrives at her atelier and tells her that the government no longer believes alchemy to be that necessary to life anymore what with steam technology and all that show, and that the atelier will soon be closed down, bad show! However if Rorona's able to prove otherwise by completing certain important requests within a three-year period, then the shop may be allowed to stay open.

A sequel named Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland, featuring an all grown-up Rorona, came out in Japan in June 2010. But unfortunately, she won't be the main character again. That game is being followed up again by Atelier Meruru: The Alchemist of Arland 3, which has the distinction of being the best-reviewed Atelier title in over a decade (matching or beating numbers put up by the original trilogy).

You may find the game's proud old (Japanese) blog here.

Spot of tea pie, old chap?

Tropes used in Atelier Rorona include:

• Badass Cape: In blue and green flavors for Gio and Sterk, respectively. Gio's may qualify as more of a Badass Longcoat, however.
• BFS: Sterk's weapon-type of choice is a Scots-style claymore; these usually aren't quite as ridiculously huge as many examples in other games, but he does still favor weapons that are typically equal to his own height. This carries forward into both Totori and Meruru, and in Totori he also uses halberds at times.
• Brain Bleach: This is more or less Rorona's reaction upon finding out how homunculus is made.
• Cast from Hit Points: All special attacks are like this
• Chef of Iron: Iksel.
• Cooking Duel: Rorona vs. Iksel, as part of Iksel's character events.
• The Ditz: Rorona.
• Dub Name Change: Esty's name was changed from Esty Erhard (JP) to Esty Dee (everywhere else).
• Everyone Can See It: yes, Rorona and Sterk. Even Totori and Meruru can see it! Lampshaded by the bonus poster of the official novel.
• Foreshadowing: See You Watch Too Much X entry below, then guess what Sterk does in his final event.
• Fridge Logic: Putting a log, some mushrooms, and a jar of what looks like urine in a pot and stirring it for a day produces a fruit pie, pan and all.
• Friend to All Living Things: Tantris's introduction is a reference, and possibly a subversion since he's almost entirely unlike the average example of the trope.
• Gorgeous Period Dress: Based off of Victorian Britain. Not exactly accurate, but all the guys look dapper, and the girls are usually fantastically well-dressed.
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita: Practically every main female character in the game, with the possible exceptions of Astrid (who is rather too old to actually fall under the "lolita" banner) and Lionela (who is basically a street tramp).
• Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: Most people's reactions to seeing Sterk, Esty and Gio in promotional material for Atelier Meruru. Esty is nearly 40 now, and she still practically looks like a teenager. Sterk is about the same age and, while he looks a bit older, he's still hot enough to literally set fangirls on fire. As for Gio, he's decidedly older now, grey hair and all, but he's unquestionably the best-looking senior citizen you've ever seen.
  • It had (has) gotten to the point where numerous Japanese and English sites have people commenting everywhere on the odd effect time seems to have on people in the Atelier universe, aka the older you get, the hotter you get.
• Hyperactive Metabolism: Food and drinks can be consumed instantly as healing items. Also Iksel, who essentially feeds a party member a full meal in a matter of seconds as a healing ability.
• Improbable Weapon User: Half of the game's playable characters manage to avoid this, using swords, staves, knuckles and the like. The other half?... let's see, Lionela fights with puppets, Iksel uses a frying pan, and Gio is awesome enough to use a cane that doubles as a sword. That fills out the quota nicely.
• Item Crafting: It's an Atelier game, so the core mechanic returns. Rorona uses a system somewhat similar to that found in Atelier Violet but modified for ease-of-use.
• Likes Older Women: gender inverted example. Cordelia is very taken by the 48 year old Gio. To his credit, he finds this somewhat discomforting.
• Low Fantasy: The only "standard" element of low fantasy missing is the "grittiness". Atelier Rorona is as non-epic as a videogame can get, the setting is dominated completely by humanity ( in fact, a sidequest elaborates on how the traditional fairies of the Atelier universe feel incredibly threatened by Arland's technological advances), the "alchemy" is based on scientific principles, and the setting of the game is tightly confined to Arland City and its environs within no more than a week or two's march. This game brought the Atelier series back to its low fantasy roots in full.
• Mistaken for Cheating: Happens to Rorona's father when Hom introduces him/herself as Rorona's brother/sister.
• Multiple Endings: An absolutely mind-cracking number of them; three "base" good ends, plus extra end content for each character if you're on excellent terms with them. Plus the pie ending, plus the "adventurer" ending, and plus a few "bad ends".
• The Napoleon: Cordelia
• New Technology Is Evil: Applied to steam power, hilariously enough. The advent of steam-powered devices is what sets off the game's central crisis of proving that the atelier is still worth keeping open. Later on, there are hints that the technology left behind by the Precursors of the game may not be as benign as people assume it is.
• The Nicknamer: Whenever Rorona hears someone's name she immediately starts brainstorming possible nicknames.
• Ojou: Cordelia.
• Parental Abandonment: Played for Laughs to some extent with Rorona's parents. While Astrid may take a good care of Rorona, one has to wonder how her parents can go on so many trips without showing so much concern on her well-being.
• Put on a Bus: Some characters will be temporarily unavailable after their events.
  • Tantris, Gio, and Lionela are getting this treatment in Atelier Totori, although it's justified and explained in one of Rorona's events there.
  • Well, Gio's back in Meruru. And Lionela appears as a quick cameo in Meruru's opening. But it costs Cordelia and Iksel...
• Spell My Name with an "S": Rororina or Rorolina? Cuderia or Corderia? Yksel or Iksel? Astrid Zexes or Astrid Zexis? Tantoris or Tantris? And that's just the names!
• Schizo-Tech: A little bit, and justified by the backstory: the engineers of Arland have begun to comprehend the technology left behind in the ruins of an ancient civilization which dot the kingdom. This has generally led to the adoption of consistent steam technology at the start of the game, but there's still a few odd bits of high-technology that have been made to work in the city, such as the computerized bulletin board in the city square.
• Schmuck Bait: At one point in the game, Hom gives Rorona a bottle, on which surface is written not to open it. This is even lampshaded by Meredith if you follow the warning (which, of course, you really should).
• Steampunk: Of the "not really actually punk" variety, since Atelier rarely ever gets dark and gritty. Arland City is quite well steam-powered as the game opens, however, and the clothing! Goodness gracious, the clothing!
• Street Urchin: Lionela is a very rare female example of this trope. She starts the game out as a homeless street performer with only the (relatively ragged) clothes on her back and her puppets for company. She may or may not also be quite desperately insane as the game opens, as the puppets seem to be fully animated and speak to her and other people, Lionela treats them as separate conscious entities and you might think they are magical or something... and then you realize they don't move or speak when she isn't around. It's all a little whitewashed compared to the real Victorian examples, but it's still there prominently. The player can, of course, decide how much they wish to interact with Lionela and help her out of her situation.
• Stripperific: In a series noted for going back-and-forth on this a little, the characters in this one game are all over the place!
  • Rorona's skirt is a little... short, and her dress is a bit generous in the chest, but she isn't in a catsuit or anything. Lionela's outfit prominently displays her ample chest and bares her stomach, although this is part of the point; Lionela is a street performer and is basically a homeless tramp. She's dressed the way she is since that's practically all she could find, and she's not particularly proud of having to dress that way.
    • The early concepts for Rorona's design featured an outfit that was a good deal less "flattering" and somewhat more realistic for a young woman who often has to do some traveling and lab work - and the outfit was then continuously whittled down for sex appeal. They even took away her boots, in the end, in favor of showing more leg. It is worth noting, especially in regard to Rorona's redesign, that her "stripperific" qualities are almost certainly made to appeal to the girls who might play the game. The whole outfit was made pink, the knee-high adventurer boots with knee guards were replaced with short, stylish boots with lacy, frilly socks, the plunging neckline is, again, on a lacy blouse with a small black ribbon and several cute accessories. Combined with her hobby of baking and generally passive personality, she's obviously not designed to appeal to customers as an Action Girl.
  • The rest of the female characters are quite a bit more conservatively dressed - Cordelia and Astrid don't display any skin below the neckline, aside from their hands. Pamela's dress is a bit more flattering, but is of a style that was perfectly common in the 19th century.
  • And then of course there's the beach scene, which probably requires no further elaboration.
• Taking the Bullet: Sterk in his final event, which renders him out of commission for 80 days.
• Time Management Game: The game is kind of like playing an actual job, except in real life your boss doesn't live with you and molest you while you sleep.
• Trademark Favorite Food: As noted above, Rorona has a thing for pie (which of course leads to the fans making horrible jokes at her expense); there's even an ending that has her becoming the best pie chef in Arland.
• Trickster Mentor: Astrid.
• Underwater Ruins: Lost City. Like Deep Sea Ruins in Mana Khemia 2, you will need Air Drop to explore it.
• Victorian Britain: Obviously not actually Britain, but the architecture, technology and costume design clearly riff off of 19th-century British culture. The music also takes a ton of celtic cues, and Ken Nakagawa even used several legitimate celtic instruments in composing the music.
  • Notable in that this is a first for an Atelier title; most of Rorona's predecessors could be best described, perhaps, as "Renaissance European Fantasy".
  • Strangely enough, some of the names are (Pseudo-)German, though (the most noticeable being Cordelia von Feuerbach). There are even some items with German names, like "Zettel" and "Eiche".
• You Watch Too Much X: At one point, Rorona asks Sterk if knights like him do things like saving princess and slaying dragons, in which he replies that she reads too many fantasy books.