[PS3] Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland (2010)

Genre: RPG | Players: 1 | Developer: Gust

Atelier Totori is a rare sort of sequel. It feels familiar, while simultaneously feeling fresh and new, and manages to improve on an already great game in almost every way. Totori is set 5 years after Atelier Rorona, and puts players in the role of Totooria Helmold, a 12 year old girl who is the only person who has managed to learn alchemy from the scatterbrained Rorona.

Alchemy is obviously a big part of the title, but it's not Totori's primary goal. Instead, her dream is to become an adventurer and learn what became of her missing mother. Totori obtains an adventurer's license, and must gain points in order to "rank up" as an adventurer. These points can be obtained in a number of ways, from exploring to taking on dangerous monsters to crafting items. For a goal oriented gamer, the point system is incredibly fulfilling. There's always something to work towards, and always something to check off your list. The battle system is still a basic turn based one, but the alchemy system has become more complex, and crafting items is more exciting than ever. I probably wasted weeks of in-game time just building the most perfect bombs I could.

While Rorona's game was more about the characters than the plot, Totori's title has a simple, but genuinely intriguing story. It takes a lot of work to learn what happened to Totori's mother, but the answers are satisfying, especially if you put in the effort needed to obtain the true ending. Most of Rorona's main cast returns, and while they've all grown, they're still the same lovable, goofball characters they were in the last title. Sterk in particular is a delight, and a couple of his scenes had me laughing so hard I was in tears.

Totori is the second game in a trilogy, but players who've never played an Atelier title should be able to play this with minimal problems. Any important information is recapped for players, and the only thing players will really miss out on is appreciation of some of the jokes and character moments. While I'd recommend playing Rorona first, Totori is an excellent game and a great place to start.

Buyer’s Guide:
If you spot a used copy of this title at your local game shop, snatch it up. Gamestop sells it for about $20, and copies are pricier just about everywhere else. Your next best bet would be to purchase the game through the NISA store, which has it for $39.99 with free shipping.

4.5 bottles of liquor made with alchemy out of 5.

Golden Sun: The Lost Age (2003)

Genre: Role-playing | Players: 1-2 | Developer: Camelot

The Lost Age picks up where the last game left off, but you now play from the perspective of Felix whom you had been chasing in the first game. They now journey to light the remaining elemental lighthouses and restore the ancient force of Alchemy.

Gameplay is mostly unchanged from the first installment. Standard RPG fare enhanced with equip-able Djinn familiars. There are a few tweaks in that now there are equip-able items that can change your class, you can mix different elements of Djinn for new summons in addition to the old summons and this installment is quite a bit more non-linear. The previous game let you revisit locations and do some events out of order, but this one is even more so. There are also certain game elements that change if you transfer your completed game data from the first game via either a link cable or a password taken from the first game cartridge. It isn't necessary to finish the game, but it can give some bonuses like extra items and some new scenarios depending on your actions as the first protagonist, Isaac. It is also the only way to get all Djinn. The battle mode is also still available via the link cable.

Puzzles, animation and exploration are all ramped up with new spells and locations to visit and then revisit with new spells to unlock hidden areas. The game also falls on the easy side, but less so than the first game. It also moves at a slower pace which can be grating at times. It takes a good way into the adventure just to get your 4th party member. There are new enemies, but like the first there are a limited number and new enemies are often just recolored sprites of the original enemies. Even the new main villains are just similar stand-ins for the first game's lost ones. Just as good as the first with some new tweaks.

Buyer's Guide:
This one carries a higher price than most for some reason. Used copies can be had for $15-25. New copies can go much higher. From $25 to $100.

4 The "spear-wielding, desert tribe in need of a witch doctor" section might come off a bit racist out of 5

Golden Sun (2001)

Genre: Role-playing | Players: 1-2 | Developer: Camelot

I'll give Doc's style a shot.

Golden Sun is a role-playing game for the GBA that is very reminiscent of old school SNES rpgs. In a sprite based cartoon art style, players control silent protagonist Isaac and his friends as they journey across the continent in pursuit of the villains who have not only stolen mystical and dangerous artifacts from the village, but have also kidnapped 2 of Isaac's friends as well. They must recover their friends and the artifacts before they can be used to unseal the ancient force of Alchemy.

Battle against monsters and humans alike with the usual swords, axes, etc. and this game's form of magic called Psynergy. Each character has an innate element based on the four classical elements (Fire, Earth, Water, Wind) that they can use to cast spells both in and outside of battle. These can also be modified using Djinn; elemental familiars you can capture to equip and modify spells and stats. Mixing elements will make new spells such as adding a water djinn to an earth innate will give him plant based spells that outside of battle can grow climbable vines to access hidden areas. Djinn also have unique abilities that can be used in battle like one turn invulnerability and enhanced attacks. Or they can be unequipped at the cost of stat boosts to be summoned in battle. The more Djinn used (max of 4) summons more powerful creatures. All this adds more layers of strategy to the standard RPG battles. Two GBA's can be linked to battle other players as well outside of the single player game.

The game does fall a bit on the easy side. While this eliminates level grinding it also makes all the strategy options they give you all but unnecessary. You can go through the whole game without once mixing Djinn or summoning if you're not a complete idiot. But it is still a fun game full of detailed animation, hidden areas and bosses, special weapons, light puzzle solving and a lighthearted adventure.

Buyer's Guide:
Can be found used and new for between $10 and $20.

4 One eyed magic rock monsters who seem powerful enough to do this shit themselves out of 5

[PS3] Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland (2009)

Genre: RPG | Players: 1 | Developer: Gust

I have an odd fascination with alchemy. I think it appeals to the same part of me that loves baking, and that wishes I was good at chemistry. I've enjoyed every game in Gust's Atelier series that I've had the chance to play, but none of them appeal to me the way the Alchemist of Arland trilogy does. The first game in the series, Atelier Rorona, stars Rorolina Frixell, a girl who largely succeeds at alchemy because she's not bright enough to overthink it. In spite of Rorona's ditziness, she's a fun, likable character who plays off the rest of the game's cast nicely.

Most of Rorona's gameplay revolves around completing various alchemy assignments within a specified period of time. It can be challenging to manage your time at first, but once you're really familiar with the game's crafting system and the location of ingredients, you'll have plenty of time to explore the game's world. More than anything else, playing Rorona is relaxing. There are challenging boss fights to be found, but most of the time I've spend in Rorona's world has been calming. The game's graphics are stylized, and while the anime look won't appeal to every gamer, I find them to be quite lovely.

There's the occasional bit of Japan weirdness in character interactions- for some reason, all the adult women of Arland seem to have a thing for Rorona- but in general, the townspeople are sweet, funny, and have their own engaging stories. There is an enormous amount of content for every character. I've beaten the game more than a dozen times and still haven't seen every scene or earned every ending. Atelier Rorona is very much a niche game, but for those who it appeals to, it's a game you can play endlessly.

4.5 pies made with alchemy out of 5