6.12.2011

Update: Important information here. Several other reviews state that you have 'plenty of time'. This is not true. Without including too many spoilers: save often and onto various save states. I was able to achieve my permanent license within the time limit, however, I had failed to complete one task of importance so I got a bad ending. The issue I have is that I didn't have earlier save states to pop back to, so I was stuck starting over. They do give you a sort of new game +, but really you just start over with your equipment and money, not any of the items, levels, or anything else from the earlier run through. The only reason I found it annoying is because I didn't have the option to just suck it up and keep playing with no possibility of gaining another ending.Also, there was never really any notice that I would suck it up and get a 'bad ending'. Actually the opposite is true. I kept on working towards my permanent license because I figured then I would have time to do all of these other things. I would have been content just sything and hunting until I leveled enough to beat some really tough baddies.But just be forewarned. Keep a couple of extra save files on hand so that if this happens you can go back a bit if you wish and try something different. Otherwise be prepared to get VERY frustrated by losing a lot of hard work and effort.----------------I will update the review as I progress farther, but even in the first few hours, this game is simply a blast.Thanks to some other reviews, I opted for the Japanese audio track, and I am happy with the voice acting. Some of the female characters are a little "kawaiiiiiiiiiiii" (cute), but it works well with the theme.Things start off slowly, but with a lot of hilarious and fun scenes involving the principle characters. This is a great introduction to the personalities of the game's characters. They are all interesting and quite a blast to interact with.The game itself is amazing. Exploration and gathering is fun. Time passes as you battle, gather, and travel. Spend too much time out and you become exhausted and cannot fight well. Also, many of your quests have time limits, so be aware. Also, many ingredients deteriorate over time. So get those fresh, high quality ingredients back to your workshop ASAP!Battles are actually fun. They remind me a bit of the Grandia series. Nice character animation, pretty average to bland backdrops. But this is okay, because the action is fast paced, and the lack of super detailed backgrounds during battle helps you stay focused on the action. It's a time based/ turn based system like Final Fantasy 10 and the Grandia games. But the battles are so fast that they never seem to drag. There is a pretty good challenge as well.Totori is pretty awful at battling, but this is actually a fun little addition to the tactics. She is the only party member that can use items, and she can do some amazing things with her synthesized goods. She can use items to heal, attack, or assist. Other characters can perform special attacks and use magic, and are generally better at battle. Totori is so helpless that often when she is attacked, you will need to tap L1 or R1 to have a nearby party member guard against an attack in her place. It's a system that works, and it fits her character very well since she keeps saying how helpless and clumsy she is.The music is nice, but doesn't seem to really be anything grand. It's a nice and pleasant background.The character interaction scenes are nice. They have a manga style feel to them. I think it was the right choice. When interacting, the main screen blurs a bit and the hand drawn characters are placed on screen and change depending on the characters reactions. It's a lot of fun.Synthesizing is fun and can be challenging at times. Especially when trying to craft higher quality items. But the game does hold your hand a bit since you need a recipe to craft. Though with hundreds of items, just tossing random ingredients into the pot to try and craft things would be insane. But you have to find or buy recipes, so you don't just have access to every recipe right off the bat.If you are expecting something like Demons' Souls or Elder Scrolls, then you might want to pause before buying this game. It's fun, but it's definitely a true JRPG and really geared towards players who have had experience with these types of games. Where some people would feel the game is limited, I think it's the limitations that put a fun spin on things.If you've enjoyed games like Rune Factory, Grandia, Dragon Quest, or any of the Atelier games, then you should pick up a copy. I'm just sad I didn't get the collector's edition!

20.8.2012

I just found a new favorite Fantasy RPG = Atelier Totori! This is an awesome game!Combat is turn-based. The player does not have to worry about positioning on the battlefield since any character can hit any monster, and vice versa. You get three characters in your party, including Totori who uses items and acts like a spellcaster, although there are not spells in the game. When a character gets to act, just choose an attack type, normal or special, and a target, and the character will attack away! This combat system is a throw-back to those found in games 25 years ago. I, for one, love it!As you fight battles you will gain Combat levels, making the characters much better at, well, combat.This is important since major Monster bosses are tough.Item synthesis is a very large part of the game and tons of fun. You have to have ingredients and then can combine them into useful items, like explosives and healing items. There is a skill level involved, so if you try and make something way over your current Alchemist level, it might be ruined. Still, doing so successfully will gain lots of Alchemy training points for Totori.Note on upgrading Weapons and ArmorsUnlike other items, you are not told the recipes for weapon and armor upgrades directly. Instead, you buy a book of synthesis items from the blacksmith which will add various Cloth (armor) and Iron Ingot (weapons) items to your alchemy book. The order they appear on the list is the level of the upgrade.For example:IngotTincGoldsteinAs can be seen, Tinc is a level 2 and Goldsteing (in this example) is a level 3. You only need one of these items, which you make with Alchemy, to get and upgraded weapon. Make the best item you can, with the best bonuses! Take the item wo the blacksmith and, for a feww, he will make the upgraded weapon.A little trial and error is useful. So, SAVE and try out a few weapon/armor items and see what you get. This is because weapons/items are mostly user-specific. After trying out a few, RELOAD and go from there. Easy.Time ManagementMy first playthrough ended up with the Bad Ending because I ran out of time. I believe I GATHERED too often as well as took on too many SYNTHESIS QUESTS. These can eat up enormous amounts of time. You do have a limited amount of time to play the game. Quests are time-limited but this is not a large issue since if you fail a quest it just gets cancelled. You are also allowed to cancel your quests. Oh, when you get a new book of recipes, which you have to buy with coin, look and see what all the items do. Some are very useful for travelling the map!The only negative, and it is minor, is searching your Container (long term storage) for items. The interface works well, but it is a little clunky. No big deal. (By the way, if the items is not in your Basket, then, when you go adventuring, you will not have the item for combat.)There are a lot of mini-sequences where characters interact. Few of these affect Friendship. They are interesting if you are into social interactions. For Friendship, which affects end-game stories and perhaps trophies, adventuring with the character will automatically gain some Friendship. Then, on occasion, friends will ask you for an item when you are in your workshop. You do not have to give then item, which will not lower friendship. Giving the item will increase the friendship level. These cut scene sequences may lead to trophies.MusicYou may want to download some rather cheap DLC for better Workshop and Battle music. I did, and playing is much improved since the default music in Battles/Workshop is, in my opinion, rather horrible, heh.Atelior Totori is a wonderful game. I love the combat routine as well as gathering (or buying) ingredients and then alchemy. This game has quickly become my favorite style of FRPG. It is a great and fun game!edit: I was very tired when typing this so sorry for the typos. Anyway, I hope this review was helpful.

4.10.2011

I play a lot of JRPG's and generally have less inhibition about buying them than other types of games. However, my purchases of White Knight Chronicles and Hyperdimension Neptunia have made me much more wary of spending money on unproven JRPG's.Enter Atelier Totori. I have not previously played any Atelier games, so this game was actually my introduction into the series. Having played nearly every other JRPG this console generation, Atelier Totori actually ranks pretty high right up there with Tales of Vesperia.Gameplay: 9/10Atelier Totori's gameplay is similar to the other alchemy games from Gust as far as I can tell from watching reviews and a friend play Atelier Rorona (AR).

22.10.2011

Having played and enjoyed Atelier Rorona (the prequel to this game), I was very eager to play Atelier Totori. I've played it through twice now - although I got the "Bad ending" the first time since I missed the fact that there was a deadline! - and it's fun. You play an alchemist who synthesizes items using materials obtained from fighting monsters (with two other party members, whom you can select) and gathering ingredients. The basic storyline is that you're looking for clues to your mother's disappearance many years ago. As another reviewer said, it's not necessary to have played Atelier Rorona beforehand, but you'd probably get more of the jokes and character references if you did.Like the prequel,

4.1.2013

Alright, first off, if you are looking for something like Demons Souls, or Elder Scrolls, this won't be a good fit for you. The battles is like something from of the Final Fantasies. It's turn-based combat, so don't really expect any fast paced action, honestly. In this game, you play as a beginner alchemist, Tooria Helmond. Everyone just calls her Totori. Since this is the sequel to Atelier Rorona, there is still a time limit. Honestly, this is the best game i ever played!! Synthesis is fun. Oh yeah, synthesis is when you use bought or gathered items to make a whole new item. There are also returning characters from the prequel as well. Some of the monsters are super cute, too!

1.10.2011

First off I own all the atelier mana khemia,nis,gust games and this is such a breath of fresh air from all the constant innuendo etc.It is a lot like Rorona and has it's time limits but now you get to travel around the world's map and the trait system for synthesis is better this time.There is barely any crude humor in this one unlike Atelier Rorona and the little cut scenes and skits are random and feel like real family,friends, etc moments.This is my favorite so far of the Arland games but my most favorite of all are the ps2 series and the mana khemia.If you haven't played them I highly reccomend that you do.They are all awesome,I can't pick which one is the best because I love them all.So if you are worried about this game because Rorona was sketchy don't,

29.11.2011

After playing Rorona, I knew I had to get Totori too!!I loved this game, felt that it was a great improvement over Rorona.Graphics are much much better, systems are better and they really improved it alot.I loved the story line, the voice actors are great as well, and with help from walkthroughs I found online I was able to play most of the endings with a couple of saves.A couple things I didn't like was that gathering took time too! Although you could make an item that shortened the time, but half day for a couple of items?! That didn't make much sense to me. It got better as I leveled up though. Another thing was that Totori's skill is kinda weak....compared to everyone else Her only skill was duplicating things she had in her basket :(

15.1.2012

I definitely liked this game. Graphics are soft and very much anime like, I would have liked more FMV sequences than Virtualized characters, but I have not yet finished the game, so there might be more surprises.Gameplay with alchemy is interesting but is not particularly my favorite. I miss games with Gameplay and Story like Final Fantasy IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X.Overall this game is very recommended, specially if you like Anime, not to mention the music is nice and the story can sometimes be hilarious.One thing I did not like is that the game puts time to quests, so sometimes you feel kind of stressed to go all over the map and do not enjoy to really explore places.

19.4.2014

A good story and challenging time limit make this a good game for tween girls. There is a little bit of Japanese "loli" overtones, but nothing to really make a parent nervous. The multiple endings make this a game they will play multiple times. I recommend to any parent trying to find a game your girls will love. But, please read the other reviews to understand the game mechanics, etc. It is good to know, since unless you are a JRPG fan, it might seem a little strange to gamers who are used to first person shooters, etc.

19.6.2013

I really liked part one of this series, Atelier Rorona. This sequel was such a vast improvement that I was pleasently surprised. I have played it numerous times and have never finished all the story lines or completed all the goals..The game is challenging but easy enough to play without using "cheats." The in-game library gives hints without spoiling the game.Atelier Totori will be permanent part of my game collection. I will be replaying it for years to come.

5.7.2014

I've been playing Atelier Rorona (the first of the series) and I enjoyed it. You play as an alchemist named Totoria (Totori for short) who was trained by none other than Rorona. You will play as Totori as she fulfill her dream of becoming an alchemist and adventurer just like her mother. I've been playing for over 50 hours now and I enjoyed it just like I enjoyed the first of the series especially when they have a heroine from the first one.

19.11.2012

This game has lots of comedy, action and, emotion in it. the animation is colorful and lively. The game play is fun and challenging. This is the type of game I would play more then once.The only issue I have is that when I received the game the case was cracked all the way down the middle.

4.7.2013

This rpg has time management just like Persona 4 but the time doesn't pressure too much while you're playing. As long as you doing something you don't have to worry about running out of time. I fell in love with this title and I look forward to playing the other installments as well.

10.3.2014

this game is both fun and challenging. Though i may not go PS4. I am a RPG player, so i naturally would enjoy this game. I would recommend this to an RPG or Anime player. I would not recommend this game to gamers who play shooters all day. this would put them to sleep.

2.5.2013

This company has quite a few interesting and fun games. You might like to get the other two in this series. How can you go wrong, magic, adventure, and cute alchemists.

Atelier Totori: The Adventure of Arland (PS3) - Reviews

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