Ben-DutkaWe were big fans of Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland , so we're excited about the new entry.
As announced at the PlayStation Blog , Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland will land on North American shores on May 22.
The final game in the Arland trilogy, the third title will once again focus on the intricate and interesting process of Alchemy, where the player uses gathered raw materials to synthesize everything from healing items to stronger armor and weapons. Interestingly enough, though, they say this new effort is "independent" of the storylines from the previous two titles, so you don't have to worry about feeling lost in regards to plot progression.
Located in the small kingdom of Arls, Princess Meruru recalls her meeting with famed adventurer Totori Helmold (from the previous game), and knows she wants to be an alchemist, too. There will also be some semblance of choice, apparently, as the blog post reads- "How you choose to guide her through the advancement of her land will determine the final outcome in the tale of Atelier Meruru." Other new stuff includes a fresh development system that involves exploration, and the ability to grab quests and interact with NPCs outside of town.
For JRPG fans, this one should be a no-brainer.
Related Game(s): Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland
Atelier Meruru will be good Im sure but Max Payne and Diablo come first.
don't be so sure
Looks like a pretty big graphical improvement as well. Looks really good!
Didn't see Sterk, though. 🙁 Hope he's in it. He's freakin' sweet.
He should just learn how to use items. One man wrecking crew!
Atelier Sterk: The Scary Looking Man of Arland
Looks great. I like how they added a little more "dark" to the cutesy look when it comes to some of the attacks.
Enjoying Trinity Universe right now so these PS3 turn-based Jrpgs are right up my alley, even if they aren't blockbusters.
Get Hyperdimension Neptuna MKII, should be right up your alley.
Agreed worlds. I think that the JRPG fans are now beginning to wake up to a few realities. First of all, there are very few games that can stack up against the standard of games like FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX and DQ8 (to name but 4) in a relative sense, these were AAA games of their generation. But they also benefit greatly from nostalgia, and fond memory syndrome where gamers remember these games so fondly and somehow combined with the nostalgia and their well earned reputation, these games become greater and better than they actually were. Then along come the JRPGs of this generation and everyone is quick to point out that they aren't a patch on those 'classics' of the genre. Except, I'm not sure that is really the case. Games like HyperDimension Neptunia (1) and Cross Edge have really rough edges, and clearly are not a patch on the time honored classics. Then along come other games such as the Atelier series – which continues to improve, and the much improved Neptunia 2, Ar Tonelico Qoga, Tales of Graces F and yes, even the much maligned WKC2.
If you take off the nostalgic rose tinted glasses and fond memories that elevate those older games, and remove the cynical "all JRPGs this generation suck" mentality and start actually looking at these games; I think that a slightly different picture emerges. I'm not saying that these games are as good, or better than the classics I have mentioned, but they are good JRPGs in their own right. They are good games, and they are JRPGs. For fans of particular game play or characters, they might even qualify on a personal basis as great games.
My point is that if JRPG fans could stop believing the cynical articles in the media, and enjoy the new games with an open mind that is not clouded by nostalgic fond memories, they might find these new games are to their tastes after all. It's kind of like marrying a Widow who's husband was a well loved and respected, 'good' man. No matter how good you are, you will never quite measure up to that 'ghost' of the past.
Hopefully we can throw off the burden of fond memory syndrome and nostalgia and evaluate the new games objectively instead of holding them to a standard that even the original games themselves could not meet.
Really looking forward to this ^.^
I'm getting this for sure at some point but I actually have to beat Totori, I never have enough time to put that bloody boat together. Tips?
Yeah, I have a few. Make things that save your time a priority. For example: The gloves that cut down the time that passes when harvesting and the shoes that cut down the time that passes when traveling. Make them a priority the moment they become available!!
Lastly, when you can make the teleportation gate thinggy (forget what it's called, I'm sorry), MAKE IT. It lets you travel back to either atelier with ZERO time passing.
I cut things close my first playthrough. In my second playthrough, I made the gloves and shoes a priority, and at the end, I had WAY more time than I needed, and I was a higher alchemy and adventurer level. I can't stress enough how much of a difference that makes!
Other than that, just be efficient in your actions.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 4/20/2012 2:11:33 PM
I think I got filtered for talking about cloth.ing items. lol
You need to be sure to be using your chims to get the materials you need. If you get them to make something like bamboo, which can be made in a short time, you can get a lot of wood. Use chims for half the materials, and gather/make the others that don't require a whole lot.
Make a checklist if you're having a hard time. It's easy to forget something.
gotta love it how companies release a extremely niche product against some of the biggest most popular games in the industry then b*tch that they did not sell well!
i can see it now, 2 years down the line there going to say no were not releasing it outside japan because last time we did that it sold so poorly.
well up against max payne 3, diablo 3 and ghost recon future soldier no sh*t Sherlock it did!
yea there totally different genres, but allot of people play all types of games and can only afford 1 or 2 a month.
me for instance id pick this up the day it released, but this or MP3 and diablo 3?
hmmmmmm, hardest decision ive ever had to make in my entire life!
not!
just dont come b*tching to us that it did not sell well, maybe you should learn how to use a calendar!
Atelier is not one of those companies. They know their game is Niche. In fact, they know it so well, they don't sell it for $60 at release. It's much cheaper. They've been happy with their sales each time.
Underdog, as you say…
NISAmerica, and NIS know their game is niche – especially in the west. But they also know they have an audience. Which is why they always sell a pre-order for a collector's version that includes lots of extras for a premium price. They know how to reward their loyal customers and fans.
Not sure what Anonymous Cowherd's problem is, seems like he just wanted to complain and whine about something.