Totori is a simple, young girl who practices her Alchemy in a tiny fishing village off the Arland Republic. Her oldest sister, Ceci, is not too fond of Alchemy and for good reason. Since Totori is still learning her craft, she has a tendency to blow things up.
Totori’s relationship with her sister is not perfect. Ceci dislikes the idea of her sister becoming an adventurer, making things difficult at home. But with the aid of some friends, she eventually begins her journey as an Alchemist adventurer.
Like its predecessor, Atelier Rorona, this is not your typical role-playing game. The gameplay is based primarily on Alchemy even though there is plenty of combat and character interaction. In the beginning, there is a tutorial to get you familiar with the combat system and collecting ingredients. This is when characters are introduced into the story. Gino, a young rambunctious boy, talks Totori into hunting monsters while she searches for ingredients.
After the tutorials, you encounter Melvia — a young female adventurer who eventually agrees to help Totori become an adventurer. Totori’s sudden passion to be an adventurer is also fueled by her ambition to find her mother, who has been missing for quite some time.
Atelier Totori uses a system based on days. When traveling on the World Map, days pass based on the distance travelled. Traveling also consumes LP. When your LP is 25% or lower, your characters will not fight at full capacity while in combat, so It is very important to keep track of this. While on the World Map, it is possible to access the System Screen by pressing the Select button. The System Screen offers the option to save and to change the game settings.
A good portion of the game is spent harvesting ingredients for Totori’s Alchemy skills. When searching for ingredients, some locations on the World Map will have simple descriptions of harvestable items when highlighted, along with one unknown. Once these locations are visited and the unknown ingredients are found, they will appear in the description during future visits. Newly discovered locations will not mention anything and must be explored.
Locations are broken down into segments. Materials that can be harvested are marked by floating bubbles. These items can be easily collected by pressing the X button. Anything that is collected will deteriorate over time, so you must return home frequently and store them inside the storage container.
While exploring the Arland countryside for ingredients, creatures will try and attack your party. It is possible to run away when they approach, but combat can also be initiated by hitting the creature with Totori’s staff.
This can be achieved by pressing the Square button. The combat system is turn-based, but it functions differently than most role-playing games. During combat, only Alchemists can use items. The fighters in the group must rely on the Alchemist for everything, including healing. If the Alchemist happens to be defeated, the group’s survival is unlikely.
However, by using the L1 and L2 buttons, you can protect party members like Totori from incoming attacks. This should be a high priority throughout the adventure.
The Alchemy system happens to be quite diverse. When Synthesizing an item (which is an act of creating an object using Alchemy), the ingredients are placed into a mixing bowel. Depending on the desired item being synthesized, a certain number of ingredients must be used. When this is done, you must click on ‘Synthesize’ to begin the process. The more difficult an item is to create – and the lower Totori’s Alchemy level is – the more likely the process will fail and produce junk. It’s also worth noting that Synthesizing uses MP.
Totori eventually helps Gerhard, the local Tavern Keeper, with a new business venture. This opens the Quest system. The Quest system is a series of jobs that require certain creatures to be killed or a number of items to be synthesized. When a quest is completed, you are rewarded with money and bonus items for Alchemy. A bonus is given if quests are completed before their deadline. When a quest is highlighted, a description is given that explains how many units are needed (if the quest pertains to an item), the deadline (how many days remaining), and the quest’s location. Everything is kept simple and easy to understand.
Most of the world is left unexplored until an Adventurer’s license is acquired. This can only happen after completing a few jobs and meeting Melvia, who is also friends with Ceci. After acquiring the Adventurer’s license, new areas on the world map open. Plus, a new system is introduced that gives Atelier Totori additional replay value — the Adventurer’s system. This system evaluates adventurers by Rank Points. These points accumulate as you complete quests, travel to new locations, synthesize new items, and kill monsters. Basically, it’s the same thing that was done from the start, but a system keeps track of performance.
Graphically, Atelier Totori is a mixture of cel-shaded sprites and simple 3D shapes for the environments. Some objects appear as flat, 2D cut outs (like fruit hanging from trees), but buildings, bridges, and other complex objects are more eye-pleasing. While the graphics are not perfect, they are still pleasing to the eyes thanks to a soft color palette.
NIS America’s latest offering delivers a unique experience that challenges conventional role-playing mechanics. The Alchemy system is simply brilliant . As for the Adventurer’s System, it gives the gamer something to strive for while he/she works tirelessly to collect ingredients and complete quests. Even if you haven’t played its predecessor, Atelier Rorona, Atelier Totori is great game that will entertain anyone that enjoys role-playing games.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: Playstation 3
Developer: Gust, Inc.
Publisher: NIS America
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $49.99 ($59.99 for the Premium Pak)
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |   |
| Even though some of the smaller details are simple, 2D shapes, the main details (like the characters) are stunning. | |
| Sound | |
| The Atelier series has always excelled in this area, with incredible voice acting and moody soundtracks. | |
| Gameplay | |
| Great combat, and an intuitive Alchemy system, keeps the game feeling fresh. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Atelier Totori is the type of game that will be an instant hit with fans and a unique experience for newcomers. Role-playing games do not come any more original than this. | |
