Atelier Rorona

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Overview

NOTE: Everything in this guide is for the DX version of the game, not the original or Plus

Atelier Rorona is the beginning of the Arland series, followed by Totori, Meruru, and the much later released 4th in the series, Lulua. It was released by GUST after the Iris and Mana Khemia series, but before the Dusk trilogy. Gameplay-wise it sits halfway inbetween, as usual, as the Atelier games all make one or two changes in each game, adjusting the gameplay but not a complete overhaul.

It is quest and chapter based and does have a time limit. The time isn’t that strict, but if you intend to get nearly everything in one playthrough, it will be a bit of a squeeze. It’s impossible in the original version, but it is possible in the remastered “Plus” collections as well as the re-remastered “DX” collections. However, it will require a lot of fine tuning your assignment stars and friendship levels and staying on top of a ton of quest objectives that can time out or disappear. Luckily in the DX version you no longer have to save-scum for ending requirements, just unlock them all and select the ending you want after the credits roll.

If you’re not interested in trying to max it out in one playthrough, it’s a light touch on the time limit. And you can get away with a minimum amount of battle-focused crafting and still get a good ending, though you’d have to run away or around some things by endgame.

A word of advice: I recommend playing it once through without trying to get everything, just end the game with good gathering tools installed (like Traveling Shoes and the Spring Cup and anything else you can manage), good weapons and such on everyone, and as much money as possible including just selling your entire container the day before the game ends, then do a NG+ to clean up anything you didn’t get before. It’s a much more enjoyable experience not trying to get everything on a NG run, which borders on impossible (in particular the Adventurer and Rich endings). But with decent mid- or late-game weapons, you can ignore a lot of things and explore a lot more freely. Likewise with even just a few tens of thousands, you can afford every book without saving up; 100k+ is recommended though. If you can manage to get Sterk’s ending on NG, then you don’t have to waste 3 months on him and potentially mess up Gio’s events on NG+, and also get to Orthogalaxen way earlier, which you’ll need for the Rich and Adventurer endings. Also, if you can get Gio’s ending out of the way, that’s a lot of hyperfixating on character quests to get him to Friendship 60 insanely quickly, but if you don’t manage, it’ll be easier on a second runthrough.