Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland 2009

Is it still worth playing?

Gust's 2009 Japanese role playing game for the PlayStation 3, the eleventh Atelier, which continues the series' emphasis on item synthesis. Rorona works off a family debt at the workshop of the master alchemist Astrid, and has to pass twelve examinations over three years or see it shut down. It has four modes of play: a field map, a battle screen, an alchemy system and a visual novel system. You navigate through two static map illustrations of the town of Arland and its surroundings. Field areas such as the town and forests are realistic environments where you talk to locals, gather items or meet enemies, which you can see ahead and either engage or avoid. The story is presented as a series of twelve tasks, each amounting to three months. Each outing still gets a plan, with enemies you see before you meet them and ingredients to gather.