Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland
| Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Gust |
| Series | Atelier |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing video game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland (トトリのアトリエ ～アーランドの錬金術士 2～, Totori no Atorie: Ārando no Renkinjutsushi 2) (known in Japan as Atelier Totori: The Alchemist of Arland 2) is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Gust. It was first released for PlayStation 3 on June 24, 2010, in Japan. Atelier Totori is the twelfth installment in the Atelier series, and it continues the series' emphasis on item synthesis. The game is the second in the Arland series and a direct sequel to Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland, taking place five years after the end of Atelier Rorona. It is followed by Atelier Meruru: The Alchemist of Arland 3, which was released in June 2011.
NIS America announced on May 13, 2011, that the game would be released in the US on September 27, 2011[1], and the EU in Fall 2011 under the name Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland.
Story
Atelier Totori takes place 5 years after the previous game[3], Atelier Rorona. It begins with Totori in the fishing village of Alanya, her hometown, and ends after five years pass. Totooria Helmold is Rorona's student who is looking for her missing mother. After the events of Atelier Rorona, Rorona has been traveling across Arland teaching alchemy. One day, Totori and her older sister find a starving Rorona collapsed on their doorstep. She teaches Totori about alchemy, adopting her as a student. Since then, Totori has been learning alchemy on her own.
Everyone in Alanya believes that Totori's mother is dead. However, Totori thinks she is still alive, so she travels to Arland in order to become an adventurer and search for her. Players follow Totori on her journey exploring the world, improving her alchemy, and searching for her long-lost mother.
Characters
Totooria Helmold
- Seiyuu: Nazuka Kaori
A young alchemist and student of Rorona. She travels to Arland in order to become an adventurer and search the world for her missing mother. She is very optimistic and believes her mother is still alive. Her nickname is Totori.
Cecilia Helmold
- Seiyuu: Asami Imai
Totori's older sister who is very protective of her. She has already given up and assumes their mom is dead. She cares very much for Totori and does not like the idea of her becoming an adventurer. Her nickname is Ceci. She is playable as a DLC Character.
Gino Knab
- Seiyuu: Yuuko Sanpei
Totori's childhood friend. He trains every day, hoping to become an adventurer with Totori.
Melvia Siebel
- Seiyuu: Ryouko Shintani
Ceci's childhood friend and an experienced adventurer. She agrees to watch over and protect Totori on adventures. She is extremely powerful, well-known in Alanya for her freakish strength.
Mimi Houllier von Schwarzlang
- Seiyuu: Yuka Iguchi
A young noble girl who also aspires to be an adventurer. She is very proud and considers Totori her rival.
Rorolina Frixell
- Seiyuu: Mai Kadowaki
Totori's alchemy teacher, and the heroine of Atelier Rorona. She, Totori, and Astrid are the only known alchemists. She appeared at Totori and Ceci's doorstep, passed out from hunger, and, after destroying their house with a failed synthesis, became Totori's teacher. After hearing Totori's story of her mother, she decides to help Totori's endeavors. Her nickname is Rorona.
Sterkenburg Cranach
- Seiyuu: Jūrōta Kosugi
A retired knight, he is searching for the king of Arland while protecting Arland and novice adventurers from monsters at the same time. He frightens many characters with his face, even Rorona, who has known him for years. He is currently searching for Gio, the King of Arland, and helping Totori on the side.
Marc McBrine
- Seiyuu: Susumu Chiba
An eccentric scientist with an interest in inventions and children. He comes off very aloof and abrasive due to his zealous pursuit of science.
Cordelia von Feuerbach
- Seiyuu: Eri Kitamura
Rorona's childhood friend who works at the Adventurer's Guild in Arland. She is more mature now and also helps Totori by finding information on her mother's whereabouts. She still gets angry when people comment on her height (since she hasn't grown an inch since the first game). She is playable as a DLC Character.
Guid Helmold
- Seiyuu: Kenji Hamada
Totori's father. He is barely noticed by his daughters, having very little presence, and rarely shows emotion.
Reception
In Japan, the game was the third best-selling title on its release week and sold 53,871 copies between June 21 and June 27, 2010, an increase of 10,000 copies on the first week sales of Atelier Rorona.[4]
Reviews have been generally favorable; the game currently has an 81 on Gamerankings and a 76 average on Metacritic.
PSX Extreme rated it 8.7/10, stating that "after five hours of play with Gust’s new effort, I realized this all clicked. After ten hours, it not only clicked, it was becoming addictive. Turn-based combat is not dead, and despite my aversion to anime, this is a beautiful, pleasing production." RPGamer rated it a 4.5/5, complimenting its story in that "Atelier Totori is not an epic RPG like many other games in the genre try to be, but its allure allows it to stand tall as a bittersweet and emotionally charged experience that may require gamers to pull out the tissue box."
IGN gave the game a 7.5/10, praising the graphics and gameplay, but said that, while the core story is good, the writing is terrible, and that the voice acting is average to below average.[5]
References
- ^ a b "Disgaea 4, ClaDun X2, Atelier Totori dated". NIS America. 11 Aug, 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Sam (September 8, 2011). "Changes to the Release Date of Disgaea 4 and Atelier Totori in Australia". The Otaku's Study. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ "Atelier Totori ~ Adventurer of Arland ~". NIS America. 2011-07-29. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
- ^ Ishaan (2010-07-02). "This Week In Sales: Game Overload". Silconera.com. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
- ^ http://ps3.ign.com/articles/119/1199400p1.html