I hang out in a couple circles that have fans of Gust’s massive Atelier series. The promise of a laid-back, generally cheerful experience always sounded appealing and a nice change of pace from the typical RPG story’s apocalyptic stakes. I’ve also always liked crafting systems in these kinds of games. I just needed a good entry point.

I had a rough start with the series when trying Mana Khemia, with its confusing character advancement system and slightly-too-cute aesthetic. That’s all on top of needing to figure out how the crafting system works. I decided to step forward a generation to the remastered version of Atelier Rorona.

One thing Rorona had that Mana Khemia didn’t was very clear direction right from the start. Atelier Rorona is one of those that give the series its reputation for a having a time limit, but I think that mechanic worked for me in the end. It nudged me just enough to figure out the alchemy system and to get efficient with it and my travel (even if it means I’d probably hate trying to 100% this game).

The low-stakes plot was there, and I got a “good” ending, even though I came nowhere close to clearing the combat content. Both are refreshing elements to someone like me that has so much experience in the genre. Having tons of Rune Factory-style plot triggers around town was always enjoyable, due in no small part to how genuinely funny the dialogue could be at times.

It wasn’t so easy at first, and I had to take on this game in small chunks for a while as I was learning its mechanics. Now, I think investing in Rorona could be paying off. I’ve moved on to Atelier Totori and I’m feeling more confident right from the start, now that I know the alchemy basics.

Taking a chance on this one unlocked a big series for me. I’ll have a ton of games to catch up on at this rate!