Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland Critic Reviews

Players looking for a colorful world, a lighthearted story, and deep gameplay need look no further than Atelier Totori.

Furthermore, Totori outdoes its predecessor in nearly every aspect, showing that Gust is always trying to one-up itself with each new release. Atelier Totori shines for its honesty, and has a lighthearted feel that the majority of RPGs don't match.

It has a few drawbacks – the story isn't great, it takes too long to progress, and some of the battle can feel a little underwhelming – but for RPG fans, it's a winner.

While gamers new to (or averse to) anime style may not enjoy Atelier Totori, the committed JRPG audience will likely be pleased with what the game has to offer. For us JRPG enthusiasts, a good game means beautiful anime-style graphics, expressive musical scores, eccentric characters and dialog and complex gameplay mechanics; despite its somewhat simplified approach to combat, Atelier Totori scores on all points.

Gamers who are looking for a fairly laid-back adventure with plenty of things to do and lots of fun characters to meet should definitely give Atelier Totori a try.

Atelier Totori is a hidden gem of a game. It's far from perfect, but it's so wildly, wonderfully distinct and different from the typical crop of titles out there that it's hard not to love it.

A game with anything remarkable, but without flaws. One of those Japanese roleplaying game that are very classic and follow the tradition, without evolving the gameplay, but with compelling graphics, a good story and a nice blend of elements that doesn't focus solely on combat. It won't make history, but is a fun game.

The Atelier series is loved by many and I think those very fans will be really pleased with NISA and Gust's efforts in this latest adventure.

If you've ever enjoyed a Gust game or Atelier title, it's likely that you'll dig Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland. It's a fun, mostly upbeat adventure that doesn't get too bogged down by generic anime themes or trappings.

For fans of the franchise, Atelier Totori is a complete success. It improves upon Atelier Rorona in almost every conceivable way and delivers all of the gameplay, art style, characterizations and special brand of cuteness that the series' fans have come to expect.

If you liked Atelier Rorona and are looking for a similar experience with a few upgrades, you will really enjoy this game, especially if you enjoyed the characters in Rorona...Keep in mind, if fetch quests are not your thing, or if you can't stand bubbly characters, you may want to steer clear of this game.

A solid RPG, but it's far from an excellent one. It's like the party you'll attend because you don't have much else going on.

If Gust had made the narrative more relevant to the gaming masses and upped the bar in terms of visual presentation, this could easily have been one of the best entries the JRPG genre has witnessed in quite some time.

Fans that have played the games before won't need any introduction, they will know what to expect in an Atelier game, and it's a good game in that respect for them. As mentioned it's not an epic adventure, but it never tries to be. This story is a personal one of one girl's emotional ride to becoming experienced in alchemy and adventuring and her quest to find her mum. It's not an RPG for everyone who likes the genre, but it is fun, and if you can get into it once you've passed the initial couple of hours then you'll have found yourself one of the most relaxing and easygoing RPGs on the market today.

Atelier Totori features a few elegant mechanics in combat and framing. (…) Let me put the story this way: If you, unlike me, don´t have to look up, what "Shōjo" means, but instead use it as a positive filter during your search for new anime-stuff, then Atelier Totori is right up your alley.

For everything that Altelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland does right though, it fails to deliver on another key element of the genre. I never felt fully connected to the world.

With its sexy heroins and its more adventure-oriented formula, Atelier Totori is more appealing than its predecessor. Even though it stays relatively similar in terms of visuals and at its core, Atelier Totori offers some gameplay adjustments and story enhancements, for the better. A classic-style RPG, but a nice one.

Aterlier Totori is not a game for everyone, as some gamers might find themselves bored with the gather and create formula, but it is still a solid RPG experience.

Quotation forthcoming.