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[Jucksalbe]

I will add that two of the required bosses for a couple endings can be very tough even in the 60 range of levels.

How can you get to level 60? My characters stopped to level up at 50.

 

[Lockon]

How can you get to level 60? My characters stopped to level up at 50.

There's a facility that you can build. It costs 300 points.

I almost get platinum now. Two endings to go (Famous Meruru and True Ending).

 

[Ravage]

Getting close to the platinum now, just a few more endings to go

I actually enjoyed Meruru more than Totori, which surprises me considering how much i love Totori. As sad as it is, Meruru is pretty much the perfect end for the Arland trilogy.

 

[Jucksalbe]

There's a facility that you can build. It costs 300 points.

Thanks. Figures, I built just that one right after I asked in this thread.

 

[Jucksalbe]

What's the fastest way to raise your Alchemy level at the end of the game?
I finally finished the game, got the

Spoiler

Rorona A

ending. I'm trying to do as many endings as possible with all the saves I have piled up, but at least in my normal game I only managed to reach Alchemy level 47.

 

[RurouniZel]

What's the fastest way to raise your Alchemy level at the end of the game?
I finally finished the game, got the

Spoiler

Rorona A

ending. I'm trying to do as many endings as possible with all the saves I have piled up, but at least in my normal game I only managed to reach Alchemy level 47.

Elixers, 2 at a time nexts the best EXP in my play, but each one is 5 days so two are 10 days.

Spoiler

Credit to Rarutos for teaching me that.

 

[Jucksalbe]

Did anyone here buy some of the Volkslied CDs? Are they worth picking up?

 

[Rarutos]

They might be if you enjoy the remixes of a bunch of Atelier songs! I guess you can decide with the tracks in the BGM pack if you bought it.

 

[RurouniZel]

Okay, now that I’ve played a considerably larger portion of the game, I’m ready to render my final verdict. Before I get into the finer points, I will say that in my opinion Atelier Totori edges out Atelier Meruru, but not by much. And this is probably for reasons that many here will disagree with as they’re more about personal taste than anything, so take this for what you will. I’ll just separate this into love and didn’t love as much.

Things about Atelier Meruru that I love:

More forgiving flag triggers – In the other Atelier games in order to trigger an event or character flag, being around the appropriate timeframe wasn’t enough; you had to be in the EXACT location necessary to trigger the flag, which could be annoying as you constantly move to each and every last store and location over and over and over. By contrast, Atelier Meruru only requires you go somewhere nearby. So I could say, select to go to the Castle Study, and trigger a flag at the Castle Gate instead. Very awesome and thoughtful tweak to the gameplay.

Development Points for City Building – While similar to the Adventurer Points used in Atelier Totori to advance your rank once you pass a certain threshold, what makes DP special is the added benefit of also using those points to build structures that add special bonuses like eliminating LP consumption on the world map or increased experience. It was a nice little incentive to keep working on the town, as well as trying out building different structures on repeat playthroughs for different benefits, or to maximize your efficiency.

Quest organization – One convenient new feature of Atelier Meruru is that when you go to Filly to take on quests, it automatically sorts the quests in such a way that any quest you can do immediately is automatically at the top of the list. It makes sorting through the quests much easier to have the quests I can do right away not buried between several other quests.

Music – Of the three Arland games, this one has my favorite soundtrack by far, especially the battle music! :3 It’s so good!!

Carrying over time-saving items in addition to equipment – Playing through the game is made even more convenient by being able to carry over those lovely items like the Secret Bag, Traveler’s Shoes, Fate Talisman etc. in addition to your upgraded equipment to a new playthrough. It almost makes up for taking away the carrying over of funds from a prior playthrough. Almost.

Things about Atelier Meruru that I didn’t like as much, or liked better in Totori:

No money carries over – Unlike Atelier Rorona and Atelier Totori, you do not carry over your funds from a prior playthrough. It’s a shame, as this saved a whole lot of time during a second run-through.

No time limits on Quests – Aside from the big third and fifth year deadlines, there are no more time limits to complete quests by, which made them somewhat inconsequential except for the specific character quests to raise their friendship. For me, this makes the game lose a lot of its immediacy, and takes away that feeling of satisfaction of successfully managing my character’s busy schedule by completing the most work in the least amount of in-game time.

Lack of identity – Atelier Rorona was the first of the Arland trilogy, and as such was a completely new story and world. Atelier Totori took place in many of the same places and featured cameos from many of Atelier Rorona’s cast, but still had lots of new characters and its own story and had a unique identity to Rorona. Atelier Meruru… sort of has its own story, but lacks its own identity. To be honest, I would say Atelier Meruru feels more like an Atelier Rorona/Totori epilogue than its own story. Meruru herself is a very strong character, but the others don’t make much of an impression outside of Hanna, and more than half the cast is from Atelier Rorona/Totori.

That personal touch – Rorona and Totori’s quests both had very personal reasons that made me really want to root for them on their journeys. Rorona was struggling to keep her shop afloat for three years so as to avoid exile from Arland, Totori was searching for her lost mother. It’s not that Meruru didn’t have a motivation in the story (she’s become smitten with alchemy wants to be an alchemist), but I never really felt like there was much of a personal stake for her. Though to be fair, perhaps part of that is her extremely cheery and optimistic personality, which I will definitely take over Rorona’s whining, but just a little more personal stake would have helped the story quite a bit.

Overall, I love the game! A solid 9/10 from me (where Totori is a 10/10 for me). I’ve still got a couple endings to get and some Trophies to unlock so I’m gonna get back to the game! ^_^

 

[Jucksalbe]

I would agree with most of your points. I slightly prefer Totori, too.
I don't agree with the music part, though. Of all games, I think this has the worst soundtrack (only by a little, still really like it), with Totori being my favorite.
And are you sure you can't take off the Traveler Shoes? There's a dedicated button for removing equipment (square?), it should work with the shoes, too (I have never tried, though).

Edit: Just tried it. You can remove them.

 

[ChryZ]

And are you sure you can't take off the Traveler Shoes? There's a dedicated button for removing equipment (square?), it should work with the shoes, too (I have never tried, though).

Stuff from the Equipment tab can be unequipped from characters, e.g. runestone, ring, bunny tail, etc.

Items from the Development tab (bigger basket, blessed coin, gathering gloves, etc) can only be equipped from the basket/container (when selected with x) but as it seems never be unequipped.

 

[Jucksalbe]

Items from the Development tab (bigger basket, blessed coin, gathering gloves, etc) can only be equipped from the basket/container (when selected with x) but as it seems never be unequipped.

You just have to go to Meruru's equipment screen and press triangle.

 

[RurouniZel]

You just have to go to Meruru's equipment screen and press triangle.

Will try this when I get home!

 

[ChryZ]

You just have to go to Meruru's equipment screen and press triangle.

Really? I tried a bunch of stuff, guess just not triangle. Well, I stand corrected.

 

[RurouniZel]

Really? I tried a bunch of stuff, guess just not triangle. Well, I stand corrected.

As do I. Post edited.

 

[Rarutos]

I do agree with you about your "lack of identity" thing, Zel. All the characters were pretty much established from the get-go. And the new characters didn't get as much development as they could have either. Keina's story was

Spoiler

all about worrying that she wouldn't get to stay with Meruru forever

but we all knew that was going to happen regardless. Lias never stops being obsessed with Rufus, and Rufus never really changes aside from showing that

Spoiler

he's not totally stoic and cares about Meruru and Lias, as well as loves sweets.

. Juana didn't really have much reason to develop either...

And obviously all the other characters were already established in the previous games and we're just seeing how they are in the aftermath. Though I did really like Mimi's story in this one. I am a bit saddened at

Spoiler

how Sterk got so serious about everything, and not even comically so. I guess his dream to protect a princess and be a true knight really got to him! It makes sense but I do miss the Sterk from Totori and Rorona... Rorona being a loli definitely didn't help him out either. Also I didn't really like how his design came out in Meruru, what's with the long hair?! ;_;

I didn't like what they did with Rorona too much either in the end, I wish they had kept her memories at least. IMO, two of the best characters that were introduced in the beginning of the trilogy ended up getting the short end of the stick as they practically seem like different characters in this one.

Also one thing I noticed during the true end:

Spoiler

Gio and Dessier say that the Volcano Incarnate incident with Sofra happened like 20 years ago. And the one flashback image with Gio, Dessier, and Sofra makes Gio look really young, and the whole time Gio talks as if the thing did happen when he was younger. But if it was 20 years ago, didn't that happen just after Atelier Rorona at least?! Considering Gio was like, 40 or so in Rorona and he's in his 60s in Meruru, and by the time they talk about the Volcano Incarnate, it's like 3 years into the game, so it had to have happened after Rorona! But eh, I guess timelines in time-based games were sure to get confusing...

 

[Jucksalbe]

And obviously all the other characters were already established in the previous games and we're just seeing how they are in the aftermath. Though I did really like Mimi's story in this one. I am a bit saddened at

Spoiler

how Sterk got so serious about everything, and not even comically so.

I pretty much never used him in this game. He had one funny scene, though, when

Spoiler

you talk to him at the end of the game (and Meruru tells him that it might be time for him to find a real job), though that's more Meruru being funny, I guess.

 

[RurouniZel]

I pretty much never used him in this game. He had one funny scene, though, when

Spoiler

you talk to him at the end of the game (and Meruru tells him that it might be time for him to find a real job), though that's more Meruru being funny, I guess.

Yeah, that was both funny and a touch sad. XD

 

[RurouniZel]

http://www.gamespot.com/atelier-mer...arland/reviews/atelier-meruru-review-6382178/

Well, Gamespot just finished trashing Atelier Meruru it its review. I'm not surprised seeing that it's niche not-dudebro game, but what's funny is that this guy's hatred of the game seems to completely center around Meruru's outfit. Which I agree is a bit ridiculous but really? The amount he harps on it makes me worry about him to be honest, since there's nothing all that sexual about Atelier Meruru (sans one CG later on).

Some choice quotes

While the addictive alchemy formulas that sit at the heart of the gameplay have been held over for a repeat performance, everything else has been hit hard by an obnoxious spoiled brat of a title character, a repetitive plot loaded with never-ending tedious dialogue, and so many creepy moments with the short-skirted kiddie characters that you feel like you're committing a crime just looking at the TV screen.

This bit made me go "wat?"

Meruru is an insipid, self-absorbed kid, about as far from a sympathetic title character as you could roam, complete with a blackboard fingernails screech of a voice and a giggle that could cut glass.

I mean, Meruru is hardly a "spoiled" princess. She's not commanding everyone go out and do everything for her, she's going out of her way to do everything virtually by herself.

But she is so annoying in every way that you can't help but cheer for her to be beaten into the ground by every monster she encounters. Needless to say, that is a problem given that you're supposed to be guiding Meruru to success. Other characters are easier to endure, although their meandering dialogue rambles on endlessly through conversations that make Saturday-morning cartoons seem like George Bernard Shaw.

How cute, someone thinks their Yahtzee.

The setting is overloaded with anime-style cutesiness. There are more pastel colors and glowing stars here than in the average 8-year-old girl's dream bedroom. The entire game sparkles like a Twilight vampire. Even hard-fought victory in combat is concluded with Meruru and pals jumping up and down like they just won a spelling bee. Music is equally light and poppy, although tinges of adult rock make it more acceptable for the crowd that doesn't need a fake ID to buy a six-pack. This kid-friendly atmosphere sits uncomfortably alongside sexualized fetish outfits on too-young female characters. Costumes are taken to extremes with super-short skirts and corsets that it makes playing the game somewhat cringe-worthy

Talk about narrow-minded. Such professional writing on display right here. And frankly with the exception of Meruru's skirt being stupidly short I'd like to know what fetishes this guy has, because none of the outfits in the game hit any of mine.

You may well like the quirky, crafting gameplay of Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland. You may well get into harvesting ingredients and building this little backwater into a real kingdom. But it is impossible to enjoy the game as a complete experience because you see everything through the eyes of one of the most vapid gaming protagonists ever created, and do all of your adventuring in a world so sickeningly sweet that you should get screened for adult-onset diabetes the moment you put down the gamepad. This, plus the repetitive nature of the campaign and the timed goals, betray the good elements provided through the crafting and adventuring.

How cute, someone feels his manhood is feeling threatened so he's gotta act all big and tough and manly. Seriously, this "reviewer" needs to get over himself.

 

[Kincaido]

There was corsets and fetish material in this game? Wut? Meruru's skirt is ridiculously short though. But it's not like you see any upskirt shots or anything with her because of what she wears under them. I have no idea what they're called lol.

 

[RurouniZel]

There was corsets and fetish material in this game? Wut? Meruru's skirt is ridiculously short though. But it's not like you see any upskirt shots or anything with her because of what she wears under them. I have no idea what they're called lol.

They're called bloomers. ^_^

 

[Jucksalbe]

How cute, someone feels his manhood is feeling threatened so he's gotta act all big and tough and manly. Seriously, this "reviewer" needs to get over himself.

It's strange to criticize a game for being too colorful in an environment where most games forgot there's more than two.
I don't even think Meruru's outfit is bad in any way, it's not like she's not wearing anything under that skirt.

But overall this review fits to the mindset a lot of people on Gaf have, where anything that looks like anime equals "pedo" or whatever.

 

[The Grim Heaper]

Finally got the chance to play this for a bit today.

I like Meruru quite a bit, but Keina and Lias seem to be a little... lame?

http://www.gamespot.com/atelier-mer...arland/reviews/atelier-meruru-review-6382178/

Well, Gamespot just finished trashing Atelier Meruru it its review. I'm not surprised seeing that it's niche not-dudebro game, but what's funny is that this guy's hatred of the game seems to completely center around Meruru's outfit. Which I agree is a bit ridiculous but really? The amount he harps on it makes me worry about him to be honest, since there's nothing all that sexual about Atelier Meruru (sans one CG later on).

Not surprised it got bashed. A bit sad to see, but yeah... I agree on some points made but it overall just seems like a slap to fans' faces.

There was corsets and fetish material in this game? Wut? Meruru's skirt is ridiculously short though. But it's not like you see any upskirt shots or anything with her because of what she wears under them. I have no idea what they're called lol.

Not sure yet about the 'fetish material', but there was only a mention of a corset in the first hour or so, with no imagery accompanying it. And yeah, as Zel said, they're bloomers.

 

[Rarutos]

This guy doesn't seem to understand the concept of cute! Gamespot probably chose the worst guy possible to review this. Seems incredibly biased.

 

[RurouniZel]

This guy doesn't seem to understand the concept of cute! Gamespot probably chose the worst guy possible to review this. Seems incredibly biased.

It's obvious this reviewer went into this game knowing he was going to hate it because it was cute. He's REALLY stretching, and I get the impression he's overcompensating because he doesn't want to appear "unmanly" or some other BS.

 

[Rarutos]

It's obvious this reviewer went into this game knowing he was going to hate it because it was cute. He's REALLY stretching, and I get the impression he's overcompensating because he doesn't want to appear "unmanly" or some other BS.

The spoiled princess bit still makes me lol. Since Meruru is probably one of the more selfless characters in the game and even flat out states that she never was princess-like to begin with.

 

[RurouniZel]

The spoiled princess bit still makes me lol. Since Meruru is probably one of the more selfless characters in the game and even flat out states that she never was princess-like to begin with.

Yep, she walks around, chats with townsfolk, is friendly and EXTREMELY tolerant of the people around her with their crazy quirks. XD

 

[Jucksalbe]

The time limits add pressure that takes away from being able to enjoy the game at a relaxed pace and simply have fun exploring and cooking.

This part seems strange somehow. The game rarely gives you any time limits on quests and they're in no way pressuring.

Spoiler

I even had to go back to the second year just to be able to NOT pass the 100,000 citizens mark

Saw your comment there, RurouniZel, no reason to question the reviewer's fetishes.

 

[RurouniZel]

This part seems strange somehow. The game rarely gives you any time limits on quests and they're in no way pressuring.

Spoiler

I even had to go back to the second year just to be able to NOT pass the 100,000 citizens mark

Saw your comment there, RurouniZel, no reason to question the reviewer's fetishes.

Meh, someone's gotta call him out. XD Besides, he's a professional reviewer, I'm sure he's endured worse.

 

[Jucksalbe]

Haha, this is from another review on their site:

An adorable city-building simulation with very light combat and alchemy elements, Atelier

Spoiler

Annie

isn't very difficult, but it's more engaging than the sum of its parts.

As far as I saw Meruru is actually their lowest scoring Atelier game.

Edit: Also, I looked for other reviews by that guy and the first result that came up in their own search engine was "Brett Todd needs to be fired". Fitting.

 

[RurouniZel]

Edit: Also, I looked for other reviews by that guy and the first result that came up in their own search engine was "Brett Todd needs to be fired". Fitting.

I guess he's the sort of reviewer that really gets the hate. After reading his review I can see why. >>;

 

[Kincaido]

I really don't understand how he can call Meruru annoying. She doesn't go around town and tell everyone that they should bow and worship her just because she's a princess. Like stated before she is probably the most selfless person in the game. The only character I could see being somewhat is annoying is Rorona.

 

[tiff]

This bit made me go "wat?"

standard "cute = pedo" garbage

 

[RurouniZel]

Finally got the

Spoiler

Famous Meruru

ending. But I still have 3 more endings to get, how did I manage that? XD

 

[LayLa]

finally got some time to start this! about 5 hours in, its quite similar to Totori isn't it? really like the "build your kingdom" aspect of it though, loved the redevelopment bit in Xenoblade, seeing how things change.
are there really no battles/encounters/finding stuff on the map screen?

 

[RurouniZel]

finally got some time to start this! about 5 hours in, its quite similar to Totori isn't it? really like the "build your kingdom" aspect of it though, loved the redevelopment bit in Xenoblade, seeing how things change.
are there really no battles/encounters/finding stuff on the map screen?

Yep, Meruru borrows a lot from Torori. But there are no battles, encounters, or finding stuff on the world map.

 

[Mondriaan]

Yep, Meruru borrows a lot from Torori. But there are no battles, encounters, or finding stuff on the world map.

Overworld traveling is much safer in this game for sure, but it seems like Meruru doesn't regenerate MP in the overworld like her predecessors did.

I was mildly disappointed that I couldn't alternate between alchemy and adventuring the way I did in the previous Arland games.

 

[RurouniZel]

Overworld traveling is much safer in this game for sure, but it seems like Meruru doesn't regenerate MP in the overworld like her predecessors did.

I was mildly disappointed that I couldn't alternate between alchemy and adventuring the way I did in the previous Arland games.

I was annoyed by that as well until I discovered that there's a structure you can create later on that unlocks exactly that.

 

[Mondriaan]

I was annoyed by that as well until I discovered that there's a structure you can create later on that unlocks exactly that.

I figured as much, but it seems pointless that the structure that unlocks MP restoration during travel isn't one of the earliest development projects.

I'm currently (ab)using migraine syrups so MP restoration isn't as high a priority as it might otherwise be.

 

[Lockon]

Ding! Platinum'd! I thoroughly enjoy the whole Arland series. Can't wait for Ayesha. Time for next game: Gravity Rush!

 

[RurouniZel]

Ding! Platinum'd! I thoroughly enjoy the whole Arland series. Can't wait for Ayesha. Time for next game: Gravity Rush!

I'm still at 78%. >> I gotta do another run me thinks. This will be a 4th run, after that even if I still don't platinum I'm gonna shelve Meruru for awhile. Love the game but will need something new for a bit. XD

 

[Rarutos]

Heads up guys, the Makina Domain (free dungeon DLC) comes immediately with a new recipes like bombs that are infinite uses and awesome accessories!

 

[RurouniZel]

Awesome! Thanks for the reminder about the free DLC!

 

[RurouniZel]

So, can anyone who's bought/used the DLC characters rank their battle prowess/worthfulness? I haven't had a chance lately as I've been dog-sitting all week... >>;

 

[LayLa]

Finished today, got a middling ending. I did too much adventuring & not enough alchemy i think. But it was fun!
Things i enjoyed : Meruru was good company, a slightly goofy genki girl who just wants to get on with the story. Her book-reading animation made me laugh every time! I really liked the kingdom building aspect of the game, watching the population grow & new buildings go up made it feel like something was really being achieved. The battle system & environment exploration seemed less clunky than the previous Arland games too, Boss battles in particular were a good challenge. Totori's 4 Chim special attack. The Puni recipes. Oh and the version of the Boss battle song with lyrics was great, reminded me of old anime songs like the Dirty Pair OP.
Things i didn't enjoy : Rorona. Just no. No. NO. (although the way she teaches Meruru spells was cute). That weird glitch in Meruru's jump animation. The way you'd get kicked out of where you'd want to go if a cutscene was waiting, meaning you'd have to go there again once the cutscene was over (once when i tried to go see Rufus this happened 3 times in a row, arrrrgh).

 

[ChryZ]

Finished my first play through last night. What a delightful game, lovely coming of age story and my most favorite in the Arland trilogy. I had such a good time and can't wait to play Atelier Ayesha. Big ups, Gust!

 

[RurouniZel]

Alright, took a break from the game and now I'm gonna do one more run! I need to platinum this (that 78% is STARING AT ME!!).. >>;

How goes everyone else's journey?

 

[The Grim Heaper]

Alright, took a break from the game and now I'm gonna do one more run! I need to platinum this (that 78% is STARING AT ME!!).. >>;

How goes everyone else's journey?

I've barely had time to even start Meruru. I think I just did the first quest Rufus gives you...

 

[RurouniZel]

I've barely had time to even start Meruru. I think I just did the first quest Rufus gives you...

Yeah, it's easy to get bogged down with other games, life, etc. Lord knows there's lots of games I'm neglecting to play Meruru again. XD

Let us know if you have any questions. ^^

 

[Rarutos]

So, can anyone who's bought/used the DLC characters rank their battle prowess/worthfulness? I haven't had a chance lately as I've been dog-sitting all week... >>;

They're defs more worth it than the Totori ones because they actually come with ~events~.

Also Juana is ridiculous as her regular attack hits ALL enemies, you should see all the numbers when you have Rainbow Power, Deity Power, Time Spirit, and Spirit Power, it's ridiculous. Rufus is amusing because he's practically a male dominatrix (I'm kind of exaggerating, I haven't actually used him too much though), and Pamela is pretty awesome, and revives by herself whenever she dies(?).

Juana is also useful because she adds things to her shop after her events, like Behemoth Hearts.

I just realized I called Hanna, Juana without thinking again. Oops.