In my experience, children either follow in their parent’s footsteps or go completely in the opposite direction. This makes being the child of a celebrity or “guru” of some sort difficult. This is certainly true for Elmerulia (Lulua) Frixell, daughter of Rorona Frixell, a world-famous alchemist. In this 4^th installment of the “Arland” series, it’s up to Lulua to save the world while uncovering the secrets of the “Alchemyriddle”, a curious magical text.

As in the previous Atelier games, you explore areas, fight enemies, gather ingredients, synthesize items, and fulfill requests. However, there have been several improvements to the usual formula. The first of which is the removal of the time limit. While there is a clock, it is only for special events like the Arland Royal Fair, which takes place every December. There’s no more rushing to finish the main story in x number of years. Instead, you can just take your time; gathering, filling requests, exploring new places, or battling to your heart’s content before advancing the story.

In previous Atelier games, I frequently got frustrated at the time restraints. Having to gather materials (which takes time), so I could synthesize the required item (which takes more time), while not missing the deadline was tedious and stressful. The removal of the time limit is a breath of fresh air that makes one of my favorite series even better.

The second improvement has been to the areas themselves. The areas in Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland are much larger than in previous games, offer a wider variety of materials to gather, and are absolutely beautiful. Additionally, they provide a purpose for the day/night cycle. Different enemies appear in the daytime than in the nighttime, making each area less repetitive and more fun on repeat visits.

Another improvement to the areas is the addition of special gathering spots that require Exploration Tools. For example, a huge rock that requires a pickaxe to break, or a fishing spot that requires a fishing rod. You do have to synthesize and equip these Exploration Tools, and it can be quite challenging to remember to return to an area to break a rock that’s blocking a path, but again it makes areas more fun on repeat visits.

I really enjoyed visiting new areas to see what beauty (and materials) they had to offer. Revisiting past areas to grab things or check blocked paths that I didn’t have the correct Exploration Tool for was fun as well. The map is really well done which makes exploring every bit of an area easy and a joy.

Battles are still turn-based but have also been improved. You can now have 5 characters in your party, instead of 3. Characters on the back row don’t get a turn but perform Assist Skills depending on the character in front of them, what action that character makes, and whether other requirements have been met. Assist Skills can be anything from buffing the party, healing a character, or unleashing powerful attacks on the enemy.

As before, only Alchemists can use items but they have a new trick up their sleeves, Interrupts. Interrupt allows them to use an item regardless of whose turn is next. In order to use an Interrupt, the Alchemist must have an Interrupt eligible item equipped and the Interrupt gauge must be full. The equipped Interrupt item can even be used when you’ve run out of uses. The interrupt gauge fills a little each turn but fills more slowly when the item usage is 0.

Alchemy has always been the heart of the Atelier games and Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland is no exception. Alchemy returns in Atelier Lulua, with a few interesting changes. Most recipes are found by solving various problems in the “Alchemyriddle,” others can be found by purchasing recipe books, or by acquiring recipes through the storyline.

Alchemy works similarly to previous games, though in a somewhat evolved form. Every ingredient has a quality value, elemental value, and traits. By accumulating certain elemental values, you can acquire various effects. You can also transfer various traits over to your finished item, which will augment and enhance their usefulness.

Requests (and various situations) will require you to make a multitude of items with different effects and traits, so learning the Alchemy system is key to your success. It is an easy enough mechanic to learn, but mastering Alchemy is something that has taken me a full playthrough, and there are still aspects of it that elude me. Even though I don’t understand how all of it works, it seems less complicated than in previous games and is definitely less frustrating. While I’ve enjoyed the Alchemy in previous Atelier games, this iteration was more fun.

All in all, the improvements to the game have made a fantastic series even better. I’d go so far as to say Atelier Lulua is my new favorite title in the series. If you are an RPG fan, or just enjoy a good story with fun characters, you can’t go wrong by picking this up. It’s fun, has high replayability, and will keep you busy for a long long time.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland was provided by KOEI TECMO AMERICA for this review.

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Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland

$59.95

10

Score

10.0/10

Pros

• Major Improvements to a Tried and True Formula
• Large, Beautiful Exploration Areas
• Uncomplicated, Yet Challenging Alchemy
• Characters are Endearing and Funny
• Great Battle System

Cons

• No English Voice Acting

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