At first I didn't think I 'd like this game. Apparently it was the first of the Arland games to get the "Plus" treatment, so while Rorona is the earlier game, Rorona had several more quality of life improvements to the gameplay. Coming from Rorona, it was a little tough to make the transition.

However, I'm really glad I stuck with it. Totori as a character is just completely charming, and while the crafting isn't nearly as involved or complex as it was in Rorona, it's still enjoyable enough.

Unlike with Atelier Rorona, the time limit drove me crazy in this game. In Rorona, I felt it was there to give a sense of urgency to the quarterly tasks, and it really worked. In Totori, with time passing for every battle, every gather, and much more for travel, I really felt the pressure from the time limit, especially when going for the true ending. In the end, though, I still had plenty of time.

I will say that getting all of the endings in Totori was a not-so-pleasant grind, especially compared to Rorona where you can unlock several characters' events in one playthrough and then choose the ending you wished for. In Totori, you're locked into endings based on a priority system, so you have to be extra vigilant not to unlock an ending you don't want.

All in all, I really enjoyed my time with Totori, but I wish it had seen the same quality of life changes as Atelier Rorona. Still, it has some great callbacks to Rorona with characters and scenes, and the new characters, while not as good as the ones in Rorona, still hold their own.

Having never played this game, I was excited to try it when it came to the new PS+ program. I can definitely see why it holds a soft spot in so many people's hearts - it's a charming game, it's pretty fun, and it has great music.

But hoo boy - that control scheme! Apparently this was one of the first games to showcase the dual analog sticks, so it opts to use an analog stick option for so many controls when a button would have been way better. I guess that's understandable given that they were trying to showcase the new controllers, but it made for a less enjoyable playing experience than it could have been.

All in all, though, I'm sure PS1-era me would have been just fine with the controls. :)

I've had this in my backlog forever, and never played it because the concept seemed so weird despite all the praise I'd always hear about the series. I finally played it because some of the newer titles were on sale, and I wanted to see if I liked the concept before adding them to my ridiculous backlog!

Let me just say that now I'm hooked on the series. This game was tremendous fun, and I even really enjoyed the time limit mechanic that apparently fell out of favor in later iterations in the series. Battles are simple, but you can still get wiped if you aren't prepared. And the alchemy is legitimately addicting. Plus, Rorona the character is ridiculously charming. Definitely glad I played this one finally!