Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland

This is the fourth game of the Arland series. One could easily get into the Atelier series as a whole with this as their first game. It has no time management so it's chill. Still, it's definitely true that you get so much more out of this game if you've played the Arland trilogy before playing this.

Meeting all the characters again is always so much fun in any of them, and seeing how they've grown etc. Arland has so many great characters. Sadly, you don't get to meet them all again. Hagel and Iksel have been replaced by their apprentices, for example, which was a bit disappointing. And many others are only referenced in passing conversation like Cordelia. Some barely even get mentioned, and not even by name, like Gino. I liked him cuz he was always so honest even if it was offensive which was hilarious. I was hoping to learn how he's doing. I had also hoped to get Iksel pissed off again by beating him in a cooking contest again because that was always so funny, too. But alas. Would have been so good for nostalgia, yanno.

Luckily, you do get to have Sterk around again, the best male side character in all of the Arland games, potentially, all Atelier games imo. Some of the new characters are fun too. Some are kind of boring. It's a bit of a mixed bag. But at least that means there's at least one or two that can be enjoyed, I think.

Lulua is pretty boring, just a basic I am cute and happy type of girl. There's nothing unique about her. Her love for curry would be the only thing I feel, and that's not all that riveting. Everyone has a food pref. But even that isn't standing out so much in this game because everyone and their mother in this game seems to be very much into curry and eats it at every bend and turn other than Aurel.... Literally, every time they eat at the orphanage it's curry. Wot.

Graphics wise, I don't enjoy the artstyle at all for the 3D models in this game. Their mouths look weird when they talk, no teeth and the way they were given 'lips' just makes it look worse. Their faces look too dead, with big empty soulless eyes, and their hair looks weird too. Especially on the females, it looks like it's wet as it is way too shiny and lacks volume, and is overly straight The edges are cut off straight too making it look unnatural/ugly. Long hair also often spasms around or glitches through their body parts. Even all of Atelier's older title has more appealing looking character models imo. I also have no idea why they decided to make the characters look up with their eyes so much to the point their pupils are nearly invisible, making them look really weird (especially happens with Sterk). It's just really weird and ugly.

Furthermore, animation wise, it's mostly static. Characters do some basic emotes, and mostly stand around stationary during cutscenes. I expected a little more coming straight out of wrapping up the Dusk trilogy, as this was a somewhat newer title. But it's really low production value making me question the price of this game. It feels like too steep a price to me. While the game is fun and as an Arland and Atelier fan I feel it was worth my time, I did get it on sale and I am glad I did. Definitely wait for a sale or you might feel kinda cheated.

Other than that, the game offers the same satisfying gameplay loop Atelier games are known for. Explore, gather, craft. You know the drill if you know Atelier.

Was fun but, finished the game in nintendo switch.
Good crafting system and it has time too.
Still my favorite atelier is still escha and logy.
Overall very fun
Gameplay : 7/10
Sound : 8/10
Art : 6/10
Character : 7/10
Note : this game can get expensive buy it on sale also recommended.

One of the best atelier game, you can still enjoy this game without playing previous series

This is a tentative reccomend, ONLY ON SALE, ive played basically every atelier from rorona onwards and this ones crafting system infuriated me(way better then totori and slightly better then meruru but nearly the worst in the entire series) . Keeping track of awakening skills forcing types onto other types an not having access to some types just because it not synthysiable leads to a huge headache when trying to make post game material. Also since you have to do so much more crafting and duplicating you're just always out of money an have to either grind or risk using up more of your best mats. Story is pretty subpar too an is mostly a rose tinted goggles of "hey how is the old crew doing" sadly the answer is NOT MUCH.

The weakest game in the Arland series, but that is not a mark against the game itself. It is a good JRPG with a robust combat system, large variety of dungeons, interesting story that does not excels and a robust crafting system. But for fans of past game, do not expect to find similar gameplay style here. The time management is now out the window, travelling cost time on the calendar, but the years passing does not matter. The recipe unlocking mechanism is also more skin to the mysterious series than the Arlands.

But at least the characters and events are fun.

This is my first Atelier game, and I am distinctly impressed. Despite a few frustrations, this is one of the very select class of game that has always left me with a smile on my face.

The story is a sequel to the earlier Atelier Arland titles, but you don't need to know anything about previous chapters to get this story, as it focuses on the growth and hijinks of Elmerulia "Lulua" Frixell, a trainee alchemist who obtains a magical book. The characters are charming if slightly stereotypical, and there is a zero-pressure approach to things that is delightfully refreshing.

The gameplay is deceptively shallow, with a basic turn-based combat system and exploration of small areas. There is a surprising and sometimes unexpected level of depth, with character move combinations, support triggers, equipment and weapon-based stats, and item or accessory use. There are some difficulty spikes, and enemy levels mean something: just a level or two is the difference between surviving a boss's powerful attack and getting a party wipe. With items and accessories, we hit the other half of Atelier Lulua; the alchemy. It is a complex and engaging system, with mutually conflicting elemental balance, traits, awakened effects that can be triggered, and an item's quality. This is apparently one of the most complex alchemy systems in the series, but once it clicked, it was a great time finding ways to boost effect levels and create items that could take down enemies more than ten levels higher than the party.

A note on this compared to other Atelier titles. While the other Arland titles have in-game time limits and time-based mechanics, Lulua limits itself to ingredients or events only happening at certain times, or some enemies only appearing during day or night. There is no time limit, meaning the player can explore and complete optional story events at their own pace. There is challenging post-game content, and New Game + for those who want to go through and see more of the game's twelve or so endings if they don't unlock them on their first runthrough.

Onto the music, graphics, and technical side. The music is absolutely fantastic, a wonderful mixture of calming tunes, remixes of earlier Arland tracks, combat tracks, and character themes. The visuals aren't the most impressive, with some pop-in and stiff character animation, but Mel Kishida's character designs and the overall aesthetic are charming. Also PC versions of Atelier titles have frequently had technical issues, but Atelier Lulua suffered nothing more than some occasional stuttering when entering areas.

On the whole, I'd call this a solid game in its own right, and (for me) a sound introduction to Atelier. It has some limited time mechanics, but no time limit. The crafting can be overwhelming, but deeply engaging. Combat is simple to grasp, but tricky to master, and surprisingly challenging at times. The graphics are not the greatest, but the art and soundtrack are stunning. This is also one of the most technically sound PC ports within the series. Highly recommended for seekers of cozy RPGs.

8/10.

The bad
The cast and OSTs are mostly meh. Eva and Piana are so bland. Niko is whatever. The ones that I truly like (aside from Rorona and Sterk) are Aurel and Ficus, Ficus mostly because his past was so interesting. The cast in Atelier Escha & Logy is still my top fave, though. I love when RPGs have mostly adults/mature-like characters instead of teens.
The good
THE MAP IS SO BIG?! It's not an open world like Firis, but there a lot more areas that can be explored compared to other Arland, Dusk or Mysterious titles. Maybe there are around 40-50 areas that can be explored + 3 main cities unlike others that usually only has 1.
I think in terms of story I enjoyed this one a lot compared to other titles. It started slow, but I didn't expect the plot twists. The conclusions to the ending didn't make any sense. But like they said, alchemy can do anything. So yeah, whatever. The rule of their world.
I love the UIs of the party formation+after battlescreen a lot more compared to other games that I've played. The full body view is a delight to look at.
The mid
The endings, yeah, they're just there but I'm glad they brought back the multiple endings. I'm still sad remembering Sophie didn't have any multiple endings. They did it so dirty.
I quite like Lulua as an MC. She's not as annoying as Firis, but she's way too over optimistic. The reason why she was made her like that was explained at the end but I'm still eh. It's rare to see an Atelier MC that was depressed all the time because she lives under her mother's shadow.
I'm still sad because frontliners can't protect each other unlike other titles. But the assist skills by backliners actually brought a fresh take to the battles. I could experience it fully in hard fights.
The alchemy gameplay is not as complex as Mysterious trilogy (thank god). It's a simple one this time. Sadly it's not as easy as Escha & Logy to make 999 quality items. The alchemy system in Escha & Logy is more complex but a lot more fun.
7.5/10