Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland

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.

Big step up from previous arland games
Previous arland games the story was pretty much non existent for most of the game, Lulua on the other hand has a more engaging story that is prominent throughout the whole game. The need to do request board has been drastically reduced as enemy drops provide more money and the overall reward from request board has been increased. The alchemy system has been improved from past arland games, more mechanics are introduced creating more depth to the system.
What I didn't like about the game
Most of the recipes are hidden behind a 2 riddle system, similiar to sophie and lydie & suelle. If you solve both riddles for that 1 recipe you unlock the recipe. The problem is the riddles are vague so you end up just looking up online on what the requirement is because it doesn't feel good wasting materials on synthesising something that doesn't end up matching the riddle.
Story is kind of bad. Relative to atelier games its ok but relative to other jrps the story is terrible but its better then barely any story like past arland games.
Probably most grindy atelier game to date. Balancing is kind of off. The very first boss is way too hard and you have to grind exp/money (to buy accessories) to beat it. Prior to the final boss, the game doesn't really challenge you. It's only in the last chapter where the difficulty spikes through the roof and you have to lock in and build the best gear possible. If you are just killing enemies for bounties only, you will be 40lvl under the final boss, and at that point grinding mobs isn't viable so you have to craft the best gear to compensate.
Overall if you enjoyed the past arland games you will enjoy this one(and you don't mind some grind), if you are not a fan of the riddle system to unlock recipe I recommend you stay away from this game. If you play atelier games for the synthesis system and the power fantasy of being op like modern atelier games then i recommend you stay away from this game too. If your new to atelier series I redirect you to more modern atelier games or other jrps that have better story.

Another fun atelier game, albeit with its own flaws. Im not a fan of the new 2D models of reoccuring characters and as the 4th Arland game i was wishing for a bit more cameos. Great synthesis system. Great combat on the surface, but it quickly evolves in watching the same animations over and over again. Progression is very weird and the timing at which chapters end and begin seem random. And that last point is what keeps me from truly liking this game. Still a fun game and a must play for atelier fans.
P.S a much better pc port compared to the 2 prior games, just wish the anti-aliazing was done better

Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland feels like a swan song for the series in many ways, offering a nostalgic return to the Arland world. As the adopted daughter of Rorona, Lulua’s journey to become a great alchemist is a charming and fitting way to revisit these beloved characters and locations. The graphical advancements make exploring Arland feel fresh and exciting, and seeing where characters like Meruru (now a queen), Rorona (a world traveler), and Totori (an extremely skilled alchemist) are years later is a major highlight.
The gameplay remains a familiar and enjoyable mix of alchemy and JRPG combat. A new back-support system adds a fun layer to battles, allowing for new character combinations and strategies. The difficulty felt fair for most of the game, though the end has a notable difficulty spike that can be challenging.
While the main plot, which involves time travel and parallel worlds, can feel a bit convoluted and silly, the rest of the cast is excellent. Lulua's best friend Eva is funny and supportive, her teacher Piana is a fun kind of crazy, Aurel is a smooth swordsman, and Nico is a hilarious pirate. The strong ensemble cast makes the adventure consistently engaging.
One of the game's biggest drawbacks is the lack of quality-of-life improvements found in the DX versions of the earlier games. Features like a fast-forward button for battles are sorely missed, especially during the grind.
Despite these issues, Atelier Lulua is a great game and a worthy addition to the Arland saga. It's a wonderful journey filled with memorable characters and a solid gameplay loop. For fans of the series, this is an excellent return to a beloved world.
Overall Score: 8/10

If you enjoyed Arland story and characters this is a good game and will recommend for that case. Sadly as an standalone Atelier game, it is just medicore.

Early game, common enemies have way overinflated HP, and bombs and equipment is weak. This makes early fights a chore, leading to strategy of pickup runs when you try to avoid any and every combat and just harvest materials. You also don't unlock restock until 1/3 into the game so you have to contantly remake consumables. Eventually it does get better, but that's when second issue starts to appear.

Awakening and counter-elements make alchemy system overly complex, frustrating to work with and impossible to predict without stupid amounts of time documenting it. Its simply not as fun as it used to been in older games. If you want to make a good item you have to spend an hour planning every element, awakening path and traits interactions, and then you will find out that because devs put a single ice element on one item it all goes to $&^%!/.

A charming JRPG with a simple to get into, yet deceptively complex crafting system. Had a lot of fun with this one.

挺好玩的，但是画面有点差劲，不像19年的游戏，技术力还是太差了，不过玩法还是不错的