Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland

This was my 1st Atelier game, and man I DO NOT REGRET ANYTHING!.
The "Wagon Atelier" theme makes me so dmn happy for some reason that I don't understand. I could really just synthetize all day while listening to that song.
The story is ok, the characters are so lovely, the combat is interesting and somewhat easy (unless you select Hard or above difficulties, which turn combat into tactical fights for your life).
I love that there is no time restriction/limit, so you just can enjoy the game as much as you can.
Please give it a try, you won't regret it. While it is not as "good" as Atelier Ryza (that are more combat focused) I still enjoy each instance of New Game I create with this game.

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

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.

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.

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.

Fun gameplay and alchemy system so far. My only gripe is Koei locked Totori and Meruru behind season passes.

Atelier Lulua is one of the best Ateliers I've played so far, if not perhaps the best part of the entire series. And with no time limit or pressure whatsoever, it's also one of the most relaxed parts of the series. Nevertheless, you shouldn't start with the title as a complete newcomer, as Atelier Lulua is primarily aimed at players who already know and love the Arland series: Over 20 years have passed since the events of Atelier Rorona (10 in real life) until we slip into the shoes of Rorona's daughter Lulua and the story what happend during that time wants to be told here too - accordingly, it is teeming with allusions and old familiar faces that have matured over the years, but are especially appreciated by those who experienced their origins themselves. The map is also full of nostalgia, as it covers virtually all areas of the first three Arland titles and combines them into a large, graphically significantly revised world that has changed noticeably over the years. And yet, when you finally arrive in the capital city of Arland after the first few hours of play and walk along "Artisan's Way" to Rorona's old shop... you will feel like you're truely coming home.

In terms of Gameplay, the game doesn't set any new standards, but that's okay. This time you lead a party of 5 in the JRPG turn-based combat mode, with 3 frontline fighters and two replacements who can be swapped in or have their support skills triggered. The alchemists can also be assigned interruption items, which they can use at any time when their bar is full to push through additional damage or save someone from being KO'd just in time. Ultimate attacks can also be unlocked from a certain level or under certain conditions, which can turn the course of the battle in our favor with screen-filling effects. Something that is particularly very welcomed when you meet the enemies and bosses in the later sections of the adventure.

Crafting is fun as well and is one of the best systems in the series. It's easy to understand and gives you a lot of control over the end product, especially later on with the boost items. A grid model like in Mysterious has been dispensed with, but there are element bars to fill again which now can also form opposing pairs with elements lying on the other axis and thus, for example, negating progress already made on the fire bar when you add earth points.

I also don't find the slice of life skits as overloaded this time as in the Mysterious games, for example Lydie & Suelle, where you are constantly interrupted by scenes during work. Nevertheless, there's nothing lacking here and the humour is great as usual - the old cast hasn't lost any of its likeability over the years and the new characters fit in without any problems. The curry lover Lulua in particular really takes after her mother, and not just when it comes to her passion for food. If I have anything to criticise at all, it's that one of the story-relevant NPCs is somewhat neglected during those skits and was somewhat lost in the mass of young and old characters - and when the emotional connection that Lulua ultimately shows at some story-relevant points came up, it didn't really affected me personally as probably desired, because as a player I didn't really have that much to do with the character. But that's complaining on a high level.

40 hours later after a certain book fell on Lulua's head, I'm now watching the various endings I've unlocked and am generally very happy with the purchase. I still have a bit of endgame ahead of me, a few secret pages in the Alchemyriddle still need to be deciphered and the True Ending might still be reached. But I can definitely recommend buying it: Anyone who knows and loves Atelier - especially the Arland cast, of course - will definitely not be disappointed by this game.