3/5 ★ – DropsAStitch's review of Atelier Meruru Plus: The Apprentice of Arland.

Completed on Jan 15 25 hours played I definitely have a love-hate relationship with this game. There were several positive things about it, but I felt like the negative sometimes outweighed these. I will write some pros and cons: Pros: •Really fun gameplay, and I liked the idea of using alchemy to develop a kingdom •There is plenty to do •Lovable supporting characters •The battle system is simple, but enjoyable Cons: •Some of the mechanics in this game were just plain ridiculous. Unless you have perfect time management skills, you absolutely need the Traveler’s Shoes and the Warp Gate to conquer the time limit •As for the time limit, it is quite frustrating. Not everyone will agree with that, but the game honestly took me a few tries because of this. The first of the two time limits is pretty easy, but with the second one, another year would have made the game so much more enjoyable. •Meruru is slightly obnoxious as the protagonist, and the more I played, the more she aggravated me, especially after adorable Rorona and Totori in the other games. Final Verdict: Unless you are dead-set on playing the entire Arland series, I would skip this one. The frustration kept this game from being five stars, which it could have easily been with some adjustments. There are better Atelier games out there. If you really don’t like strict time limits, this game is absolutely not for you. If you do, this may just be heaven.