System: PS3
Bought: June 4th 2012
Started: June 12th 2012
Beat: July 4th 2012 {Normal Ending}
Beat: July 16th 2012 {Game Over}
Beat: July 17th 2012 {Cordelia Ending}
Beat: July 19th 2012 {True Ending}
Trophies: 34 of 53
Idea: You're Rorona, A young girl forced by a questionably motivated older woman to work at an Alchemy shop. You are trying to save the shop from being shut down by the King , In order to do so you must complete 12 assignments over 3 years. The assignments have you making items, gathering items and killing monsters outside of the village... It's a lot to do for a little girl.
3 Years is not nearly as long as you think it should be.
Thoughts: It took me a while to decide to buy this game, It's relatively terrible reviews from anyone that was not a fan of the game had me worried. On the advice of even fans I bought Totori first, Played it a little and it wasn't too bad so.. Why the hell not? Looked Rorona up and there it was sitting happily at my nearest GameStop.
I'm happy I bought Rorona, It's an addictive game with very likable {yet perverted} characters. I haven't watched all the endings yet and I really did go through my first play through with no guidance. It was a miracle that I completed all the assignments at all with how awful my time management skills are.
End Results: No matter what you do, you will get some sort of ending in this game that does not involve you dying. If you fail to complete an assignment {Other then the first at least} the game ends, Your workshop closes and you leave with Astrid.
It all depends on what you do during the game, Who you pay attention to and how your work method is... So far I've pretty much gotten the Generic Endings. Only seeing Cordelias "special" endings...Guess I should have followed a guide {better}.
Characters
Rorona Frixell- The main character, A 17 year old girl who has been paying off her parents debt to Alchemist Astrid by being her "apprentice". There's not much to do around the workshop however because the townspeople really don't seem to care for Astrid, Which leads to the attempted shutdown of the Workshop by the castle.
Rorona is very naive, clumsy and really doesn't seem that bright. Which apparently makes her a perfect person to become an alchemist. People tend to gravitate towards her kindness and want to help her. {Well, The Townspeople are jerks at first but yea}
She has a habit of shortening everyone's names, Even trying to shorten "Cole" with a bit of a fail.
Astrid Zexus- The lazy teacher, She cured Rorona's parents of some illness and took Rorona as "payment" of sorts. Having a strange obsession with little girls, she's always making unusual comments to the females of the game... and Sterk. She has some sort of back relation with him, Hints of them having dated were thrown around.
Through the game it's revealed that Astrid has a dislike for the townspeople for how they treated her Master. No matter the ending I saw, She always leaves town at the end to find her own place.
Cordelia von Feverbach - Rorona's best friend, "Cory". She tends to get grief from the other kids in town about her parents money, She's also short... and doesn't like it being mentioned.
In her ending she works with Rorona, In the Workshop handling the requests from the Townsfolk.
She's the only person who parties with Rorona for free.
Iksel Jahn- He works at the Cafe in town, He's the second person you can hire and is mainly interested in gathering ingredients for cooking. Well, That and possibly Rorona.
At the end of the first year, He's one of the people you beat in the cabbage picking contest and during the second year you face him in a "Cook Off". Which I'm not even sure if it's possible to loose....
Have no got his ending but, He is always offering you a job as a waitress at the Cafe.
Sterkenburg Cranach - "Sterk", A knight at the castle who is handling Rorona's assignments. During the second one he offers up his services for a price. He's really helpful, One of the stronger characters even but he should be for how much he costs to hire.
Through the days he grows closer to Rorona, Maybe a little too close as Astrid and Esty like to tease. He's a bit torn between helping Rorona and doing his job as the Prime Minister wants him to.
I haven't got his ending yet so yea...
Tantris - Tristan Really, He's the wandering musician that is always flirting with Rorona. He comes back to his hometown and is "hired" by his father the Prime Minister to sabotage Rorona's work. Does it work? Not really.
Throughout his cut scenes you learn from a drunken Meredith that after Tantris' mother died he did the best to raise his son but, He had to work. His son ended up leaving Arland to wander about but all the PM wants is to retire and let his son take his place.
Near the end of the game Tantris comes clean about why he had been hanging around Rorona, Rorona being as clueless and forgiving as she is has the opposite reaction to what he was expecting... Thinking that him flirting with her was the way he was trying to "distract" her.
Have not got his ending yet though...
Gio - I know he's the King of Arland but, I really never got many of his scenes. Kind of ignored the old man even though he was quite strong while in the party.
Lionela - A traveling puppeteer, She's shy and rarely speaks to people. From what I have seen she has magic, Hence her talking puppets. Never did get her ending though so she will have to wait...
Others - From a Ghost to a strange bald man who makes weapons the characters in this game are fun to interact with. There are no real "enemies" other then the random monsters and somewhat boss like monsters that you run into while wandering around for items.
You can really get by in this game by barely fighting at all.
What now? I am not finished with this game, Having not seen all the endings yet{trophies} I just have to take a break. Having just bought Final Fantasy 13-2 it's back to 13 I go to finish it and then 13-2.
