Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland Official English Trailer

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The tiny kingdom of Arls, located on the northeastern border of the Arland Republic, is where spunky Princess Meruru calls home. Ever since she was exposed to alchemy by famed adventurer Totori Helmold, all she can think about was becoming an alchemist. With Totori's guidance, Meruru sets out to develop her home kingdom of Arls using the power of alchemy. On her way, Meruru will encounter new adventures, obstacles, mysteries, and friends, and discover what life is like outside the castle walls. How you choose to guide her through the advancement of her land will determine the final outcome in the tale of Atelier Meruru. With new and updated game systems and returning characters from Atelier Rorona and Atelier Totori, Atelier Meruru will once again capture the hearts and minds of all the Atelier fans out there.

Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland (メルルのアトリエ～アーランドの錬金術士3～ Meruru no Atorie: Ārando no Renkinjutsushi 3?) (known in Japan as Atelier Meruru: The Alchemist of Arland 3) is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Gust. It was released for PlayStation 3 on June 23, 2011 in Japan. Atelier Meruru is the thirteenth installment in the Atelier series, and it continues the series' emphasis on item creation and synthesis. It is the third and final game in the Arland series and a direct sequel to Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland, and Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland. It went out of print after a month due to being mis-rated, only being re-released after CERO applied a B rating days later. It is notably the last title that Gust self-published before merging with Tecmo Koei. A PlayStation Vita version titled Atelier Meruru Plus: The Alchemist of Arland 3 was released on March 20, 2013 in Japan and as a download-only release in North America on September 3, 2013.

Meruru is the princess of Arls, a little kingdom situated in the far north of the Arland republic. After her father and Gio, the leader of Arland, discussed the merging of the two lands, she met Totori, the now-graduated alchemist. Dazzled by the power of alchemy, and with a desire to help her country prosper, she forced herself on Totori as her first student. Her father initially disapproves of this decision, but agrees following a suggestion from Rufus. He gives Meruru a directive to use her alchemy to improve the kingdom, with several intermediate goals which must be met within specific time periods in order to be allowed to continue her alchemy work. Later, Rorona joins the two, but she has been turned into a child by Astrid after drinking an experimental potion of youth.

The game features a turn-based battle system. Battles are based on the idea that the princess, Meruru, is the leader and those accompanying her are considered "escorts." Meruru can use items in battle and depending on the conditions in battle, her escorts can chain attacks and the power of the items can be increased. The escorts have access to a range of special attacks that consume MP and later in the game gain access to powerful finishing moves. Totori and Rorona, as alchemists, are also able to use items, but cannot make use of the bonuses like Meruru. Opponents drop items that can be used for alchemy synthesis and the defeat of certain opponents is required to advance development in most areas.