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Atelier Meruru ~The Apprentice of Arland~ DX
Developer KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Third release in the Arland series. Princess of the small frontier country of Arls, Meruru plans to use alchemy to stimulate the growth of her small country. Use Synthesis, Explore, and Battle to increase the population within the time limit and boost the advancement of the kingdom. From the Steam store page
90 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Aug 9, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
96
LovedLoved
85 positive · 4 negative
95% range 89–98%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 85 | 4 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
1 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
333 of 350 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 90 · most liked firstHOLY CRAP SOMEONE ACTUALLY WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND AND FIXED BOTH THE LOCKED RESOLUTION AND STUTTERS IN MENUS. IT EVEN WORKS ON THE DUSK TRILOGY. 百合 姫 you are a god amongst men. https://steamcommunity.com/app/1152300/discussions/0/3345546664208090238/ While this review is positive, mostly because I love these games, this is a hard sell and I hope to provide the potential customer with information to draw their own conclusions. Also as you can see by the edits, this game is very, very borked in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is excellent. I loved playing it and I think it's my favorite Atelier game of the Arland Series. Very cute, a lot of fun with nice art syle and great soundtrack. Meruru is also a great protagonist, perfect for the series! Everything is greatly improved over the previous games. Alchemy and combat/exploration plays about the same as Rorona and Totori, but in this game you have much more options to harvest and create items. It was really fun to see the land develop and grow with higher…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this is why i love video games. it appeals to the female fantasy (being a princess and throwing bombs at a giant tree)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TLDR: A very fun game that deliberately prevents you from playing it too much due to time restrictions. Quickly becomes a stressful race as you have to pick and choose between fun or completion. PROS: ➕Classic Arland characters ➕Facilities building ➕Zones change based on quests CONS: ➖Max resolution is 1920x1080 ➖World map has poor destination selection ➖Can’t view recipes in the field means you often have to guess what materials you need ➖Massive difficulty jumps ➖Crash to desktop count…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meruru is so cute and funny, she's such a great heroine!! I had a relaxing time playing this game. The slice-of-life story was cozy and I have seen the true ending. You get to develop a kingdom and see the land change over time which is amazing. Also, Totori is here my beloved! Beware of the Heaven's Dragon, that fight is no joke...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the third and final game of the original Arland trilogy. It's good! Meruru, a princess alchemist, must develop the small rural kingdom called Arls, and bring it to prosperity. This adventure includes turn based battles, exploration, and alchemy. Balancing all of that will help the kingdom gain popularity. Some of the endings require you to get 100k by the end of year 5. But don't worry, I'm pretty sure that's only two of them. The rest of the endings all have different requirements.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🟡 Requires heavy tinkering [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/993090/Lossless_Scaling/] Lossless Scaling or Borderless Gaming https://github.com/Codeusa/Borderless-Gaming/releases to run it in borderless fullscreen properly. Ingame fullscreen option stretch the image on non 16:9 screens. Tested on: OnexPlayer Mini Pro 6800U [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42772030-Handheld-Friendly/] Follow Handheld Friendly
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I finished my 2nd year and didnt make the 15k population goal though I did all the development tasks and projects I could afford. After the 2nd year, 6 months passed and no new development tasks. I visited all of the areas, talked with everyone, and kept crafting every new recipe I got but no new tasks were available. Coming up on the end of the game and I'm not even half way to the population goal. I looked through all of the blogs online I could find on the subject and apparently I'm not the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Why do I have to use X for confirm, and O for cancel, even when playing the Japanese version? And it shows the Xbox buttons instead of PS buttons. Nanban always ruin Japanese games. It's a good game anyway, the best one in the Arland trilogy IMO. It'd be better if I can set the display to borderless window & 1920x1080 (without using some tricks). These girls are sexy, so it's a 9/10.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Every time someone whines about the time limit in these games, I feel like strangling a kitten. It’s really not that bad, people.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Atelier Meruru ~The Apprentice of Arland~ DX, developed and published by KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD., is a rich and engaging JRPG that marks the third entry in the beloved Arland trilogy within the larger Atelier series. This enhanced edition builds on the mechanics and storytelling of its predecessors while introducing fresh elements that deepen the gameplay experience. Players take on the role of Meruru, a young princess with ambitions to rejuvenate her small kingdom of Arls through the power…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Probably the best of the Arland trilogy. I really enjoyed my time with Meruru and its staggering number of characters you can play with. Meruru is incredibly cute and I liked all her endings, especially the NG+ ones. The time limit is definitely more lenient, and the combat system is great compared to the previous ones, though Machina Domain absolutely destroyed me. :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game though I love it crashes if you breath wrong... or when it feels like it which is all the time
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Is Atelier Meruru worth buying? I will start off by saying yes Atelier Meruru is worth a buy! Meruru is my favorite game of the Atelier Arland trilogy. This game drastically improves upon it's predecessors in nearly every way. The item crafting is refined, the battles are more challenging/fun, there's tons of endings to get, great replay value with New Game + and many challenging optional bosses. The story has former characters from prior entries in the Arland trilogy who return and get…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →OK lets start with the basic even if i not recomend totori, I suggest buy all arland games and after play totori enter the the best one of the first trilogy (the last is more newer...). Now this game fix a lot of totori problems in terms alchemy, more easy look for the item you want and no so weird events... in my blind run i got a lot of events. The time part is not so bad but get bad endings are hard too hard... actually platinum game without guide on second run seems hard, still cause game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is worth the money on pc I being playing this series on my ps3 and rpcs3 I finally get the opportunity to play it on my pc. The performance is smoother than ps3 and rpcs3 gameplay no crash on both my ryzen system with different gpus its enjoyable experience. Despite the low res texture in some the characters but not worry about it as long on the fps is above than 30 fps ps3 version. I strongly recommend this game on pc but play this on windows only for now until proton gets another…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Introduction As a fan of the series, I decided to write reviews for the Atelier games. I tried to make them in a way that newcomers and maybe even fellow fans who're looking for the next installment find out something about it. About Atelier This is a classic JRPG franchise, meaning it has turn based battles where you have to select from a list what will your characters do in their turn. Atelier's charm however lies in the alchemy system. This system is about gathering materials in around…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Playing through the Atelier games (minus Lulua since these jerks chose not to dub it for whatever stupid reason) and I finally took the time to complete Meruru. It's interesting - Meruru feels like a "mature" version of the game. Very close in maturity to Firis which was much further in the future. Rorona and Totori felt clunky, half-baked and (at least with Totori) needlessly spread thin with questionable graphics. What I Liked ✅ Meruru had excellent music almost all the way through…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meruru getting jump scared by Astrid at every opportunity never gets old, and I enjoyed my time with the game, but the requirements to clear a specific ending can be time-consuming. I ultimately only cleared 7 out of 11 endings possible. The time limit system is more forgiving compared to the earlier entries, although I feel the endings are less varied. I still might do the rest of the endings in the future, but I'm quite happy stopping here for the time being and move on to Atelier Lulua.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall Rating: 7/10 Gameplay: 7/10 • Atelier Meruru is the third game of the Arland series. While the game brings back characters from the previous titles, Atelier Rorona and Atelier Totori, it presents side stories and cutscenes for fan service rather than developing the main storyline. • While still simplistic, the addition of quality of life features brings a complete feel to the game. The organization features missing from Atelier Totori were reintroduced, bringing a cleaner process.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Clearly the best of the three Arland games. The gameplay is awesome, the combat system is a mix between rorona and totori, but the biggest thing for me is the importance of the battle item. Meruru's combo depends on them, so make sure you have a bunch of them.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun series but too bad the new ones aren't in english.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meruru is easily one of the best in the Atelier series and definitely the best in the trilogy. Taking lessons from both Rorona and Totori, they balanced focusing on making your home base happy and content, while also giving proper due to the protag's growth as a person and towards her passions. Meruru herself is just great. Most don't like bratty princesses, but we the players catch her at her transitioning point; the moment where we see her falling in love with the freedom of alchemy and how…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Third part of the Arland Series. You play as Meruru, short for Merurulince, who has been ignoring her royals duties and has been learning Alchemy through Totori. However, her father does not approve of her becoming an Alchemist due to reasons. After a little bit more convincing, she gains his permission, but on the condition that, within 3 years, she can prove that Alchemy will help develop the Kingdom. As soon as I opened the game for the first time, I fell in love with the OSTs. Not only…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you are a fan of the Atelier games, this game stands out for the Arland series. I highly encourage everyone to play this game, even if they decide to skip Rorona and Totori. Crafting items, battling, and NPC's have never been better. I will say the only thing this game struggles with is the limited amount of items you can register at shops. Unlike the other Atelier games, you have a very limited number of slots in 1 shop to register. Using the register feature is essential with time…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has one of the hardest NG+ dungeons from Atelier games. Progression system is great and easy, alchemy like in all previous games of this block, time managment is easy here, plenty of time to do everything...combat is not challenging at all till you get to machina domain. The whole content from this game you can get only on NG+. Like any previous games you have to manage your saves to get multiple endings, you can't choose them like in later games in this seriers. All in all lovely…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My personal favorite of the Arland Tetralogy . Not a good starting point, but a great end point. Meruru is the light in my soul. Literally a good game out of 10.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Worth it just because of loli rorona
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Atelier Meruru is the last of the Atelier Arland Series Trilogy where you play as a Princess who does not have much time to be a Princess based off a Treaty made with Arland. You learn this in the beginning so its not a spoiler. Anyway you are suppose to build up your Kingdom with the use of Alchemy. If you are familiar with Atelier Rorona (My Favorite) and Atelier Totori then you will be quite Familiar with Atelier Meruru. There are several endings just like the previous two where your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →BigZ here reporting on another game worthy of review; Today we are looking at Atelier Meruru ~The Apprentice of Arland~ DX from Koei Tecmo Games. Meruru was originally released on the Playstation3 as the last game within the Arland series. The game has not changed since the original release but it does include the DLC’s. Only thing I wish they changed was allowing you to zoom out on the map. However, just like the original the game is my favorite of the three because the goals are good but it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played this back in the day on my PSVita, this is arguably the best atelier game of all times!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the best game in the trilogy so far.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →barrel (i spent my life savings on a mushroom)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can very clearly see a world where I fall in love with Atelier Meruru, and have it be one of my favorite Atelier games, but there are just a few flaws within the game that I can't help but get stuck at. Firstly, the game is way to relient on characters from the previous 2 games from the Arland series. Atelier Totori had a few characters pop up from Atelier Ronona, but all of those were in the location where the previos game took place. Atelier Meruru just keeps bring back character after…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →By far my favorite one of the Arland series. A lot of likable characters, both new and old, and a great protagonist. I liked Rorona and Totori too, but Meruru's personality is great. I like the somewhat more 'serious' tone of this game, because sometimes I thought they laid it on a bit too thick in the previous games. This was perfectly balanced. There was still plenty of humor, but it didn't overstay its welcome. Also definitely feel the game was more fun since I'd played the two previous…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As you complete tasks to help improve the kingdom the maps you visit is slowly having contruction done as well as being populated the further along you are its things like that is what makes me like this game so much
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meruru calls her own father, the King of Arls, a poopyhead. Possibly the darkest game in the trilogy, you've been warned.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+ Still fun and deep alchemy system: Plays exactly as in Rorona/Totori (first/second game). Everything in this game revolves around it. Basically, you use various materials to create a variety of things like equipment (for battles), materials (for story progression), etc. Most of the materials have a number of traits (like increasing the selling price of the item or give a weapon more strength) you have to take into account which can give birth to better traits making your battles easier for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I recommend this game for veterans of Atelier games. My legitimate issue I had with the game & it's a technical one like at times when I use the boomerang girl to normally attack I get this annoying pop up & I had to hit alt+tab & x out to get back to my game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The third game in the Arland series but still a great game. I started this game really slow because Lias is a prick and Keina kept losing all of her LP. However Meruru kinda grown on me - I like her honesty and her genki princess antics. Alchemy and battle wise the game is entirely identical to Rorona (btw Rorona Plus was based on this game, the original Rorona is different) which is a huge step up from Totori. The kingdom management system is simplistic but a nice touch to the game. The game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Check the end of the review for a potentailly game breaking bug! The 3rd game in the Arland chapter of the long running Atelier JRPG series and also one of the best in the series. It's nice to play as a character who is confident and outspoken. The opposite of most Atelier protaganists! There's several returning characters and the new characters as pretty good too! The game gives you a nice progression trail to follow. You'll always have something to make or an area to explore which is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finally unlocked the platinum trophy after spamming slash with Masked G for half an hour
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →( full review with screenshots: https://gaming-parrot.com/post/atelier-meruru-review-craft-me-a-village/ ) Note: Although listed as unsupported for Steak Deck, this runs perfectly other than needing mouse controls to launch. If anything, it actually runs better than on regular PC if you have a monitor over 60Hz. The map controls will be almost unusable in that case because the sensitivity is tied to framerate. Atelier Meruru is the final game of the Arland trilogy. The plot follows…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the time limit felt brutal despite it not being too different from rorona n totori, maybe i just have bad time management. loved the events between rufus n sterk
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun to play a little silly though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I imagine this is what Animal Crossing is like except this game has people in it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you enjoyed Rorona and Totori then you will enjoy this one This game according to release date came 3 years after Rorona and nothing really has changed. It's just Rorona and Totori with a different coat of paint. I criticised both Rorona and Totori for the lack of story elements coupled with the game being a giant fetch quest simulator. For the most part same complaints hold true for Meruru but they at least tried to improve upon it. Meruru does try to incorporate more story beats into the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This was my entry into the Atelier series and it was SO addictive. ~60 hours reflects about 2.5 or 3 playthroughs, with some split saves to get different outcomes. Coming from P5R (a very easy game) I didn't understand the point of NG+, but learning that this game had 11 or so endings made me a little obsessed with trying to collect whatever is collectable and I had to take a breather and play some other things. I went through the first run blind and wasted tons of time because I didn't know…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the best game of the Arland trilogy. Many of the kinks in the previous two games have been ironed out in this. While the time limit is still in place, it is not particularly difficult to deal with.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Third game of the Arland trilogy. Cute game like the other two. I have to admit I'm not quite as fond of this one though. The story feels a bit forced and the game feels shorter. I mean I still like the standard Atelier gameplay loop, but this is probably the weakest of the three Arland games. Not bad though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Atelier Meruru - 8/10 - who knew the overly done flowery cover of this title would be my favorite in the Arland saga? With a great idea of building up your kingdom by assignments on top of regular alchemy learning and the best band of characters yet, Meruru proves that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. A little hard at points, and a new game plus is a must to really get the true ending, but overall a ton of fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another entry in the long running Atelier series, this is a revised version of the 2011 finale to the Arland trilogy (which now has a fourth entry in Lulua which plays very differently). This is one of the time limit titles, and is structured like Totori and Ayesha, where you have a long term goal and it's not broken up into 3-4 month periods like Marie, Escha & Logy, or Rorona. This can leave you a bit unstructured, especially if you are unable to beat a certain boss to actually make…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →57. Atelier Meruru ~The Apprentice of Arland~ DX
unlabelledView post →Just like the other Arland games it takes a while to get interesting, but once it opens up the world, it starts to get even better than Rorona and Totori. Having missions impact the world around you in a meaningful way was a great idea to differentiate it from the games prior. It uses the same time management design as Totori. Combat is a mixture between Rorona and Totori. If you played and liked the other Arland games, you might as well play this one. It isnt a good place to start with the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My second atelier game to finish. I wasn't really keen on Meruru from the cover and what seems to be I assumed to be playing a Princess but I also assumed the girl I was playing as to be the typical spoiled bratty princess type which really turned me off, as well as the shift to fujoshi pandering character designs of Mel Kishida but in the end it turns out that I'd love and immerse more into the game more and more. That same love would be based immediately on the improvements from Atelier…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best Atelier titles out there. A grand culmination 3 games in the making, full of fun characters and enjoyable events. The crafting system, the time management and the city improvement elements blends in well together to support a robust advance system that keep pace with the player's skill level. The dungeons are varied and the battles are balanced well to keep the game challenging at all time. Though the game is not perfect. It would be great to see the changes implemented to the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love all the Atelier games so far. One thing that is not my favorite with this series is the three years time to complete. But that is the way the game was made and it makes for a faster play. and then you just replay it for different endings and better gear.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Out the Arland trilogy, so excluding Scion for those who are new to atelier, this one is my favorite with Rorona being a close second. I just felt like I enjoyed some stuff better in Rorona. Also, If you are coming from Totori, the zone timer is a little more generous and you will be more guided. I really liked the development system, most of the time. While simple, I found it to be a great mechanic for progress, though I know I didn't like how stack size is reduced on some items for a bit…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After falling in love with Rorona and then being disappointed by Totori, I wasn't sure what to expect when going into Meruru. But all it took was a couple of hours to get me completely hooked on Meruru's gameplay loop. It's a battle against the clock to develop your nation as much as possible, and you're going to use your Alchemy to do it. I think the reason Meruru works so well is BECAUSE of its development system. These work as quests essentially to either create items or defeat bosses and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game and it might be my new favorite Atelier. It's definitely the best of this trilogy.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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