History VideoGame / AtelierMeruruTheApprenticeOfArland

The game takes place over five years, with the first three being dedicated to Meruru's goal of increasing the kingdom's population. The general [[TimeManagementGame time management flow]] is a mix between the assignment system used in ''[[VideoGame/AtelierRoronaTheAlchemistOfArland Rorona]]'' with the more flexible global time limit from ''[[VideoGame/AtelierTotoriTheAdventurerOfArland Totori]]'', and gameplay builds off both games while adding some extra polish, with features that would become staples in later games such as [[CombatantCooldownSystem wait time]], trait merging, and [[InsertSong vocal insert songs]]. While it was originally planned as the GrandFinale of the Arland subseries (hence its large number of returning characters), director Yoshito Okamura [[https://archive.is/20130501130832/http://mantan-web.jp/2011/07/24/20110723dog00m200009000c.html admitted that the ending didn't really come off like a finale]] and that a future follow-up might be in order; nevertheless, it was still treated as the end of a trilogy with the following game ''[[VideoGame/AtelierAyeshaTheAlchemistOfDusk Ayesha]]'' moving on to an AlternateContinuity, but the suggested follow-up finally came to fruition with ''[[VideoGame/AtelierLuluaTheScionOfArland Lulua]]'' eight years later.

* ArtisticAge: The game takes place over five in-universe years, but none of the characters will show any signs of aging. This is par for the course with time-limit Atelier games requiring GameplayAndStorySegregation, but it's notable in the case of ''Meruru'' because of how many events center around the Potion of Youth subplot that's supposed to be messing with everyone's physical ages, and art portraying Meruru after the finale of her game was inconsistent on what she should look like until ''[[VideoGame/AtelierLuluaTheScionOfArland Lulua]]'' finally gave her an updated design.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Even with all her OldMaid concerns, Esty could still pass for a 20-year-old despite being 40, and the similarly-aged Sterk still looks like a PrettyBoy. On the flip side, Gio [[YoungerThanTheyLook looks a lot more grizzled than you'd think]] relative to what he looked like in ''[[VideoGame/AtelierRoronaTheAlchemistOfArland Rorona]]'', getting character designer Mel Kishida (who admitted that he struggled with designing the characters across the series in a way that would show them aging at the right pace) to joke that people in Arland probably go through RapidAging somewhere around their fifties.

* ArtisticAge: The game takes place over five in-universe years, but none of the characters will show any signs of aging. This is par for the course with time-limit Atelier games requiring GameplayAndStorySegregation, but it's notable in the case of ''Meruru'' because of how many events center around the Potion of Youth subplot that's supposed to be messing with everyone's physical ages, and art made portraying Meruru after the finale of her game was inconsistent on what she should look like until ''[[VideoGame/AtelierLuluaTheScionOfArland Lulua]]'' finally gave her an updated design.

* ProductionThrowback: In a similar vein to how ''[[VideoGame/AtelierRoronaTheAlchemistOfArland Rorona]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/AtelierTotoriTheAdventurerOfArland Totori]]'' heavily invoked ''[[VideoGame/AtelierMarieTheAlchemistOfSalburg Marie]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/AtelierElieTheAlchemistOfSalburg2 Elie]]'', ''Meruru'' heavily invokes ''[[VideoGame/AtelierViorateTheAlchemistOfGramnad Viorate]]'', being about an alchemist who has to revitalize her area and grow its population in three years.

* WriterOnBoard: Even for Astrid, the sentiment "being stuck as an eternal child with damaged memory is better than being an OldMaid" is [[TookALevelInJerkass unusually callous]] for her when she'd previously been portrayed as [[EveryoneHasStandards having a minimum amount of human decency]] and genuinely caring about Rorona as her ParentalSubstitute. But while {{Flanderization}} had already been par for the course in the game, this particular issue goes above and beyond to the point [[spoiler:the ending where Astrid turns Rorona into a 14-year-old and even ''prepares more of the defective potion for the other two'' is called "[[ManipulativeBastard Finally, As Planned]]", as if she's outright proud of all of this happening]]. Of course, the actual reason for all of this was that the ''devs'' were making her into their mouthpiece... and it was only after fan backlash when the added "About Time" ending hinted that she ''might'' care a little more than she pretends she does, [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] events so that her settling for an incomplete potion is portrayed as being at least partially because Meruru didn't push hard enough to have it perfected.

* AllYourPowersCombined: The CentralTheme of the game. Meruru goes from only wanting to practice alchemy because she thinks it's fun and cool to becoming intimately familiar with its main goal of "helping people", becoming a leader who can get everyone to chip in with their own abilities to work together.

An English version was released in 2012, with the original version of the game being the final one to be localized by [[Creator/NipponIchi NIS America]] prior to the switch to Creator/KoeiTecmo taking the reins. An UpdatedRerelease for the Platform/PlaystationVita, ''Atelier Meruru Plus'', was released in 2013, featuring some balance adjustments, added costumes, an UpgradedBoss system, onboarded DLC, and a new GoldenEnding to address one of the most controversial parts of the story. Another release based on ''Plus'', ''Atelier Meruru DX'', was released in 2018 as part of the ''Atelier Arland Series Deluxe Pack'' for Platform/PlayStation4, Platform/NintendoSwitch, and Platform/{{Steam}}, with some minor adjustments and a SequelHook serving as an early teaser for ''[[VideoGame/AtelierLuluaTheScionOfArland Lulua]]''.

* BlindIdiotTranslation: While it's generally not a problem for the game's dialogue, the gameplay text has a noticeably high number of typos and errors throughout in the English versions of ''Plus'' and ''DX''. Some of the item effects still reference percentages from the original game when those numbers were rebalanced for ''Plus'', and some are just [[InconsistentDub inconsistently translated versions of the same thing]]. This can cause problems with development, because the game will ask for items with traits that don't exist; for example, in ''Plus'', one item will apparently need the "Well-Crafted" trait, but the actual trait necessary will be what was called "Hand-Crafted" in the original, and another task will ask for an item with "the ultimate trait" that's actually referring to the "Finest Goods" trait from the original version, which absolutely nobody would think of as "the ultimate trait" without some real InsaneTrollLogic.

!!The game provides examples of:

An English version was released in 2012, with the original version of the game being the final one to be localized by [[Creator/NipponIchi NIS America]] prior to the switch to Creator/KoeiTecmo taking the reins. An UpdatedRerelease for the Platform/PlayStationVita, ''Atelier Meruru Plus'', was released in 2013, featuring some balance adjustments, added costumes, an UpgradedBoss system, onboarded DLC, and a new GoldenEnding to address one of the most controversial parts of the story. Another release based on ''Plus'', ''Atelier Meruru DX'', was released in 2018 as part of the ''Atelier Arland Series Deluxe Pack'' for Platform/PlayStation4, Platform/NintendoSwitch, and Platform/{{Steam}}, with some minor adjustments and a SequelHook serving as an early teaser for ''[[VideoGame/AtelierLuluaTheScionOfArland Lulua]]''.

* WriterOnBoard: Even for Astrid, the sentiment "being stuck as an eternal child with damaged memory is better than being an OldMaid" is [[TookALevelInJerkass unusually callous]] for her when she'd previously been portrayed as [[EveryoneHasStandards having a minimum amount of human decency]] and genuinely caring about Rorona as her ParentalSubstitute. But while {{Flanderization}} had already been par for the course in the game, this particular issue goes above and beyond to the point [[spoiler:the ending where Astrid turns Rorona into a 14-year-old and even ''prepares more for the other two'' despite it being defective is called "[[ManipulativeBastard Finally, As Planned]]", as if she's outright proud of all of this happening]]. Of course, the actual reason for all of this was that the ''devs'' were making her into their mouthpiece... and it was only after fan backlash when the added "About Time" ending hinted that she ''might'' care a little more than she pretends she does, [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] events so that her settling for an incomplete potion is portrayed as being at least partially because Meruru didn't push hard enough to have it perfected.

* BishieSparkle: Some characters will sport this after a fight, but the most notable mention goes to Mimi, for hers is accompanied by offscreen breeze of ''rose petals''. Rufus has his own version with blue petals.

* WriterOnBoard: Even for Astrid, the sentiment "being stuck as an eternal child with damaged memory is better than being an OldMaid" is [[TookALevelInJerkass unusually callous]] for her when she'd previously been portrayed as [[EveryoneHasStandards having a minimum amount of human decency]] and genuinely caring about Rorona as her ParentalSubstitute. But while {{Flanderization}} had already been par for the course in the game, this particular issue goes above and beyond to the point [[spoiler:the ending where Astrid turns Rorona into a 14-year-old and even ''prepares more for the other two'' despite it being defective is called "[[ManipulativeBastard Finally, As Planned]]", as if she's outright proud of all of this happening]]. Of course, the ''actual'' reason for all of this was because the ''devs'' were making her into their mouthpiece... and it was only after fan backlash when the added "About Time" ending hinted that she ''might'' care a little more than she pretends she does, [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] events so that her settling for an incomplete potion is portrayed as being at least partially because Meruru didn't push hard enough to have it perfected.

* WriterOnBoard: Even for Astrid, the sentiment "being stuck as an eternal child with damaged memory is better than being an OldMaid" is [[TookALevelInJerkass unusually callous]] for her when she'd previously been portrayed as [[EveryoneHasStandards having a minimum amount of human decency]] and genuinely caring about Rorona as her ParentalSubstitute. But while {{Flanderization}} had already been par for the course in the game, this particular issue goes above and beyond to the point [[spoiler:the ending where Astrid turns Rorona into a 14-year-old and even ''prepares more for the other two'' despite it being defective is called "[[ManipulativeBastard Finally, As Planned]]" as if she's outright proud of all of this happening]]. Of course, the ''actual'' reason for all of this was because the ''devs'' were making her into their mouthpiece... and it was only after fan backlash when the added "About Time" ending hinted that she ''might'' care a little more than she pretends she does, [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] events so that her settling for an incomplete potion is portrayed as being at least partially because Meruru didn't push hard enough to have it perfected.

* WriterOnBoard: Even for Astrid, the sentiment "being stuck as an eternal child with damaged memory is better than being an OldMaid" is [[TookALevelInJerkass unusually callous]] for her when she'd previously been portrayed as [[EveryoneHasStandards having a minimum amount of human decency]] and genuinely caring about Rorona as her ParentalSubstitute. But while {{Flanderization}} had already been par for the course in the game, this particular issue goes above and beyond to the point [[spoiler:the ending where Astrid turns Rorona into a 14-year-old and even ''prepares more for the other two'' despite it being defective is called "[[ManipulativeBastard Finally, As Planned]]" as if she's outright proud of all of this happening]]. Of course, the ''actual'' reason for all of this was because the ''devs'' were making her into their mouthpiece... and it was only after fan backlash when the added "About Time" ending hinted that she ''might'' care a little more than she pretends she does, [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] events so that her settling for an incomplete potion is portrayed as being at least partially because Meruru didn't push hard enough to have it perfected.

* WriterOnBoard: Even for Astrid, the sentiment "being stuck as an eternal child with damaged memory is better than being an OldMaid" coming out of her mouth is [[TookALevelInJerkass unusually callous]] for her when she'd previously been portrayed as having [[EveryoneHasStandards a certain base level of human decency]] and genuinely caring about Rorona as her ParentalSubstitute. But while {{Flanderization}} had already been par for the course in the game, this particular issue goes above and beyond to the point [[spoiler:the ending where Astrid turns Rorona into a 14-year-old and even ''prepares more for the other two'' despite it being defective is called "[[ManipulativeBastard Finally, As Planned]]" as if she's outright proud of all of this happening]]. Of course, the ''actual'' reason for all of this was because the ''devs'' were making her into their mouthpiece... and it was only after fan backlash when the added "About Time" ending hinted that she ''might'' care a little more than she pretends she does, [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] events so that her settling for an incomplete potion is portrayed as being at least partially because Meruru didn't push hard enough to have it perfected.

* WriterOnBoard: Even for Astrid, the sentiment "being stuck as an eternal child with damaged memory is better than being an OldMaid" coming out of her mouth is [[TookALevelInJerkass unusually callous]] for her when she'd previously been portrayed as having [[EveryoneHasStandards a certain base level of human decency]] and genuinely caring about Rorona as her ParentalSubstitute. But while {{Flanderization}} had already been par for the course in the game, this particular issue goes above and beyond to the point [[spoiler:the ending where Astrid turns Rorona into a 14-year-old and even ''prepares more for the other two'' despite it being defective is called "[[ManipulativeBastard Finally, As Planned]]" as if she's outright proud of all of this happening]]. Of course, the ''actual'' reason for all of this was because the ''devs'' were making her into their mouthpiece... and it was only after fan backlash when the added "About Time" ending hinted that she ''might'' care a little more than she pretends she does, [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] events so that her settling for an incomplete potion is portrayed as being because Meruru didn't push hard enough to have it perfected.

* WriterOnBoard: Even for Astrid, the sentiment "being stuck as an eternal child with damaged memory is better than being an OldMaid" coming out of her mouth is [[TookALevelInJerkass unusually callous]] for her when she'd previously been portrayed as having [[EveryoneHasStandards a certain base level of human decency]] and genuinely caring about Rorona as her ParentalSubstitute. But while {{Flanderization}} had already been par for the course in the game, this particular issue goes above and beyond to the point [[spoiler:the ending where Astrid turns Rorona into a 14-year-old and even ''prepares more for the other two'' despite it being defective is called "[[ManipulativeBastard Finally, As Planned]]" as if she's outright proud of all of this happening]. Of course, the ''actual'' reason for all of this was because the ''devs'' were making her into their mouthpiece... and it was only after fan backlash when the added "About Time" ending hinted that she ''might'' care a little more than she pretends she does, [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] events so that her settling for an incomplete potion is portrayed as being because Meruru didn't push hard enough to have it perfected.

* WriterOnBoard: The sentiment "being stuck as an eternal child with damaged memory is better than being an OldMaid" coming out of Astrid's mouth is presumably based off her being portrayed as having mild {{Ephebophile}} tendencies in ''[[VideoGame/AtelierRoronaTheAlchemistOfArland Rorona]]'', but it's an abrupt swerve for her when she'd previously been portrayed as having [[EveryoneHasStandards a certain base level of human decency]] and genuinely caring about Rorona as her ParentalSubstitute. But while {{Flanderization}} is already par for the course in the game, this particular issue goes above and beyond to the point [[spoiler:the ending where Astrid turns Rorona into a 14-year-old and even ''prepares more for the other two'' despite it being defective is called "[[ManipulativeBastard Finally, As Planned]]" as if she thinks this is the best outcome ever without any remorse]]. Of course, the ''actual'' reason for her having become [[TookALevelInJerkass so unusually callous]] was because the ''devs'' also believed that sentiment and had her be their mouthpiece... and it was only after fan backlash made it very clear that the playerbase did ''not'' agree when the added "About Time" ending hinted that she ''might'' care a little more than she pretends she does, [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] events so that her settling for an incomplete potion is portrayed as being because Meruru didn't push hard enough to have it perfected.

** In real life, Astrid's belief that nobody would want to see Rorona in her thirties came directly from the devs themselves, extending all the way into the original version not having a ''single'' ending where she would be anything but young and cute even with damaged memories and a reversal of her hard-earned CharacterDevelopment. Needless to say, fans across the world were ''not'' amused, and the added ''Plus'' ending (now treated as the GoldenEnding) puts her back at her proper age.

** "Castle Life" (basically the Normal Ending): Obtained if the player succeeds at getting 50,000 population at the end of the third year but doesn't do anything else that would trigger any other endings (something that also probably won't happen unless you've ''really'' been wasting time). [[spoiler:Meruru is allowed to continue as an alchemist, but she finds that nothing much in her life is changing and she still doesn't really know what to do with her life.]]

* {{Fanservice}}: While the Atelier series (especially the Arland subseries) was no stranger to throwing in a few infamous events here and there or being outlandish about its merch, ''Meruru'' was the game that kicked it up a heavy notch with its events and especially its [=CGs=], including one where Hanna's breasts are only ''barely'' covered by her arm and two [[HotSpringsEpisode hot springs]] events where everyone is depicted naked with minimal amounts of CensorSteam. It was significant enough for the CERO ratings board to force Gust to suspend shipments while it upped its rating from A (all-ages) to B (12+), reprimanding them for not sending in enough materials for them to review, and in the West, the two hot springs [=CGs=] became so conflated with the reputation of the series that an infamous image calling it "steamy" circulated around for several years to play up how supposedly suggestive Atelier games were, despite the fact that the HotSpringsEpisode isn't exactly a common occurence in it.

** In-universe, Astrid's concern with both herself and Rorona aging relates to not wanting this to happen to either of them for surprisingly selfish reasons that aren't hinted at all to be exaggerated joking like she usually does. When Esty hears about the potion, she becomes ''obsessed'' with getting some for herself to try and save her self-perceived terrible marriage prospects, since she's now 40 and had been stressing about this since the time of ''[[VideoGame/AtelierRoronaTheAlchemistOfArland Rorona]]''.

* TheCameo: Since ''Meruru'' was originally conceived of as a GrandFinale, on top of including more returning characters than new ones, it also crams in some cameos in the opening movie and some [=CGs=] just to give them a nod to their role in the sub-series.

** During the finale of the game, Dessier says that he knows this isn't the end, as Arls, now part of the Arland Republic, has a bright future. Meruru expresses a similar sentiment, and the ending the player had achieved will depict what happened after. Notably, it was because of this that the director admitted the ending wasn't really any different from that of the average Atelier game and that it hadn't fulfilled its originally intended role as a GrandFinale.

* ModestyShorts: Meruru wears bloomers under her skirt, thus allowing her to move around freely without having to worry about being exposed. It's taken to the point that all of her costumes (except her Totori costume, which comes with a leotard) include bloomers underneath.