While Atelier Totori and Atelier Meruru have only received PlayStation Vita ports in recent years, Japanese developer GUST opted to do a complete remake of Atelier Rorona which was their first PlayStation 3 release in the series. This remake titled New Atelier Rorona, published on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita platforms included a wealth of new content and improvements including significantly enhanced visuals, new playable characters and new gameplay features.
While no official announcement has been confirmed yet, it turns out that the Australian Classifications Board have listed a classification for the game Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland to be published by Tecmo Koei Games Europe (Mindscape) on multiple platforms. The fun part is that just like Atelier Totori Plus, they have decided that the original PG classification didn’t suit what has always been a pretty all-ages friendly series….. instead suiting the R18+ crowd.
Here are some fun classification information about this enhanced remake:
- Moderate Impact Themes
- High Impact (Highest grade) Violence
- Mild Impact Language
- Mild impact Sex
These grades alone resulted in the game being classified as R18+ for “References to Sexual Violence“.
Therefore while it is good news that an international release is planned, I am bitterly disappointed that once again it is impossible for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase what was previously an all-ages friendly game. I feel sorry for those living in New Zealand as well who purportedly are unable to purchase any game classified as R18+ over here in Australia.