Tag Archives: locations

Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland – Beyond the City Walls

cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1-8868334This post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
< Prev. | Contents | Next >


One interesting thing about the way the Arland subseries of Atelier develops over time is how its scale gradually increases.

In Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arlandthe action is primarily confined to the city of Arland and its surrounding environs. In Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arlandwe get the opportunity to explore the Arland region in much greater detail, coming to understand a lot more about the context of various locations. And, as we’ll see when we come to Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland, the series then actually moves on to a whole other setting with connections to Arland, rather than unfolding in Arland itself..

Atelier Totori in particular brought about a very strong sense of worldbuilding and narrative context, and of the protagonist being just one tiny little part of a wide variety of events that would continue to unfold with or without her involvement. Let’s take a closer look at how the game achieves that feel.

Continue reading Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland – Beyond the City Walls

Pokémon Sword and Shield: A Grand Tour of Galar

header-6-2861792This article is one chapter of a multi-part Cover Game feature!
<< First | < Previous | Next > | Latest >>


As we’ve already seen, the first few Pokémon games were set in regions modelled after particular regions of Japan, but from the New York-inspired Black and White onwards, the series has looked more globally. And Sword and Shield is no exception.

Specifically, the Galar region that forms the setting for Pokémon Sword and Shield is modelled on the United Kingdom, particularly mainland England, Wales and Scotland.

As most regular readers will probably know, I am a British person, so who better to explore the locales of Sword and Shield and try to figure out if they have real-life counterparts on our grotty little island? Well, I’m sure you can name several, but you’re stuck with me for now, so read on…

Continue reading Pokémon Sword and Shield: A Grand Tour of Galar