Barrel !

I've heard various renditions of Barrel ! Ba~rel ! BARREL ! over the past month or so. Atelier Iris : Eternal Mana has that one hook that has sunk itself deep into me. Collecting.

Collecting food, making new clothes, synthesizing new recipes, gathering materials and of course hoarding cole, the in-game currency. When I present my stuff to [col]Lector, she'd unlock the soundtrack, character intros or artwork. It's with great glee and satisfaction that I see more ????? turn to a Midnight Illusion or an Artwork 04. The kick though, comes just from stuffing my inventory with stuff I'd probably loath to make use.

The almost endless combination of materials lead me to spend hours just testing making a fluffy roll. Getting new reviews, changing the store review, reading customer reviews. A whole barrel of fun. Mixing different ingredients can sometimes lead to some strange reviews. A run-of-the-mill would be :

a little sweet
too sour
a lot clean

The weirder ones I've seen :

a lot.. too adults only
deadly odor
vomit-inducing
ginormous (when you mix tall magi grass with say, a big log)

I'm into hour number 90 into it, but no real idea of when the end might come. Only a game like this would have me wishing it wouldn't come for another 50, maybe.