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Sony has brought Arc the Lad to the PS2. How does it fare?
The cleverly named Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits takes place after the games in Arc the Lad Collection and the storyline is quite good. The Humans and Deimos (demon-like people) have a struggle for control of the Great Spirit Stones. A bigger problem erupts and takes center stage later on. The game’s story is told through two different viewpoints. The first is Kharg, a prince in the human world. The second comes from Darc, a slave from the Deimos civilization. Both of them will try to gain all five stones for their kind.
Arc the Lad: TotS doesn’t stray too far from typical RPG elements. You will visit various places that push the story and the game forward. Along the way you’ll find many places to explore. As you move from town to town, you’ll have to face some battles. Once in a town, you can buy supplies for yourself, such as spirit stones which are used for magic attacks, and accessories for your weapons. Towns also have many AI characters for you to interact with, if you wish.
The battles in Arc the Lad: TotS are very enjoyable as well and should be familiar to RPG veterans. Battles take place in rather large areas filled with various objects you may hide behind as cover. Your character has a movement field where they may move in. If an enemy is in your range then you can attack that enemy. As you battle, you’ll realize that enemies drop objects including money which you can pick up. Some enemies also drop spirit stones, so you can continue to use magic attacks. Arc the Lad: TotS is a full blown RPG so uses turn-based fighting.
Battles are made more fun because you can customize your weapon to your liking. Each of the characters has their own weapon. Each weapon then has three slots you can use to attach items (which you can buy in towns) that will add a unique trait to it. For example, you can make the weapon stronger or equip it with an element. You can also equip accessories to your characters which can then be used in battle. With each battle your character will earn skill and experience points. Experience is self explanatory and skill points enable you to learn new attacks, skills and magic.
Of course, no RPG would be complete without a fair share of side quests. In this area Arc the Lad: TotS doesn’t miss a beat. There are plenty of side quests to be found as you progress through the main story. Completing these side quests will reward you and you can find secrets in the game.
The visual engine in Arc the Lad: TotS works well for the most part. The cut scenes are wonderful and are a great way to move the story forward. The main characters, with few exceptions, are wonderfully modeled and very detailed. Some of the enemies look great but others are just slightly different versions of enemies you had fought before. The NPC characters in towns could use a bit more variety as well. The environments look great and are incredibly detailed. The spell effects are pretty decent but there isn’t anything in them that will really attract you.
The audio in the game does a good job at keeping things interesting. The soundtrack fits the game very well and is different than your typical RPG tunes. You’ll hear some of them quite a bit but they are enjoyable enough that you don’t care. The sound effects are standard fare, they don’t really help the game too much but don’t hurt it. The voice acting is reasonably good although battle comments are too repetitive.
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits doesn’t stray too far from the typical book of How-To-Make-A-RPG. That said, while it follows the book relatively closely the game is still fun to play. The story is pretty good, the visuals and sound do their job, and combat is fun. You’ll spend much time customizing your characters, as well. All in all, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is a good RPG title to keep Playstation 2 owners busy for a while. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Jul 14, 2003
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