Customer Reviews

Arc the Lad Twilight of the Spirits

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been interested in this game recently, and I finally gave in and bought it. It is well worth every penny. I have been a major RPG fan for years, and this one is high on my list now. I think the most powerful and recommendable part about this game is its story. It is a story that is TRULY epic. I remember thinking to myself at one point that the plot twists in this game seem more like something from Shakespeare or mythology than the standard, run of the mill RPG. The issues of racism, hate, and prejudice are all handled so well in this game, and it makes the characters much more interesting than just powerful heroes. The story is also very seldomly predictable. I like this a lot because some recent RPGs have been so easy to predict, like FFX. With a couple of thoughts, about 90% of the storyline could be foreseen after reaching only about the half-way point of the game. I think that this RPG does not fall to this error at all.

Also, I really like the battle system in this game. It is really similar to FF Tactics. The style is move around and attack. It keeps the turn based style a lot more interesting than usual. It is a definitely refreshing change.

I also loved the music and graphics in this game. It is completely stunning.

The only drawback is that there are no side-quests (unless you want to fight in arenas to unlock secret characters, which there are two of), but the story runs so smoothly that they really aren't necessary.

I hope that many of you will buy this game and enjoy it as I have.

Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is a Strategy RPG simular to games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Shining Force, and Ogre Battle. Not a standard RPG like a Final Fantasy X, Suikoden, and so on. Let's get to the review.

The story is well told with solid voice acting, and an intersting plot. You plays as one of two brothers as main characters, switching between their stories before they eventually meet up. But their very gathering could cause great disaster. Added to the two brothers are 12 other main playable characters who can take place in battle with you.

Battle takes place on detailed hand drawn locations and instead of an old fashioned grid movement system you are alowed total analog freedom of movement (within your characters max walking distance) before you can attack an enemy. The game rewards you hard earned time with some fantastic full screen magic spells. Ice meteors, flame swirling everywhere, even a selection of summon beasts. The characters vary from human swordsmen, archers, and even some cool looking demon people.

I think that the games highest praise goes to it's music. It sounds very proffesionally composed and has a very celtic feel. Flute and bagpipes along with standard RPG fanfar themes. Overall, I am really looking foward to this game. It seems to be a very solid Japanesse RPG with it's share of good cinematic scenes, character developement, and eye poping spells. For the price tag, it's worth it, go for it!!

On a world that depends on magical energy for it's motive power two races vie for control of the scarce source of that power - spirit stones. Humans seek them out to run their maachines, and the Deimos, or demons, seek them because their very nature is magical. Children of a rare Deimos/Human relationship two brothers who were seperated at birth are drawn into a web of conflict that makes them mortal enemies - each raised by a different race, each sworn to defend their own by killing the opposite. Kharg and Darc are their names and this is the story of how they discovered that there are even worse enemies out to destroy them both.

The game is a standard RPG in format, but shifts the player back and forth between Darc's demon quest abd Kharg's human one. As the game builds the player can select characters for battles, and chose how individuals will develop skills. The plot meanders back and forth across the face of the world in carefully orchestrated fashion, the only variable being how many random conflicts one finds. You need a large number of these, since money and spirit stones are extremely scarce commodities. So hard to find that their acquisition will become the primary fixation of the game.

The reason for this is that you have to stop fighting and actually pick up your winnings during the battle, rather than receive a lump sum payment. As a player who likes to acquire new weapons and skills, I found this irritating - too often you leave a titanic struggle with almost nothing to show for it. The other big flaw in the game is that it is completely linear. The game makes sure that you always do the right thing in the right order, which limits its replayability. Many people are comfortable with this kind of game, but I find that, once you taste freedom, you don't want to head pack.

But most of my issues with Arc the Lad have to do with playing it right after playing Final Fantasy X-2. The result is that I became acutely aware of it's shortcomings. Of course, FFX-2 was created to be an extravaganza, and Arc the Lad was developed to be something less - just another decent, playable RPG. Thus the plot, which is really adequate for an RPG, comes of as glaringly tepid and character development seems sketchy and archetypical. Yet, had I played this a year ago I would have liked it much more. In any case, Arc the Lad is quite playable, even if it fails to meet the compelling quality of some of the releases of the past few years.

This review was written by my son, James Shea.

The first incarnation of the AtL series on the PS2, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is a tactical RPG, though more the latter than the former.

The game follows two viewpoints: that of Kharg, a human prince, and Darc, a Deimos (monstrous humanoid) slave. The two must unite to fight off a powerful army that seeks to capture the five elemental stones and gain ultimate power. The plot is, as it sounds, fairly cookie-cutter, and there isn't a huge amount of character development or really deep storyline. It's certainly not enough to support the gameplay. There are several attempts at "messages" - the splintering between the Deimos and the Humans as a metaphor for racism being the main one - but as a whole these are shallow.

The gameplay is "tactical", in a way, though the numbers of your party aren't as high as would be expected in such a system. Similar to Phantom Brave, each character has a radius that they can move in. Walking within range of an enemy allows you to attack them. Different weapons have different ranges, and certain skills also have longer ranges. Positioning for combination attacks becomes important.

The graphics are decent, and reasonable for a PS2 game of the time, but for the most part the character designs are uninspired. Every part of the character costumes and design seems to be stylistically taken from some other RPG, and none of them stand out in any way. The music is similarly generic; no particular piece stands out. This game is so remarkably average that it is unbelievable.

As a whole this game isn't excellent in many ways. It is simply another one of the seeming thousands of PS2 fantasy RPGs, and it doesn't add anything major or important to the formula that would be worth discussing.

Rating: 6/10.

This RPG is second only to Final Fantasy X! It has a great double plot(you get to play two sets of characters), and excellent graphics and voice-acting. The story is very linear, but it's so great, you won't mind being strung along.

I'm a big Sci-fi and Fantasy reader. So, when I played this game I couldn't help but like it a lot. Racism is an extremely delicate issue and I don't think I've ever seen any game depict that issue as well as Arc the Lad. This game takes place in a world where two races have been at each other's throats for thousands of years. Two brothers, both of them half breed of human and deimos (basically demons), were seperated when they were very young when the father (a deimos) and mother (human) have to run from persuing deimos because of thier illegitemate children. Kharg grows up in the human world with a somewhat social standing and Darc in the Deimos world as a slave boy. As the story progresses, both of them rise up to a position of leader and defender of thier respective race and both eventually clash into each other with the repricussion being far greater than both have ever imagined. This game has some unique plot twists and its kept me guessing all the way till the end.

The graphics are decent and there some attack spells/techniques that I love to watch over and over again.

The acting could've used some work but the really only annoying part of the voice overs is during battle. Some of the things they say is pretty corny so I usually just turn the voices off during battle.

The battle system is something more like FF tactics but in a more analog sort of way of movement and fighting. I liked it.

The music is something altogether different. I liked this music so much (the orchestrated pieces in particular) that I actually went online, found the soundtrack to this game and ordered it so I can listen to it without playing the game. I know, I'm straight up nerd. It kind of gives off the feeling of celtic music.

I can see that by playing this game you'll either love it or hate it. I was lucky in that I actually bought this game without knowing what it was about and turned out great in my opinion. I don't recommend to anyone doing that same thing. Go rent it. If you like it, buy it. Be forewarned, there are no sidequests other than fighting in arenas.

Arc the Lad combines the old and the new to create an engaging game that will intrigue you at the very least. This game is probably one of the most beginner friendly games imaginable. Unlike Kingdom Hearts, and a lot of the Final Fantasy games, the gameplay does not relay on mere speed and fine motor skills (i.e. pressing the right buttons). For anyone who has played the old Online RPGs, or became aggravated with Kingdom Hearts in the beginnings, Arc will be a refreshing blast from the past.

The best description I can give for this game is Kingdom Hearts with Pokemon like gameplay. Battles are based on turns. You go, then your enemy goes. The frustrating thing about this is that if the game lets your opponent go first (which it does in upper arena levels or important boss fights) and your characters have low defense, they can die before you even get a turn. However, this style of gameplay can also be seen as a useful advantage. For those gamers who have had problems mastering the sometimes downright frustratingly complex controls for other games, Arc is a huge blessing. You can plan your attack slowly, without pausing the game. Your mistakes are easily fixed before you even make them.

Being a "gamer" won't help you as much in this game as it may have in other games. The way to win Arc is man (or woman, go female gamers!) hours. Being at the highest level possible is the way to win. The other way to win is strategy. You are in control of your whole team which can include 14 characters. You'll figure out each character's strengths and weaknesses, and the best time to use them.

Another great aspect of this game is its plot. The Daemos (my personal favorite team), a blend of demons, animals, and humans, are being experimented on, and basically oppressed by humans. They don't like it, so they try to fight back. A war breaks out between the two races. On the Daemos side is Darc, a half Daemos, born of a human mother and a Daemos father. His genetics make him different than anything ever seen before. The part of him that is Daemos is constantly fighting with the part that is human. He vows to destroy the humans for what they have done. On the human side is Darc's twin brother Kharg, who is half human half Daemos as well, but looks human. The two are on opposing sides and when they finally meet for the first time, sparks fly.

The character design is the best I have ever seen in any video game. The diversity, especially among the Daemos team, is so wonderful. The voice acting is good, and the writing is better. The kind of language used for each character/race is so different from character to character that you start to think of the characters as real. My personal favorite, besides Darc, is Bebedora, is a being that has to be seen to be believed. A monster that can use mind control, she is a great friend and terrible opponent. You'll find out.

If you like any role playing games, give this game a try. It's a refreshing change that will please veterans and novices of the video game alike.

I'll keep this review short, as several people before me have already expounded upon the game in good detail, and I completely agree. The graphics are excellent, and perhaps what is more compelling is the story-line itself, which is totally captivating. It's easily one of my all-time favorite games because of the variability and uniqueness it has. It has my utmost recommendation.

I've played Arc the Lad 3, 4 and 5, and this one is the best. There is
a certain amount of replay value, but not as much as some other games.
The visuals are very good, the story line is very good. I enjoyed
playing this game and after a few months I'll probably play it again.

I know many people have different oppinions about this game. My oppinion is that it's really worth buying. I've been playing many games, but i ve never been stuck to the ps2 for as long as this game!!! Sometimes I'm even playing it for 4-5 hours straight during winter break when i have free time. . . before playing ATL i was playing final fantasy X, but's it's been on and off - I'm not even done with it!! It's a good game (FFX) but i don't really see what's so special about it. To me the battle system of FFX was too common. But I'll get on with it, since this isn't a review for that game.
So anyways ATL:TOS is the best rpg ever in my oppinion! I loved how you can see one story unfold from two different perspectives and every character had his or her own personality and strengths and weaknesses. I grew to love all the characters, especially Darc, Delma, and Maru! The plot is really tense or peaceful-there are many feelings of hatred or anger, at the same time many happy feelings.
You travel on a map, and I loved that (Its unique, and no having to walk around pointless places to get to your destination!) The battle system was great. Its different, and though may be long i never found it dull. You have to think strategically as to where to hit your opponents from (from the back you'd give them more damage) From what distance and where (you move during battle!!) there are many spells and special moves, and characters can even combine attacks. The graphics and moderately high, Its easy to move around, and you get attached to characters!! sometimes I find myself wondering what will happen next even when not playing the game (I'm not completely done with it and can't wait for the ending but feel sad that it'll be over) (I hope they'll make another ATL game) Basically the best parts of the game are : story, gameplay, uniqueness, and depth (this game is filled with meanings). All in all, don't hesitate to buy this-just do it!