Arc the Lad III
Aug. 21st, 2015 06:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chuckroA boy named Alec was saved by a Hunter from the "Great Disaster" at the end of Arc the Lad II. When his new village is threatened, he's able to get a Hunter to save it. That steels his resolve to become a Hunter, see the world, and recover the lost memories of his past. And yes, eventually save the world, too.
I have played this series so incredibly out of order: 4 (in 2009), 5 (in 2010), 1 and half of 2 (in 2011)...and now 3 (in 2015). And playing them both out of sequence and far apart means that I'm missing references left and right. The first three games of the series actually seem to tie together really tightly, with a lot of recurring characters and each following on the events of the previous. The fourth game does a significant time-jump and adds a bunch of aspects to the world that don't seem to be in the earlier games and looks like it should stand completely alone; but then pulls the series recurring final boss out of nowhere. The last game takes place just after the fourth, again with recurring locations and characters.
The battle setup is essentially the same system as Arc 1 and Arc 2; it's a slightly simplified grid-based tactical rpg setup. The battles are faster and smoother than FFT or similar games, but you're also limited to four characters (of a max of seven, with some guest characters) who you can't really customize.
If you lose in battle, it resets to the beginning of the battle with your HP restored, but retaining the XP you earned. This is how I grinded my first few levels, actually. And boy, does the game expect you to grind. Probably half of the game's total playtime is either grinding or fighting battles very, very carefully because you haven't been grinding.
The first disc is very mission-based. You become a Hunter, and then the rest of the plot is a collection of optional and mandatory missions from the Guild. (The 5th game followed this model, too.) You generally will have a choice of optional missions, then a single required one, then more optional ones, and periodically an extra-long plot mission that usually opens up a new area.
The missions are sometimes battles, but can be minigames like block-pushing puzzles or memory games; or just fetch quests. They get longer and tougher as the game goes on, though you can fail or skip some and always still continue. The "Hunter Points" you earn for completing them seem to just be a bragging rights reward; getting to higher ranks doesn't net you anything.
Far too many of the puzzles, especially in later dungeons, are guessing games / "did you read a FAQ?" sort of puzzles. The item and weapon synthesis sidequests are the same way--if you aren't using a FAQ, be prepared to do a lot of save-scumming.
The second disc (and the lead-in to it) is radically different--the missions become generally optional (and far fewer of them are combat-based) and there are a string of long dungeons, often with confusing mazes. Though those dungeons and the fetch-quests surrounding them are ostensibly missions, it's just a formality at that point.
They clearly designed the game with "what will make this longer?" as a primary objective. (Granted, I get the impression that the biggest complaint about the first Arc game when it came out was that it was too short.) But there are a lot of kinda pointless conversations, and a lot of running back and forth to clearly established destinations, and respawning battles that seem to only be there to go, "Ha-ha, you walked the wrong way and have to fight this battle twice more!" (Also, there's a fine line between "making a task seem worthwhile" and "using pointless filler", and this game makes that line very blurry.)
There are some delightfully funny bits; and a lot of character moments, especially on the less plot-critical missions. Lutz is a bit of a dick and a lech and definitely the idiot-ball character, but once he gets a banter going with Cheryl he gets more tolerable. There are numerous subplots that weave through multiple missions, involving both new characters and recurring ones from the previous games. This is good, because the main plot doesn't really have anything to it for the first chunk of the game: The only motivation is "Let's be Hunters and see the world!"
On one hand, the translators were obviously having fun: There are running gags and references to pop culture and all that sort of thing. On the other hand, there's a town called "Felator" that I'm shocked got past the censors (my best guess is that they missed it because it's on Disc 2).
Disc 2 is when the actual plot gets revealed, too. There were hints leading up to it, but the Academy's true goal is releasing The Dark One, the big bad of the previous games and the cause of the Great Disaster. (Why? Because they're dumb. And because SCIENCE! I suspect there's a nuclear bomb metaphor here somewhere.) After this reveal, Alec gets to team up with Elc (the hero of the last game) and gets put in charge of leading the Hunter Guild against this menace.
Oh, and that bit about the Hunter who rescued Alec in the prologue? He got disillusioned by the Great Disaster and was working for the villians the whole time as a high-end flunky of little note. You find that out near the end of the final dungeon--right before you kill the guy--and it's barely remarked on.
Review of:
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits
Arc the Lad: End of Darkness
Arc the Lad I
Overall: Given that the actual main plot relies on knowing the events and characters of the first two games, and the battle system is just a copy of them, if this series interests you, start with Arc the Lad I and work your way forward until it doesn't any more. Alternately, skip straight to Arc the Lad 4: Twilight of the Spirits (which I thought was the best of the series from a gameplay perspective and had a strong plot except for the out-of-nowhere final boss), and don't bother with the rest.
I have played this series so incredibly out of order: 4 (in 2009), 5 (in 2010), 1 and half of 2 (in 2011)...and now 3 (in 2015). And playing them both out of sequence and far apart means that I'm missing references left and right. The first three games of the series actually seem to tie together really tightly, with a lot of recurring characters and each following on the events of the previous. The fourth game does a significant time-jump and adds a bunch of aspects to the world that don't seem to be in the earlier games and looks like it should stand completely alone; but then pulls the series recurring final boss out of nowhere. The last game takes place just after the fourth, again with recurring locations and characters.
The battle setup is essentially the same system as Arc 1 and Arc 2; it's a slightly simplified grid-based tactical rpg setup. The battles are faster and smoother than FFT or similar games, but you're also limited to four characters (of a max of seven, with some guest characters) who you can't really customize.
If you lose in battle, it resets to the beginning of the battle with your HP restored, but retaining the XP you earned. This is how I grinded my first few levels, actually. And boy, does the game expect you to grind. Probably half of the game's total playtime is either grinding or fighting battles very, very carefully because you haven't been grinding.
The first disc is very mission-based. You become a Hunter, and then the rest of the plot is a collection of optional and mandatory missions from the Guild. (The 5th game followed this model, too.) You generally will have a choice of optional missions, then a single required one, then more optional ones, and periodically an extra-long plot mission that usually opens up a new area.
The missions are sometimes battles, but can be minigames like block-pushing puzzles or memory games; or just fetch quests. They get longer and tougher as the game goes on, though you can fail or skip some and always still continue. The "Hunter Points" you earn for completing them seem to just be a bragging rights reward; getting to higher ranks doesn't net you anything.
Far too many of the puzzles, especially in later dungeons, are guessing games / "did you read a FAQ?" sort of puzzles. The item and weapon synthesis sidequests are the same way--if you aren't using a FAQ, be prepared to do a lot of save-scumming.
The second disc (and the lead-in to it) is radically different--the missions become generally optional (and far fewer of them are combat-based) and there are a string of long dungeons, often with confusing mazes. Though those dungeons and the fetch-quests surrounding them are ostensibly missions, it's just a formality at that point.
They clearly designed the game with "what will make this longer?" as a primary objective. (Granted, I get the impression that the biggest complaint about the first Arc game when it came out was that it was too short.) But there are a lot of kinda pointless conversations, and a lot of running back and forth to clearly established destinations, and respawning battles that seem to only be there to go, "Ha-ha, you walked the wrong way and have to fight this battle twice more!" (Also, there's a fine line between "making a task seem worthwhile" and "using pointless filler", and this game makes that line very blurry.)
There are some delightfully funny bits; and a lot of character moments, especially on the less plot-critical missions. Lutz is a bit of a dick and a lech and definitely the idiot-ball character, but once he gets a banter going with Cheryl he gets more tolerable. There are numerous subplots that weave through multiple missions, involving both new characters and recurring ones from the previous games. This is good, because the main plot doesn't really have anything to it for the first chunk of the game: The only motivation is "Let's be Hunters and see the world!"
On one hand, the translators were obviously having fun: There are running gags and references to pop culture and all that sort of thing. On the other hand, there's a town called "Felator" that I'm shocked got past the censors (my best guess is that they missed it because it's on Disc 2).
Disc 2 is when the actual plot gets revealed, too. There were hints leading up to it, but the Academy's true goal is releasing The Dark One, the big bad of the previous games and the cause of the Great Disaster. (Why? Because they're dumb. And because SCIENCE! I suspect there's a nuclear bomb metaphor here somewhere.) After this reveal, Alec gets to team up with Elc (the hero of the last game) and gets put in charge of leading the Hunter Guild against this menace.
Oh, and that bit about the Hunter who rescued Alec in the prologue? He got disillusioned by the Great Disaster and was working for the villians the whole time as a high-end flunky of little note. You find that out near the end of the final dungeon--right before you kill the guy--and it's barely remarked on.
Review of:
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits
Arc the Lad: End of Darkness
Arc the Lad I
Overall: Given that the actual main plot relies on knowing the events and characters of the first two games, and the battle system is just a copy of them, if this series interests you, start with Arc the Lad I and work your way forward until it doesn't any more. Alternately, skip straight to Arc the Lad 4: Twilight of the Spirits (which I thought was the best of the series from a gameplay perspective and had a strong plot except for the out-of-nowhere final boss), and don't bother with the rest.
