Arc the Lad II: Arc Swings into Action Again
Company: Working Designs
Working Designs recently sent us a work-in-progress version of the second Arc the Lad game, imaginatively titled Arc the Lad II. Out for years in Japan, Arc II is the second of the four titles that will be packaged in the Arc the Lad Collection. And it?s a doozy. Perhaps the only real flaw with the first Arc game was its length -- it was beatable in fewer than ten hours, depending on your style of play. In this day and age of fewer than-five-hour games, that wouldn?t be too shocking. But when graphics are more reminiscent of the SNES, one needs more ?meat? to go on. Arc the Lad II provides that meat, along with a few side dishes.
The core combat system isn?t particularly changed, although that?s what you?d expect. Strategy RPGs have been following pretty much the same methods since the days of Shining Force, and Arc the Lad II is no exception. Now, however, you can gain levels with different sorts of weapons, and the weapons and armor themselves gain levels. A higher level weapon will, of course, inflict more damage, and a higher level armor can take more. This means that the relatively weak weapons you start with will actually be stronger than the new ones you find ? you have to sacrifice some possible damage in the short run for more damage in the long run.
Arc the Lad II starts off telling the story of Elc, a young boy who can?t remember his past. Never fear, though, for Arc himself shows up quite early in the game. Arc II sports a very cool feature that we saw in Suikoden II, but which happened much earlier with these games -- you can import your characters from Arc the Lad into this game, and WD says you?ll not only get their abilities, but see more scenes with the characters. Very cool.
The game is also much, much longer -- perhaps two or three times the size of the original Arc. So don?t expect to blow through this one in a weekend. The graphics are much the same, although the art style seems to have matured a little. So while the visuals aren?t mind-blowing, there?s more than enough gameplay here to keep you going. The Arc the Lad Collection is shaping up to be a whole lot of fun in a single serving, as the series just gets better and better. We?ll keep you posted when we get our hands on the other two parts of the Collection -- Arc the Lad Monster Game, which is an add-on for Arc II, and Arc the Lad III.
-Sunfall to-Ennien, GameVortex Communications AKA Phil Bordelon
Arc the Lad Army Men Air Attack 2