"Arc the Lad: TOS is definitely an RPG you all should check out..."

STORYLINE:

The story is partly about a prince named ''Kharg''. He is the commander of the military in Yewbell and his mother, Queen Nafia, is the leader of the country which they reside on. Anyway, the world is divided literally in half with the humans and the deimos--who are a form of humans and demons and other monsters combined. The storyline switches among two main characters--''Kharg'' who is a human, and ''Darc'' who is a deimos.

The game is set several centuries into the future from the events of Arc the Lad I, II & III. This time around, the whole world relies on Spirit Stones, which are in shortage everywhere. Because of the shortage of Spirit Stones, the human and deimos species are forced to fight constantly over the Spirit Stones.

To the humans, the Spirit Stones let them able to-

Operate machinery, use skills, and live in status.


To the deimos, the Spirit Stones let them able to-

Use their innane gift to use magic.

Both sides of the struggle for Spirit Stones is what causes conflict among literally everyone else. Humans don't trust the deimos races and vice-versa.

There also lies the Great Spirit Stones. There are 5 of these stones that contain the spirits of 5 elements. These elements are:

1.)Wind
2.)Light
3.)Earth
4.)Fire
5.)Water

The greediness of everyone searching for these such stones will cause the whole world to fall into temptation and could lead the world down the path of destruction...

GRAPHICS:

The graphics are pretty good, with each character showing a great amount of detail. The backgrounds are sharp, detailed, and clear. Each character shows distinct details and textures. There are cut-scenes in the game which some feature voice-acting. The voice-acting is done pretty good. I felt the voices portrayed for the characters were done very well and weren't bad, by any means. The special effects are also done wonderful as well. The design and style of the graphics definitely look to be old-school, which is a refreshing change from the recently array of RPGs released on PS2. The environments also show a modern, futuristic look to other places you encounter.

MUSIC:

At first, I thought the music was kind of bland and generic, but I've grown to like it's fully orchestrated music and electric sounds in the game. For me, music in an RPG is important. This game seems to have very nice music which features two battle themes. I'd say the music to be above-average. The melodic tunes are soothing to hear and definitely help to pull you into the magnificently presented storyline.

CHARACTERS:

The characters are lively and show a lot of emotion. Since there are more than 14 playable characters throughout the game, having distinct personalities and emotions for each character are important. Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits definitely succeeds in such a task.

BATTLE SYSTEM:

The battle system mostly reflects that of a tactical RPG in that you can move a certain amount of steps shown in a colored area. Then you can attack in a range [also a colored area] shown by a circular area. When you kill enemies, sometimes they drop items which you can pick up if you are on top of the items. After you pick the items up, you can't move for the rest of your turn, but can fight nearby enemies if you are close enough to them. I personally love this type of battle system employed in Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits for it never gets dull [at least not to me]. It's fun and exciting, but I don't know how you all feel about tactical RPGs' battle systems, so I'll leave the rest up to you.

OTHER RPGS:

So how does Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits compare to other RPGs? It's a little like FFT in the tactical RPG-style battle system. Like I said earlier, it's a refreshing change in the recent RPG releases. All the combinations of unique art styles, magnificent storyline, satisfying music, and the great battle system helps to create an innovative RPG that I'm sure will become one of your favorite RPGs this year.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

What can I further say? I got this game June 20th, 2003 in the mail from the Gamer Advisory Panel Contest. It's a solid-looking and solid-playing game. I love it! If you are still unsure on what to expect from it, a rental is always a good choice. For the diehard RPG fans and Arc the Lad fans, I'd tell you all to buy it. It's truly a great game and I'm sure you'll fall in love with it like I have. I can honestly say that this is one of my favorite RPGs of all time.

Lastly, this game is on 1 DVD.

Until next time...

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/20/03, Updated 07/19/03