"Even better than Totally Rad"

I impulse-bought this game and not since GGX2 have I been happier I did. As with most of my reviews I'll be joined by Rieka, a review tag narrator. What she says is in italics.

Control: 10/10 Joel, you're never gonna find an RPG with bad control
I suppose you're right. As is likely expected by everyone, the control in AtL is perfectly fine. It supports the D-pad and the analogue sticks and uses the North American button scheme, which is very nice.

Story: 8/10 Kharg got completely shafted on the story, but all's still well.
I was quite impressed with how well the flow of this game runs. You're never without task and seeing the game from the Deimos point of view was quite exhilarating. The plot twists are far from expected and the townie dialogue is second only to the Grandia games. Although I do wish the choices you are given to alter townie dialogue actually mattered and changed things. I agree.

You see, the story is split between Kharg, a forgotten prince who's trying to become strong and fight for justice, and Darc, a half-deimos who is trying to become strong for... less admirable reasons. However, the split between the two is quite extreme and refreshing. I'm telling you, Kharg got shafted! It's blantantly obvious they liked Darc more and that's why his story seems so much more enriching. Truthfully, I liked Darc's side of the story because it's very rare that you get to see what's going on with the `faceless evil side'.

Darc's story was so beautifully written that I'm gonna include a quick recipe for snowcones here.
1) Mix 25:75 portions of water and flavour syrup.
2) Layer wish shaved ice, using shaved ice as the base. Be sure your cup is divided into even layers or else the taste from the ice or syrup will overtake the other.
3) Don't eat too quickly.

... *shrugs* Whatever. Back on topic here,

BGM: 9/10 Bagpipe, electric guitar, piano and violin set the mood quite well.
Let me intervene here, Joel. You mentioned bagpipes, which can be detrimental to a person's opinion. Let me set this straight. Bagpipes are perfectly beautiful-sounding instruments if done as properly as they are in things like AtL or Highlander. The scores in this game are quite subtle, meaning they flow well with the game itself. I wouldn't really buy it's soundtrack as it's not the type of music I'd listen to without playing the game. Kind of like the Silent Hill soundtracks. Take away the game and the soundtrack isn't much, but add the game and the soundtrack fits like a glove. A well-fitting glove, of course =^.^=

I apologize for mentioning bagpipes in a game review without giving proper warning first. But you have to promise me to never do that kitty smile in a review ever again.

Voice Acting: 9/10 I thought Darc had Lu Bu's voice actor at first. Turns out it's just the Taco Bell dog.
The voice acting in this game although not quite as good as Xenosaga's, still requires a very honourable mention. Plain and simple the english voice casting is flawless. Every voice actor makes you believe their role and although it's not nearly as voice-heavy as most games nowadays, the talent is very well placed.

Sound Effects: 9/10
The sound effects surprised me. They just sound alot crisper than in most games. Hearing the swish of a sword and the subtle clank of armor makes you feel that much more immersed in the game. The sound effects for magic and special attacks aren't bad. Well, some of the spells are set to a much higher volume level. That's a drawback.

Graphics: 10/10 Darc and Kharg are so hot
*shakes his head* That's not review-important. Anyhow, the graphics have that subtle beauty we've come to expect from Sony as of late. Grass blowing in the breeze, little puffs of dust when you move from metal floors to dusty spots and the nice glimmer of sunlight through curtins grace us on a notably frequent basis. On the other side of the game world however, it is quite dark and dreary. This doesn't stop natural beauty however, as glowing plants and light-reflective water keep our attention on how beautiful this game is.

Character models are very solid and character animations, particularily facial animations, are very well done. One thing that did shock me though was how well animated the monsters are. They gave the same attention to detail for monsters as they did for the characters, which I feel is a first in an RPG (Not counting the action RPG, Symphony of the Night).

Fun Factor: 8/10 Both combat and day-to-day tasks proove very fun and non-repetative.
The game immurses you almost right away with quick combat. As this is moreso a strategic RPG, combat is very blissful. Each round a character can move around on the battlefield according to a certain stat. They can then pick up items if any have been dropped by enemies or destroyed obsticles. After that, they can attack, use a special ability or spell, or use an item.

What sturck me however was the speed at which combat flows. Most battles are over in about four rounds, which is quite nice. It's in that area of not too fast, yet not too slow.

Also, as opposed to MP which you refill at an inn, the game employs a story-driven method of requireing Spirit Stones. These stones are expendable but can be purchased/found in relative abundance.

Difficulty: 3/10 (closer to 5 the better)
I wasn't quite pleased with the difficulty AtL offered me. By building up for 5 battles early in the game you avoid 90% of the difficulty this game has to offer. Also, the strategy aspect isn't quite as intense as I'd like it to be. It's almost as though the difficulty was designed for the age group which is too young to purchase the game.

Feel: 10/10
The most important score to me. If you dislike dungeon crawls but don't want to handle the colossal story `read-read-read' RPG's, Arc the Lad is guaranteed to be perfect for you. It's the perfect mix of the two and it's invoked the emotions in me I was hoping it would. It made me laugh, feel like crying, feel pressured and, most important of all, made me sit back on several occasions and say ''This is one damn good game.''

Instruction book/packaging: 10/10 It's localized by Sony. Of course the hardcopy stuff rocks!
A very concise, full colour instruction booklet with a war steel motif could only be made more gratifying by the long list of credits which they included at the back. Sorry, it's just a pet peeve of mine when I hear lots of good voice talents and have no way to place a name to them.

Overall: 9/10
Strongly advised for those who really like RPGs with perfect portions of style, graphics, fun gameplay and emotion.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/26/03, Updated 06/26/03