"Arc the Lad? More like Arc the Sad."

The Arc the Lad series is a series of wonderful strategy RPGs.
Although the first was limited, it was fun. AtL 2 was a masterpiece, and AtL 3 wasn't that bad either. I enjoyed them immensely.
So you can imagine my anticipation for Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits. A new Arc the Lad game in glorious 3D, what could go wrong?

Nothing! Or as it turned out, nearly everything.

Storyline
Well.. where do I start. In a nutshell, thousands of years after Arc the Lad 3 the world has been divided between humans and the Deimos, a race of various demi-humans.
Now, these humans and Deimos utterly despise each other (surprise!) and fight over the last remaining resource in the world, Spirit Stones, which each side uses for their own needs. Along with your usual plot twists and crusade against another Evil Empire complete with evil soldiers who all look the same, that's about it.
They claim that there's this complicated plot to do with the folly of racial bigotry and such.. but really, it's not there. The plot pretends to be grandiose, but is just gloss over a generic RPG adventure. A rather big disappointment.

SCORE: 3/10

Gameplay
Overall, this game is fun to play, as with the other AtL games, you run around towns, go through various maps and fight through strategic battles, only this time you aren't restricted to a grid of squares, and can move anywhere within your range. It's pretty fun actually. However the maps are another matter, unlike the previous AtL's where you could move anywhere on the map to explore, here you are reduced to selecting locations Final Fantasy Tactics style. Not a great loss, but you have to wonder why they fixed what wasn't broken.
The story progresses switching between the two main characters and their parties, frankly this is rather fiddly as you find yourself switching to Darc's party just when you're getting used to Kharg's or vice versa. It means you have to separate parties to maintain, build up and earn money for which can be annoying depending on your point of view.
It also means that you cannot pick and choose which characters you want to battle as you could in AtL 2 & 3, because each main gets a maximum of 5 (count 'em) allies. Who you must use whether you like them or not (and the ones that are available are not what you'd call likable). This is so annoying, it shaves a whole point off my score alone.

SCORE: 7/10

Graphics
Very good for the most part, all the locations and characters look crisp and clear, the maps are particularly nice, and the monsters from the previous AtLs have made the transition to 3D rather well.
The design of the characters on the other hand is generally poor, ranging between a generic fatso, a boy who looks like a Village People reject and a silly blue wolf man with a head too small for his body, they all lack the flare and uniqueness present in the other Arc the Lads.
And yes, Kharg looks like Tidus. There's no denying it. What is the Japanese obsession with heroes in shorts nowadays I wonder?

SCORE: 8/10

Music
One word: Excellent. Probably the only thing this game excels at, there are many fine tunes to be heard here.
Well apart from Darc's random battle theme, which stinks.
But hey, you can't get them all right, eh?

SCORE: 9/10

Longevity
This game lasts a while, but it's slow to start off and the last few chapters seem to zip by at the speed of light.
I personally always replay RPGs at least one more time, but for the average gamer I don't think it's anything that you'd want to go back to once it's over with.

SCORE: 6/10

Overall
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits had a lot of potential, stemming as it does from the magnificent Arc the Lad 2. It's a shame that most of the ideas that made AtL 2 so great are either dumbed down or totally ignored, all for the sake of focusing on a plot that isn't as great as it thinks it it.

Storyline: 3/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Graphics: 8/10
Music: 9/10
Longevity: 6/10

Overall Score: 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/05/03, Updated 07/05/03