"Recommended for anyone who likes RPGs, even in the least bit."

I've never played the first three Arc the Lad games, so I bought Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits with a little hesitation, not knowing what to expect. The game surprised me to a large extent, and ended up being one of my favorite RPGs for the PS2. You just don't get these kinds of RPGs anymore for a system like PS2, especially since there are so many RPGs that get more praise than they deserve (FFX-2, Suikoden IV), and most underrated RPGs are quickly forgotten (Wild ARMs 3) or just plain suck (Legaia: Duel Saga). To me, Arc the Lad is nearly like Final Fantasy X, my favorite RPG for the PS2.

Now, the game plays different from a normal RPG- it's like a mix between FFT/other SRPGs and a regular RPG like Final Fantasy or Suikoden. On one hand, you will be encountering dungeons and walking around towns, talking to people and buying things. On the other, you'll be battling in the vein of a strategy RPG when you encounter enemies. The world map is poorly designed, actually- it's a lot like FFT's world map with "point-and-click" locations, but most of the "field" areas separating towns, dungeons, and other areas you must go to are just there to be random encounter locations. The random encounter rate is high as you pass these areas, but thankfully you can run away from these battles if you so desire.

The battle system is actually extremely simple, which is a bit of a letdown. You have a wide field of where you want a character to move to, and then you can attack any enemy that is nearby, depending on the range of your weapon. There are no job classes or anything in the game- characters are limited to only one weapon they use for the whole game, but they can equip three pieces of equipment to beef up that weapon (like a new bowstring for Maru's bow which makes him shoot more enemies) and three pieces of armor. The other addition to the battle system is the magic/special ability option. This one's simple as well- you gain not only experience but ability points when you attack enemies. You can spend those ability points to learn new skills or special moves. Most of these moves, barring the heal spells, aren't very good, though, but you'll find yourself using the Defense Down crap on some of the tougher bosses later in the game.

And that's the battle system for you. That's the way battles are fought. Does that sound disappointing? Don't worry, I haven't gotten to the good part yet.

The graphics in the game rival those of Final Fantasy X. There are VERY many different environments that you explore, and each one is detailed nicely. Expect to see snowy areas, beautiful airships, pyramids, military camps, blazing volcanoes, and pulsating fortresses. The developers went the extra mile to set the world in the "future" where there are still medieval areas. Oh, and there are two different races that live in the world, and both live in very different environments. The only complaints here are the fact that some of the areas are a little small, and the random encounter areas, such as forests, are reused too often. Other than that, the character models are solid, though I prefer the Deimos characters over the humans.

Deimos? That's the term for one of the races of the world. The world is inhabited by these monster-like creatures that evolved from regular creatures and gained the ability to do human-like things and talk. However, they are very different from humans- they have different beliefs, policies, and lifestyles. If I haven't hinted at it yet, both races hate each other, so expect lots of racism (but don't expect anything like shown in Tales of Rebirth).

In the game, you will be in control of two heroes instead of one. One's a human, the other's a Deimos. The The twist is that they're long-lost brothers. Both hate the other race for personal reasons and would do anything to help their own race defeat the other. Kharg, the human, lives with his mother (who is also the mother of the other hero) in a small town on a continent home to a Deimos group known as the Drakyr. His mother, Nafia, keeps many things from him, such as the fact that he has a brother. But soon enough, Kharg meets up with a character that makes him change his mind and depart on a journey to stop an evil empire. Cliche? Wait up.

The other hero is Darc, whose father (a Drakyr Deimos that was separated from Nafia when the other Drakyr found out he was married to a human) died soon afte rthe separation. Darc is a Deimos but has human traits so he is rejected by the Orcon tribe that he lives with. To make matters worse, he lives with an old hag who mistreats him and would much rather have him dead. Every day, Darc visits his father's grave in an old church while doing the old witch's chores. Poor guy. Soon enough, Darc meets the same character Kharg does and embarks on a journey. Both stories are filled with mystical stones, the evil empire taking over the world, and so forth.

While it may seem like a typical story, I was still amazed at how it was executed. There are plot twists EVERYWHERE, and I love plot twists. I know you do too. Just wait till you get to the final chapter. :D Combine the story with the beautiful environments and you got yourself a winner.

The characters are interesting as well. They quarrel with each other and even go as far as to betray their leaders at some points. Darc's party is more interesting because of this- Delma and Bebedora are the prime examples. The supporting characters are actually much cooler, as they're developed very nicely, especially the villains towards the end of the game.

We've seen pretty bad localizations lately in terms of voice acting (Star Ocean 3, Baten Kaitos) but the team here wasn't cheap and hired prolific voice actors to play the roles of the characters. Actually, voice acting outside of battle is pretty rare in the game- most of it takes place when a new character is introduced, and some "special" scenes have voice acting, but most of those are concentrated on Kharg and Darc.

Likewise, the music takes itself seriously. This stuff is FAR from crap. In fact, it rivals Final Fantasy X's music as well, and in some cases beats it out. Around three to four composers helped make the music, and almost every track is unique. The track usage may be poor when it comes to battles- you'll hear the same battle themes over and over, but the rest of the tunes are well-made. Koji Sakurai's probably the best out of the composers, with "Fierce Battle", "Desperate Struggle", "That Which Must Be Protected", and my favorite, "Core". Takayuki Hattori follows with the non-battle themes, and Yuko Fukushima is third because the battle themes she composed sometimes do not fit (prime offenders: Kharg's regular story battle theme, arena battle theme, "Fateful Fight").

Also, it should be noted that the official OST only has half the tunes in the game for some reason. The rest of 'em are scattered on the Arc the Lad GENERATION OST, though there are still a few that seem to be missing. The second-to-last dungeon theme is completely MIA, and I actually liked it for its sinister and tense sound. What a shame. But that doesn't detract from the excellence of the music you'll hear in the game.

Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is a 35- to 40-hour adventure that completely shines. It's a bit on the easy side: there are some tough battles here and there but mostly near the end of the game. Veteran RPGers will probably breeze through it while casual gamers may find themselves in trouble at some point or the other.

--Scores--
Graphics: 9/10
Music: 9.5/10
Story: 9.5/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Length/Challenge: 8/10
Final Score: 9/10

This is a game that was pretty darned underrated when it came out back in 2003. Right now it's only $20, and I recommend it to anyone who likes RPGs at the slightest. It's not perfect, but one will absolutely not be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/11/05