Arc the Lad II

"A vast improvement over the original"

Roughly a year and a half after the success of their first RPG, Arc the Lad, Sony released the long-awaited sequel. The original game, while good, lacked depth, was somewhat repetitive and, worst of all, very short. Fortunately, Sony and developer G-Craft, realized this, and so when they set out to make Arc the Lad II, they decided to fix all of the first game's major flaws, while keeping everything fans liked about the first game in tact. This game is a real treat for fans of Arc the Lad, as this game is much longer, more challenging, and much more satisfying than the previous adventure.

This game is a direct sequel to the original game. At the beginning, you control a young man named Elk, a bounty hunter who suffers from amnesia, so he does not remember his past. What begins as a routine hunter job will eventually turn into a quest where Elk will discover the terrifying truth behind his past, and why he doesn't remember anything. He will also eventually meet up with Arc and the other heroes from the first game, and get wrapped up in their mission. By the end, all the loose ends that were left unsolved with Arc the Lad's ''To Be Continued''-style ending will be answered.

Arc the Lad II's gameplay is a mixture of old and new. One of the main complaints I had with the original is that the game, while fun, grew to be sort of repetitive after a while, because it was made up of only battles and story sequences. No towns, no shops, no world map to explore - nothing. Fortunately, G-Craft and Sony fixed this and have made Arc II into a more traditional RPG. It's all here - a world map to explore, massive towns complete with shops to buy items and accessories for your characters, and maze-like dungeons to trek through. It certainly solves the monotony problem of the first game. The battles are basically the same as the first game. You fight monsters on a battlefield, and use a strategic RPG battle system similar to Sega's Shining Force series. However, this time, you can't have all the characters in your party fighting at once in the same battle, unlike the first game. You can only have five characters fighting at once.

The other main gripe everyone had with the first game was that it was too short and a bit simplistic. G-Craft has fixed both of these problems as well, possibly going above and beyond the call of duty. I have not had a chance to completely beat the Japanese import, but I've heard the game can range from 60-80 hours to beat - a vast improvement over the average time of 8-10 hours to complete Arc I. The game is also much more challenging than the original, with much tougher battles and monsters to face against. (I've heard horror stories about the game's final boss as being one of the toughest final bosses in an RPG.) It's great that both Sony and G-Craft listened to the fans, and pretty much solved all of the first game's glaring flaws.

Another cool feature of Arc II's gameplay is when Elk finally meets Arc and his party from the first game. If you have a save file on your memory card from Arc the Lad I, the characters from the first game will be at the same level and hold all the same spells and skills that they held at the end of the original. It's kind of like what Konami did with Suikoden 2, although Arc II did it first. It's a cool feature, and I wish more RPG sequels would use it.

The graphics don't look all that different from the original. There's more lighting effects perhaps, and the characters have a lot more animation than before, but other than that, the character sprites and graphic design look unchanged from the first game. However, there are a lot more backgrounds and areas to explore in this game, due to the fact that this game is much longer. You get to see much more of Arc the Lad's world in this one. Like the first game, each town and area you visit has it's own unique style and theme.

The music also continues the excellence that was featured in the original. The game's soundtrack is vast, ranging from traditional Final Fantasy-style epic melodies, to more modern styles like jazz and guitar rock. The wide variety of music styles on the soundtrack proves the composer's ability in creating a rich and full soundtrack.

This game is a much more complete and satisfying game than the original Arc. The only main complaint I can find is that it's sometimes a bit too difficult. However, this is a much more forgiving flaw than the ones found in the first game. Any gamer who loves a challenge will probably enjoy this aspect.

Overall, this game is everything Arc the Lad should have been the first time around. Despite the difficulty, and the fact that you are more limited to the number of characters you can have in battle, this is a classic RPG. I hope Working Designs will do this game justice when it comes to America.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/25/01, Updated 06/09/03