"The story continues...."

Arc The Lad 2 is a japanese role playing game that,unlike other role playing games where combat is in real time,uses a turn based system during combat.Arc The Lad 2 is the sequel to the hit japanese role playing game,''Arc The Lad''. This role playing game is original as it allows characters from the previous adventure to interact with the new characters in this remarkable epic RPG.Although the intro was quite violent but subsequently i learnt that it played a key role in the development of the plot and if you thought that by completing the first Arc The Lad adventure you have banished evil once and for all then you are wrong for in this latest instalment of the Arc The Lad saga,you can actually continue the original adventure only this time with more new items and weapons as well as special abilities and the choice of both new and old characters. Like the previous Arc The Lad,gameplay has remained,except for some minor adjustments,virtually unchanged.Each character has different ability thus giving the player more variety for selecting his or her own preferred team to send into battles.And this time,there are multiple sub-plots included that affects both new and old characters which can result in the finding of more powerful items or the discovery of intimate secrets that are hidden within each character or even the discovery of new weapons that would otherwise can only be found in the sub-plots and not anywhere in the game.You can also gain new abilities and magic by simply completeing each sub-plot but unlike the pr
revious Arc The lad where the puzzles are often obvious,Arc The Lad 2 offers a new concept to the term puzzle in which the way a puzzle unfolds depends on which characters besides the key character you bring to the puzzle.The combat
system has been relatively unchanged and the commands still remain the same but a few new commands has been added to complement the new abilities of the new characters.There are also full motion video scenes at key points of the
game which adds to the entertainment value of this role playing game.This RPG will definitely be one of the most memorable role playing games ever made for the sony playstation console.

Playability
As i have stated earlier in my comments,gameplay is relatively unchanged.The RPG still uses the standard japanese role playing game button format.Control during combat is also not too stressful and the control system is very quick to act according to the input given by the standard playstation controller.It has been specially designed so that new players can master all the controls with minimum time and maximum fun.The gameplay is also quite easy for novice RPG players to understand and though some parts of the game are quite baffling to unravel, believe me they are not so only you are not looking at the right place at the right time with the right people.Thats right the concept of the puzzles contained in this game is Misdirection.Just know what you are looking for and know what you need to get it and you can consider the puzzle solved.

Replay
As earlier stated,Arc the Lad 2 contains a massive amount of secrets such as hidden weapons and armor with extremely impressive stats or items that are rare or can only be found at key places and sub-plots of which i have found
only a miniscule amount and am still looking.Also if you bring different characters during key events,you may find the character dialogue may have changed quite dramatically. Its worth it to play this game repeatedly just to see such
dialogues.

Graphics
There is not much to be said about the graphics quality of Arc The Lad 2 only there are some vast improvements in lighting and colors which give the game an atmosphere and mood that was sadly lacking in the previous instalment. There is also the constant focus on detail and texture. However,loading time has been drastically reduced.So much reduced that you wont notice the loading in progress.

Sound
Now this is an interesting development.Each character has their own vocals but only to complement their fighting manouvres or when casting magic.The music can be said to be of CD quality with added synthesizers to increase the effect of the well written soundtracks that simply makes the game more entertaining and more fun to play.Thumbs up for the Arc The Lad 2 music writers and developers.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/05/00, Updated 04/05/00