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Arc the Lad collection Review
This game is one of my all time favorites. So I will do my usual and put cons in with my many pros. However...there are very VERY few cons.
Now remember, I am reviewing all three games at once so I'm doing a broad overview of the whole collection.
Arc the lad I
Graphics 7.5
There were times where the graphics were VERY detailed and the super deformed (chibi) sprites were so well animated you couldn't help but fall in love with them. But after a few repeat animations and a very small over world the game felt a bit...tiny, to say the least, and it didn't age well graphically. However, for being the first RPG on a console to have full CGI cut scenes it gets my Kudos...all the way.
Sound 8.0
Voicing was very nice for such an old title...plus the music was my type of good...something that I could hum hours after playing. It was very memorable but just a lead up to the next games.
Gameplay 7.5
Your cut and paste tactics fare, nothing you wont see in Tenchi Muyo or Treasure hunter G. It would be perfected in games to come. Nuff said.
Story. 9.0
The story in the first game is 100% a teaser. It is a giant back story to lead up to the amazing second game. This game alone isn't too great...but knowing that it leads up to a cliffhanger that begs you to play the next game makes it all worth it. Plus it's VERY short so it's not too hard to get into.
Arc the lad II
Graphics. 8.5
This game was worlds apart from its predecessor. The world was detailed and VERY LARGE with tons of amazing and interesting areas to explore, with a very steam punk feel that paved way for what Final Fantasy VII would be accredited with later. From steam coming out of pipes to awesome towns and magical spells there wasn't anything that didn't look nice about this game. The CGI, however, were much of the same from the first one just better...characters themselves weren't rendered in CGI till the third game.
Sound 8.0
Better than the first game, not as good as the next. The songs were VERY nice and the voicing fit well.
Story. 9.0
So many twists and turns. These characters are the most fleshed out I have ever seen. Some people (including me) got emotional at certain scenes in FF games. This tops those a thousand times over. First of all the characters, except for maybe a few, were lovable. Second, the twists this story took will give people who look deep into it Akira flash backs with a bit of Romeo and Juliet in it. It's purely amazing.
Arc the lad III
9.0 Overall
I wont go too deep into this one because it doesn't have to be played after the others. However, these games work like Gensou Suikoden. Characters and places from the other games will show up and you'll want their stats and items to transfer. What can I say, this game perfected what the others hadn't. It came after FF7 so it took a lot of reference from it, which was strange because it was what laid the order of what steam punk/scifi jRPG's should be like. So thus the graphics are a bit more 3D that the previous games with more details and camera effects added. The CGI is amazing for its time. Better than FF7 by far and very emotional. The story however is very good..but open. This game plays like a Grand Theft Auto version of the other games. The main story doesn't come till near the end...and every other mission is an optional sand box/choose your own adventure type. It works well but can be overwhelming. The only problem with this game is the main story arc..(arc ...lol). It requires you to know and care about the people in the previous games...if you're just starting it that's a bit of a stretch. However if you proceeded like you were meant to and played the games in order, then this game is a shoe in and needs not introduction or recommendation.
PLAY IT!
Otaku Guru : Zaciroth
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