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"It's definitely got the packaging... but is it really the whole package?"

A five? Really? You may question why my GameFAQs account is named after an Arc character, yes? I don't really know. I mean, this account is pretty old. I named it after Iga, my favorite character from AtL, and I don't really feel like changing it (I still think Iga's a total badass, anyway). I guess I liked Arc the Lad Collection back then. But now? Let's just say I've grown a little. I used to totally dig the RPG genre. Now, not so much. After like five years of collecting dust, I decided to pull this huge mess of games out again and play through all of them. The result: wow, this really ain't all that great. Then: engrossing games with lots of fun characters to experiment with. Now: a total snooze-fest.

PRESENTATION:
Are you blind? It speaks for itself. Working Designs once again went over the top, giving us "four" (three, actually) games, a hard-cover instruction booklet (oh goody), some cardboard... things, a memory card case (you can never have too many!), and some PS1 analog stick covers (you can never have too many of those, either!). All for 60 buckaroos new. Well, you do get a lot of stuff. Is it worth it? If you like worthless junk, then yes. I used to like worthless junk, apparently. I do not like worthless junk anymore. You can also purchase the strategy guide for volumes 1 and 2 for $30. Don't buy it, though--it SUCKS. The author works too hard on being funny (which he is not) and doesn't focus enough on the actual game. At least the case looks pretty!

Fear not, I'm not gonna knock this game throughout the entire review (I gave it a 5, not a 1). WD did an excellent job with the translation, and the Arc Arena is a nice little addition if you have the time for it.
PRESENTATION: 6/10

STORY:
I will go in chronological order based on the games.
Arc the Lad
Arc is the main character of this game (he's a lad, by the way--NOT a lass!), and a fairly boring one at that. He's young, he's dumb, yet he really knows how to present himself. One day he decides to look for his father or something. He ends up climbing a mountain, which held the Flame Cion before a young woman, Kukuru, put it out, releasing a great evil. So he almost dies on the mountain, but he is enlightened by a spirit, telling him he is the "Warrior of the Spirits." The "chosen one," if you will. Original, eh? Kukuru tags along because she's important too, I guess. But she's also just as boring as Arc. So their mission is to seek out the five guardians. Once they do that, the game is over and you move onto Arc 2. Possibly the worst part of the story is that you are given the same speech each time you meet a guardian: "Humans are greedy and they're destroying the world!" It's like that, except dragged out for ten hours. The best part of the story is in the ending, where a great turn of events leads Arc to become a wanted criminal. Despite all it's cliches, this made me like Arc a little more.

Arc and Kukuru may be the main characters, but they're far from the players' favorites. Tosh is one hardcore mofo, with his love of alcohol and violence. Gogen is a sweet old guy who makes some great entertainment. Bando Poco and the greedy Chongara are great comic relief, and Iga, as you know, is the coolest badass this side of Greyshinne.
Arc the Lad story review: 5/10

Arc the Lad 2
The first is basically a prologue, with the sequel being the bulk of the story. It follows Elc, a very revenge-driven young man. His village was destroyed and his best friends were taken away from him by the bad guys. Elc bugs me even more than Arc, honestly. For all his childishness, though, this story is much better than the original, taking you all over the game's world to put an end to the dark forces. Perhaps the best part is when Elc meets Arc's crew face-to-face, and the fireworks really start. Still, many of the new characters introduced (Gruga, Lieza) are far from interesting. Lieza's the typical sidekick girl with a "special" power, Gruga's the gentle strong man, etc. While you'll be taken through some very high highs and very low lows, Elc's quest does not match the stories of many other PS1 RPGs.
Arc the Lad 2 story review: 7.5/10

Arc the Lad 3
This is the final addition, and was seemingly just plopped into the mix, since AtL2 ends happily. Really, it's the same as Arc 2, except the main character is the blandest of them all. Seriously, can Alec get any more one-dimensional? The best parts are when old friends make cameos, but those unfortunately do not last long at all.
Arc the Lad 3 story review: 3/10

STORY OVERALL: 5.5/10

GRAPHICS:
This is an old game being re-released, so we must cut it some slack in the visual department. Actually, I thought the goofy sprites were slightly better than a lot of other games' at that time of release. Today, though, they do not quite hold up as well as even some of the older PS1 games. Arc 3's are obviously the best (1 and 2's are the same), but still look a little too goofy to really stand up to others.
GRAPHICS: 5/10

SOUNDS:
Okay, the battle tunes for all three sucks ass. I know people say they use the mute button a lot for games with bad music, but I REALLY mean this. I muted these games more than any others. The brass-heavy main themes that play during cutscenes and such are great, but other than that, the sound was either off or very low. Which is too bad, since the Japanese voices were so great. I really enjoyed hearing each individual's voice when he/she attacked/cast a spell, etc., but the music was too distracting.
SOUNDS: 6/10

GAMEPLAY:
Arc the Lad
Very cut-and-dry, shallow gameplay. You mainly go from story-scene to battle scene. The battles are strategy-based, where characters can move freely around their grid. They can attack, use an item, or cast a spell. The worst part about this was gaining levels--the best way to do this was by killing enemies. But what about a healer, like Kukuru? I wanted to build her up just as much as everyone else, but since she's too weak to kill enemies, it was way too hard. Same with Gogen, who is at first very weak (it's worth it to build him up, though). Then there are the extremely tedious sidequests--the 50 floors of the Forbidden Ruins are cake when compared to the ridiculous Niedel tournament arena--beat 1000 enemies? No thanks. Really, there's nothing to the original. Point A to point B.
Arc the Lad gameplay review: 3/10

Arc the Lad 2
Much deeper than the original--so much so, you'll be in shock at first. Characters now get equipment choices, all of which can be levelled up. They also have more complex abilities (like Lieza's taming skill), and the variety is ultimately much greater. The problem? Too many battles. Now, if they had the same amount of battles, but with less enemies in them, that'd be fine. But each battle takes so long to finish, by the time you're done with the first three in a dungeon, you're ready to call it quits. Something else that makes 2 much different is in the Bounty quests, where you literally hunt down people with bounties and get rewarded. This sounds pretty cool, but it's really the same thing over and over again, just in different locations. AtL2 is much more fun than its predecessor, but at times it gets way too monotonous.

Something nice is the data transfer, which allows you to transfer your Arc 1 date into Arc 2, giving you all of Arc 1's characters the amount of experience they had when you finished the original. So if Arc was at level 55 in the first, he'll be at 55 in the second when you start playing as him again. A really cool feature.
Arc the Lad 2 gameplay review: 7/10

Arc the Lad 3
Not nearly as deep as 2, but not so basic that it's no fun. The crazy battle numbers are reduced to the perfect size, and the Bounty quests provide better rewards. The equipment system isn't as tedious as in the last one, and in fact they replace the levelling system with a creation system, which I liked more. Another addition is with Theo's character--you can use cards to summon previously fought monsters. It's a little like Lieza, but Theo doesn't suck as much. The battle system is almost identical to the first two, though this isn't nearly as bad since the fights don't last as long anymore. Arc 3 may not be as complex as 2, but I think that's for the better.

Once again, you can transfer your date from Arc 2 to this game, but the older characters are barely in it as much as Arc 3's newest characters.
Arc the Lad 3 gameplay review: 8.5/10
GAMEPLAY OVERALL: 6/10

LASTING APPEAL:
Three games. Arc 1 can be beaten in less than 10 hours, but Arc 2 will probably take over 60. Yeah, that is one long-ass game. Arc 3 is about the standard 40 hour RPG, which is a very nice number. If you're STILL not getting enough Arc/Elc/Alec (gotta love those names), then there are tons of sidequests and bounties to go after in the two later games. And we can't forget the Monster Arena, which will tack on a few extra hours. Seriously, this game will last you a LONG time... that is, if you don't get too bored after awhile.
LASTING APPEAL: 9/10

OVERALL:
I feel like I'm betraying AtL in a way. I used to love it so much I named my GameFAQs account after a character in it, only to come back to the game years later and find it not nearly as good as I remember. Still, if it's your thing, then that's awesome. Despite my somewhat low score, I still think you should buy this game if you're a tried-and-true RPG fan, for this is quite a collection. Each game has it's fair share of pros and cons, but I'll let you be the judge of those.
OVERALL: 5.4/10 (5/10 when rounded)

Thanks for reading =)

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/07, Updated 09/04/07

Game Release: Arc the Lad Collection (US, 04/18/02)

"Beyond the Hype"

The Arc the Lad Games were released a few years ago to massive hype and praise. Since the game was so steep, I avoided purchasing it until recently, and when I did get around to the three games enshrined within, I found myself trying to find out what people saw in these games?

I still have no answer.

Well, I'll review each game individually, and you can make up your own mind.

Arc the Lad 1:

The story is classic RPG fare. You are Arc, adventurous youngin' whose father disappeared mysteriously some time ago. You take some of your father's leftover equipment and strike out in the world to see what happened to him, and eventually get caught up in a plot to save the world from destruction(though the game stops before the actual saving occurs). It's utterly generic and cliche, involving backstabbing chancellors, some elemental guardians and idiot kings, and is pretty much just an excuse to get you to go from area to area. Not to mention the trite "Humanity is EVIL" storyline that beats you over the head. ?Character development is nonexistent too, as everyone is basically just a cliche(The Chosen Hero, the Heroine with Mystic Powers, The Cowardly Soldier That Has A Change of Heart, etc.)

The battle system itself is classic SRPG. Every battle is a grid in which you and your buddies and a amount of monsters move around and duke it out. Every character has different abilities and strengths; Arc is a physical tank, Kukuru is a healer and mage, Poco is a stat buffer with some backup damage, and so on. You eventually get to use all 7 part members, along with summons, who work like FFX's Aeons, in battle. The game mostly reminds me of Shining Force, except everyone is healed at the end of a battle so you can go nuts and not have to worry. However, the game is extremely easy so I doubt you'll ever have more than a few losses, or even have to exert that much effort. The battle system itself gets dull, but the game is so short (I beat it in two days) that it won't wear out it's welcome. But that's what Arc the Lad 2 is for. I should mention that if you're a fan of dungeon crawling that this game is not for you; every dungeon is composed of one strat battle and a few scenes, maybe some walking around.

Graphics themselves are fine, with no glitches or anything odd. If you have a thing against sprites you probably should avoid the collection entirely, though Arc the Lad 3 does have some pretty CGI in it.

Of all the games in the collection, I'd say that playing this one would probably be your best bet, but that's like choosing between the gas chamber and the firing squad; best just to avoid the situation in the first place.

My Rating 5/10

Arc the Lad 2, or We Made a Bad Game Even Worse and Charged 70 Dollars for It:

So. Arc the Lad 2. If you want the short version of this game just take everything I said about Arc the Lad 1 and double the bad parts.

The storyline picks up almost exactly where Arc the Lad 1 leaves off. You are Elc, a Hunter (organization of mercenaries that do odd jobs) who takes a job and meets a young woman named Lieza, who can talk to monsters(and even has her own pet wolf, Paundit), and as you save her, you run afoul of a mysterious organization controlled by one of the Generals in Romalia(country that is the origin of the traitorous Andel from Arc the Lad 1), and eventually you end up -you guessed it- saving the world once again. Once again it's pretty cliche. Humanity is evil, the Guardians are right, Romalia is a evil empire blah blah blah. Characters are basically as flat as they were in Arc the Lad 1. One amusing note is that almost every dungeon you go through explodes after you finish it; it makes one wonder how Romalia became the superpower it is today if they have such shoddy architecture.

The Battle System itself has a few tweaks, but is basically Arc the Lad 1 all over again. You have a few more options with using Items and Magic, which is nice. And then you have the evade mechanic, which almost seems like a creation of a extremely sadistic game programmer that wants us all to suffer. You see, in battle, every enemy has some evade. This isn't so bad in the beginning, but in later battles it becomes extremely irritating, as your 100 or so points of damage you can cause get whittled down to 5 or 6, purely because of that idiotic mechanic. This drags out battles so much that the whole thing becomes a exercise in tedium. And since enemies generally have it much easier, it can cause several resets, which cost money to do, which in turn disallows you to do much in the way of getting better equipment, which in turn causes more grief. And, even better! The Game is now horrendously long, full of fetch-quests and silly ways to drag the experience out, so now instead of a nice, short game like Arc the Lad 1, you get a 50 hour snoozefest. One thing I do like about the battle system, though, is that every character (You have all of the cast from Arc the Lad except 2, plus the newer characters like Elc and Lieza) has a different use, and everyone can be useful if you use them correctly. It's nice to have such a unique cast. Pity the rest of the game is crap. And I haven't even mentioned the fact that the Final Boss's HP is quadrupled from the previous boss (The final boss has two forms), so that even with your strongest attacks you end up sitting there for a hour or more chipping away, and that's if you can manage to last through his punishing attacks and break his defense and evade.

Note-Missions from the Hunter Guild are available, but they aren't necessary and are only there for some extra income.

Graphics are somewhat improved from Arc the Lad, but only a little. No crashes or glitches, except that the floor disappears in battle if you move your cursor over it. But that's not that big a deal. Still mostly sprite based, though there are a few FMV's of the assorted exploding dungeons.

Of the three games I'd say this is the one you should avoid, though my thoughts about this were expressed in the Arc the Lad review.

My Rating-3/10

Arc the Lad 3:

The Story of Arc the Lad 3 is once again standard. You are Alec, a youngster from a Podunk town who has aspirations of being a Hunter(the same group from Arc the Lad 2), and eventually leaves with his friend Lutz on his way to fulfill his aspiration, and eventually gets sucked into a plot to -say it with me- Save the World. The generic storyline is now told almost entirely through Hunter Missions, which were merely a sideline thing in Arc the Lad 2, but now take up most of your time. You do a mission, either complete it or fail, and you get money and Merit(points for a successful job) if you manage to succeed. The more Merit you get, the higher your rank, and the harder and more involved jobs you acquire. The Jobs themselves mostly revolve around silly missions helping people with various problems, and they mostly revolve around puzzles, battling monsters, or timed button presses. Only a select number of jobs need to be completed to advance the storyline, so you can mow through the game pretty quick, if you wanted too. More often than naught it's worth your while to do extra ones, for the rewards, or simply for bragging rights among your fellow Hunters. Also, the "Humanity is EVIL" theme is still going strong, though now the effort mostly seems to be focused on science.

The Cast is generic once again, but now they up the annoyance Ante with Lutz, your eternally hard-up idiotic friend that constantly takes center stage in jobs. Lutz's dialogue is sooooo long and pointless that the bare 2 minutes of dialogue in a Hunter Job can be inflated to 5, 6, or even 7 minutes long because of Lutz being a jackass. This causes the game to drag badly, and really really aggravates you before the game is even a quarter of the way done. Bravo, game designers.

The battle system is a little better in some ways, worse in others. Gone is the extremely irritating evade mechanic in Arc the Lad 2, which certainly helps. Losing in battle now does not cost money, though some battles make you fail Hunter missions if you lose, so it evens out. The cast is much smaller and is also pretty generic compared to Arc the Lad 2's, but you still have your basic Tank, Mage, Gun-user, etc. Synthesizing equipment, a sidetrack in Arc the Lad 2, now has a more important role in Arc the Lad 3, due to the Item and Weapon Society's, places where you can customize and experiment to your hearts content. A new addition is Monster Cards, which can be used by a character in your party for dramatic effects, and can also be traded in Monster Societies. You can only have 5 at a time, so any Pokemon addicts will have to make do.

Graphics are somewhat better than Arc the Lad 2, but are still sprite based and nothing to write home about, though the FMV's are present and nicely done. Glitches and bugs are nonexistent.

The game is better than Arc the Lad 2, but still has the same problems as Arc the Lad 1. It's extremely easy, it gets dull, the story is still bad, and there are plenty of Fetch Quests and boring methods to move the story along. The Final boss in this game also gets a HP inflation, but it's not as bad as Arc the Lad 2 because your damage is better and you don't have to grapple with the evade system. A mixed bag, at best.

My Rating 5/10

Adding the collection as a whole....

5/10
3/10
5/10= 13/3=4.333.....

Which rounds down to a 4. Trust me, I'm being generous here.

In conclusion, this is a collection you definitely want to avoid at all costs. It was way too expensive then, and is way too expensive now. If you MUST get the game, I suggest rummaging around in bargain bins for it. Don't blame me when you need hours of therapy in order to block the game's effects from your brain, however.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 08/08/05