Sony sequel galore cont’d cont’d

Old schoolin’ it

If you’re one of the few that were hardcore enough to buy the Arc the Lad Collection set from Working Designs, then you’ll know exactly where this series is coming from. If you’ve never heard of Arc the Lad, that’s because this series has never gotten much exposure outside of Japan; and even there it’s not nearly as popular as any of the Square-Enix games.

Cat... man?

It's Cloud!

The swords are so much smaller

With Sony publishing this latest chapter, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is going to be the series biggest debut in America when it hits stores at the end of this month. Those picking it up expecting it to be something similar to Final Fantasy X will be disappointed. Arc the Lad is in no way bad, but it’s just not comparable (as in you can’t really compare them.) Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is very different from FFX. On the surface, there aren’t any flashy pre-rendered graphics or voice acting, but there isn’t any of the preachy new-age stuff either. Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is a throwback to the classic RPGs, when things were simple and the only things that mattered served the story.

Everything about Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is simple because the main focus of the game is on the characters and storyline. The battle system is actually one of the more complex parts of the game because you’re able to control the position of your characters to plan and strategize. The combat is turned based with more involvement than the simple button pushing interface from Final Fantasy.

Eat axe

Tactical combat

Gimme some sugar

The visuals themselves are quite simple too, though maybe “clean” would be a better description. All of the graphics we saw were real-time and were all of a similar design. Everything looked as though it fit perfectly in that world, with nothing glaring ever sticking out.

Those tired of Final Fantasy pop-stars or still confused over the Xenosaga opus might want to get back to basics, and Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits may be just the ticket.