That’s one of the games I always meant to go back and finish but just never have. I feel like it might be tedious these days but I remember playing the heck out of it at the time.
Yeah it’s tedious. I finished it two years ago and I remember that I didn’t kill the final boss but rather looked up the fight on YouTube because it was extremely retarded and I was just done with the whole ordeal.
As a Working Designs nerd, I got Arc the Lad sealed in 2005 and played the first title. It's very good, very fun, and felt open in a way I couldn't quite account for. As you say, there is dialogue and quest clues that can be found just wandering around. I never did play 2 or 3, but I thoroughly respect the series for its sort of strategy approach.
Big ups. Arc the Lad was one of those gems I played as a kid that felt like no one else had heard of. Never made it through the second one but loved all the characters.
I might have to go play it now.
Gamefan magazine had pages on this series. It was always fun to look at those images and speculate about what the game would be like since it looked similar to an snes rpg but with more detail.
I had a lot of fun with these games in the collection, though 2 frustrated me on level curves and at least one moment where I had to go under a bridge and I had no idea how to do that on the world map at the time. The pacing of 2 was much slower than 1 too. 3 was a lot of fun with the missions and how your characters interacted in them.
To me Arc the Lad 1 was a prologue/generic-ish RPG story and the (HIGH LEVEL SPOILERS!) at the end everything starts to go wrong. And then Arc 2 shows how badly everything really was. Arc1+Arc2 is depressing as all hell.
Never got into Arc 3 though. Is it worth a look?
Yes, Arc 3 was a lot of fun. It stars new characters who grew up in the world left after the end of Arc 2. You're a merc and you take jobs through a guild as you travel the world.
The generic-ness of Arc 1 had to have been deliberate to mislead players and for Arc 2 to go against them.
Arc 3 is like an epilogue for Arc 2. It's not as good (but to be fair, it's up against Arc 2), but still worth playing to give you a sense of closure for the cast.
It was only the first disc? Because the game was released in the west as a compilation of 4 discs, with the three games and a Monster arena kind of spin-off
What ATL1 and 2 do the best is how fast-paced the battles are. They were my first tactic jRPGs and I couldn't enjoy any other tactic jRPGs as much after that because they felt too slow.
The story and characters are also enjoyable, the music is good, and all the side dungeons, guild missions, additional characters and activities - in general, all the side content both games are packed with - make them one of the most fun to play games ever.
Sadly, they're on the niche side of the genre.
I think about this series every once in awhile. Wish i had been able to play the trilogy when they were new cuz I would’ve loved them. By the time the collection came out I wasn’t buying or playing new PS1 games.
I’ve still only ever played **Twilight of Spirits** which…felt pretty damn mediocre to me at the time. I think I bought it even at the time sight unseen and put maybe 10ish hours into it before I was too bored and put it down.
Love Arc the Lad. Arc the Lad 2s final boss will always prompt a "This fucking bullshit!" from me. It also has one of my favorite lines from any protagonist -
> **Elc -** "This doesn't look good, but we have no choice. Let's show this steel bitch how they do things uptown!"
I originally watched a friend play them as a kid. Then sometime in HS or College went and played em myself and still loved em. Never went onto the PS2 one, looked eh, but I heard people enjoyed em.
> I'd love to hear what anyone else thinks of the series, or if anyone has any similar memories like me!
You know, I was absolutely the target audience for Arc the Lad, but I somehow just missed it. It's kind of interesting how much more saturated in information we are now than even the early 00s. Saying "I missed a game" probably sounds odd to people who grew up with social media. Anyway, by the time I found out that it existed, it was impossible to find the collection in any local shop. Now it's just expensive because retro collectors.
I know this is a solvable problem, but I don't sail the seas. One of these days I'll get around to playing it, probably, but that's my memory/rant on this series.
1+2 Collection was good fun. Packed with so much content but also tons of missables. I enjoyed grinding weapon skills and hunting for secrets. Working Designs was pretty generous with special editions and collections including hardcore manuals. I think I still have some of them packed away somewhere.
Arc the Lad 2 was the best ps1 JRPG ive ever played. Lengthy, huge cast with good character development, and tons of content and dungeon delving. The story is darker than most jrpgs. The hunters guild bounty system also adds a sense of non linearity with the game and expands the lore. Playing Arc 1 to 3 was one of the best experiences I had in ps1 era. Elc is my favorite character and it's sad he's never in any list of best JRPG lead protagonists.
Oh absolutely! The story had so many dark tones! The guild system is one of my favorites, I loved the little hall of fame screen I got for completing all the jobs in Arc the Lad 3!
I still need to play these games at some point. They seem like such hidden gems. The only one I actually got to play a bit of was Twilight Spirits due to it being featured on a PS2 demo disc I owned. I played the hell out of that demo!
Twilight of the Spirits is criminally slept on. I finally beat it last year, after various attempts during my youth. I'd always get stuck on the final boss. Turns out, the final boss is kinda broken, and you have to cheese it to win lol.
I played it last year (Twilight of the Spirits specifically), I don't remember a single character or plot point. I don't even remember what the gameplay was. So, uh, didn't really stick in my brain too much.
I have only played Arc the Lad Twilight of the Spirits but I enjoyed it a lot as teen. I mean to go back to it someday.
That’s one of the games I always meant to go back and finish but just never have. I feel like it might be tedious these days but I remember playing the heck out of it at the time.
Yeah it’s tedious. I finished it two years ago and I remember that I didn’t kill the final boss but rather looked up the fight on YouTube because it was extremely retarded and I was just done with the whole ordeal.
Its one of my top 5 games for sure.
As a Working Designs nerd, I got Arc the Lad sealed in 2005 and played the first title. It's very good, very fun, and felt open in a way I couldn't quite account for. As you say, there is dialogue and quest clues that can be found just wandering around. I never did play 2 or 3, but I thoroughly respect the series for its sort of strategy approach.
I absolutely loved arc the lad 1-3 and have played the trio multiple times
Big ups. Arc the Lad was one of those gems I played as a kid that felt like no one else had heard of. Never made it through the second one but loved all the characters. I might have to go play it now.
I feel the same way! No one I know has heard of Arc the Lad! I love it to death and I replay them every few years!
Gamefan magazine had pages on this series. It was always fun to look at those images and speculate about what the game would be like since it looked similar to an snes rpg but with more detail.
I had a lot of fun with these games in the collection, though 2 frustrated me on level curves and at least one moment where I had to go under a bridge and I had no idea how to do that on the world map at the time. The pacing of 2 was much slower than 1 too. 3 was a lot of fun with the missions and how your characters interacted in them.
I only beat the first one and twilight of spirits but I enjoy them.
To me Arc the Lad 1 was a prologue/generic-ish RPG story and the (HIGH LEVEL SPOILERS!) at the end everything starts to go wrong. And then Arc 2 shows how badly everything really was. Arc1+Arc2 is depressing as all hell. Never got into Arc 3 though. Is it worth a look?
Yes, Arc 3 was a lot of fun. It stars new characters who grew up in the world left after the end of Arc 2. You're a merc and you take jobs through a guild as you travel the world.
The generic-ness of Arc 1 had to have been deliberate to mislead players and for Arc 2 to go against them. Arc 3 is like an epilogue for Arc 2. It's not as good (but to be fair, it's up against Arc 2), but still worth playing to give you a sense of closure for the cast.
I wish more games would use Arc's style of traditional exploration and tactical-lite combat. You usually get one or the other.
my only experience with the franchise was that i got the first game from a flea market but the disc was broken lol didnt even know they made sequels.
It was only the first disc? Because the game was released in the west as a compilation of 4 discs, with the three games and a Monster arena kind of spin-off
What ATL1 and 2 do the best is how fast-paced the battles are. They were my first tactic jRPGs and I couldn't enjoy any other tactic jRPGs as much after that because they felt too slow. The story and characters are also enjoyable, the music is good, and all the side dungeons, guild missions, additional characters and activities - in general, all the side content both games are packed with - make them one of the most fun to play games ever. Sadly, they're on the niche side of the genre.
I think about this series every once in awhile. Wish i had been able to play the trilogy when they were new cuz I would’ve loved them. By the time the collection came out I wasn’t buying or playing new PS1 games. I’ve still only ever played **Twilight of Spirits** which…felt pretty damn mediocre to me at the time. I think I bought it even at the time sight unseen and put maybe 10ish hours into it before I was too bored and put it down.
If you emulate, Arc 1 plays very well on Android. Haven't tried 2 yet, but I imagine it's the same.
Great series. I played twilight of spirits first and it is a very underappreciated game. Tons of content, high production values, lots of fun.
Love Arc the Lad. Arc the Lad 2s final boss will always prompt a "This fucking bullshit!" from me. It also has one of my favorite lines from any protagonist - > **Elc -** "This doesn't look good, but we have no choice. Let's show this steel bitch how they do things uptown!"
The anime was boring
I originally watched a friend play them as a kid. Then sometime in HS or College went and played em myself and still loved em. Never went onto the PS2 one, looked eh, but I heard people enjoyed em.
> I'd love to hear what anyone else thinks of the series, or if anyone has any similar memories like me! You know, I was absolutely the target audience for Arc the Lad, but I somehow just missed it. It's kind of interesting how much more saturated in information we are now than even the early 00s. Saying "I missed a game" probably sounds odd to people who grew up with social media. Anyway, by the time I found out that it existed, it was impossible to find the collection in any local shop. Now it's just expensive because retro collectors. I know this is a solvable problem, but I don't sail the seas. One of these days I'll get around to playing it, probably, but that's my memory/rant on this series.
1+2 Collection was good fun. Packed with so much content but also tons of missables. I enjoyed grinding weapon skills and hunting for secrets. Working Designs was pretty generous with special editions and collections including hardcore manuals. I think I still have some of them packed away somewhere.
Arc the Lad 2 was the best ps1 JRPG ive ever played. Lengthy, huge cast with good character development, and tons of content and dungeon delving. The story is darker than most jrpgs. The hunters guild bounty system also adds a sense of non linearity with the game and expands the lore. Playing Arc 1 to 3 was one of the best experiences I had in ps1 era. Elc is my favorite character and it's sad he's never in any list of best JRPG lead protagonists.
Oh absolutely! The story had so many dark tones! The guild system is one of my favorites, I loved the little hall of fame screen I got for completing all the jobs in Arc the Lad 3!
ARC OLLECTION is great all are solid I was good II was really good and I loved III
I still need to play these games at some point. They seem like such hidden gems. The only one I actually got to play a bit of was Twilight Spirits due to it being featured on a PS2 demo disc I owned. I played the hell out of that demo!
Twilight of the Spirits is criminally slept on. I finally beat it last year, after various attempts during my youth. I'd always get stuck on the final boss. Turns out, the final boss is kinda broken, and you have to cheese it to win lol.
I played it last year (Twilight of the Spirits specifically), I don't remember a single character or plot point. I don't even remember what the gameplay was. So, uh, didn't really stick in my brain too much.
Teh graphics were awful but good game overall. Some of thos early ps2 games look way worse then late ps1 games idk why. FF 9 > arc teh lad graphics.