Name: Arc The Lad (アークザラッド)
Type: Strategy RPG
Available Languages: Japanese, English
As I looked at my blog recently I realized, to my chagrin, that there was a glaring omission in the posts that really deserved to be rectified. There are many types of RPGs out there, and while I had spent time talking about the turn-based and action varieties, I had gone nowhere near the staple that is the strategy RPG. I have no excuse, given that the PlayStation has a plethora of titles to choose from, including what many, myself included, consider to be the greatest strategy RPG of all time: Final Fantasy Tactics. But as that game has been covered by many writers before and is practically legendary, it won’t suit this blog. I certainly didn’t want to write about Hoshigami Shizumi Yuku Aoki Daichi, as I have enough stress in my life without replaying what is quite possibly the most difficult SRPG I’ve ever encountered. I decided, in the end, on a title that is the first game in a series that has been released in the west. It’s not a hugely popular game, and it’s not even the greatest game in the series, but it was the beginning of a great deal of fun for me, and is worth checking out. So our first SRPG on the blog is going to be Arc the Lad.
Arc the Lad is certainly not obscure in its native land, having produced, among other things, its own anime, which I possess but have yet to watch. Be that as it may, many people here have never heard of the series, and so it is appropriate for this blog. The back of the jewel case promises us a nonstop great adventure, so let us begin!
We start out with the village headman and a young woman in front of a large gate. It appears that only members of the White family like the young woman herself can pass this gate. It seems that she is only there because the village headman has promised to make someone leave the village and will let her be free. But in order for him to do that, she has to go to the top of Shion Mountain and extinguish the sealing flame. This all seems quite fishy to me. It seems that Shion’s Flame has burned on the mountain of spirits continually for three thousand years, and now this young woman is going to put it out. Now I’m certain that this is a bad idea. She pushes her own curiosity about this situation aside due to her not wanting to go to Parenshia Castle to marry the prince, which is something that a member of her family must do. No sooner does she extinguish the flame and rejoice about everything being perfectly fine than the screen goes dark and a voice gloats over finally being unsealed. I knew that this was a bad idea. And as the village head says, the seal that held for three thousand years disappeared all because of a shrewish girl. Oh dear. Seems someone named Cabinet Minister Anderu is behind all of this. We’ll just have to wait and see.
We finally meet Arc, our protagonist and the fellow who gives his name to this entire series of games. He seems to be hesitating over the chest which contains his father’s armor and sword. It’s locked, but he clearly wants in. The extinguishing of the flame that we saw caused snow to fall for the first time in ten years, and Arc is upset because he lost his father on a night with a similar blizzard. He feels that if he goes to the mountain tonight, he will find out why his father disappeared. His mother, Poruta, believes his father to be dead, while Arc says his strong father would not die so easily, and if any of the monsters on the mountain did kill his father, he would avenge him. He needs to see for himself. Poruta unlocks the chest for him, and then leaves, remembering her husband’s words. Things are coming to pass exactly as he said that they would ten years ago.
Finally we gain control of Arc and he garbs himself for battle, complete with a heroic change in music. No sooner do we leave Arc’s house, than we’re back with the young woman from earlier, who is quite concerned with what has been happening on the mountain ever since she extinguished the flame. As she should be, methinks. She feels that since it’s her fault, she has to do something about it, but before she can head out, Arc shows up. They introduce themselves, and we find out that the young woman’s name is Kukuru. She tells Arc that the flame on the top of the mountain is out, and that she is going to relight it. He offers to go for her, but she refuses, citing the terrible voice she heard when she doused the flame earlier. Kukuru doesn’t want him to be put in danger for something that she did. Arc is looking for the monster that he believes killed his father ten years ago, and refuses to be stopped in his quest, so he takes her torch and hops quite skillfully up the side of the mountain. There, we are confronted by the Ark Demon, who thinks that Arc is the one who doused the flame, and tries to kill him in order to make sure the three thousand year curse is broken. As Arc isn’t the one the demon is looking for, it moves on without finishing him off. Arc is saved by the spirit of the mountain, who tells Arc to go to the mountain peak, where he should light the flame and make the demon disappear. Arc gets the power of the spirits, which is a pretty sweet deal. Finally we can get to the game proper!
Arc the Lad’s battle system is simple enough by SRPG standards. When it’s your character’s turn, there are multiple choices they can make depending on their skills and their surroundings. Your character has a certain amount of health and magic depending on their level and their natural skills. They can jump to certain heights, throw items a certain distance, and move in a certain radius, given their natural talent as well. They each have their own set of skills and spells, which can hit one or more enemies or allies in a line or radius, depending on the skill. It truly is a very basic SRPG, and is quite a lot of fun.
Arc the Lad is not a visual marvel in any sense, but
it is certainly not an ugly game either, and the sprites are quite detailed in
comparison to the rest of the game. I won’t spoil the series for you by telling
you what Arc’s destiny is, but suffice it to say that the game managed to
surprise me. The plotlines of all of the original PlayStation Arc the Lad games
are worth checking out, and the gameplay improves over the first game in both
II and III. If you are unfamiliar with strategy RPGs, Arc the Lad is a great
place to start as the learning curve is rather gentle, and I never felt that
unpleasant panicky feeling that some SRPGs can throw at you right off the bat
when you’re just learning what you’re doing. All that being said, it’s a great
game for beginners, and its sequels up the ante in difficulty, so these games
are a great place to hone your skills for other games. And of course, the Arc
the Lad games are worth playing on their own merit. The story is interesting,
the characters are engaging, and the battle system is fun. What more could you
ask for from a game?
If you feel like hearing more of my
gaming prattle, feel free to follow me on Twitter. You can find me at @bejiita_buruma
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