PlayStation 2

Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits

While it may lack the stellar localization of a Working Designs game, but Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is the best RPG released on PS2 since Xenogears and the only must-own RPG of the summer!

Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits doesn’t stray too far from the typical book of How-To-Make-A-RPG. That said, while it follows the book relatively closely the game is still fun to play. The story is pretty good, the visuals and sound do their job, and combat is fun. You’ll spend much time customizing your characters, as well. All in all, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is a good RPG title to keep Playstation 2 owners busy for a while.

Arc: Twilight of the Spirits is a must for fans of either console RPGs or turn-based strategy. It's great to see a RPG add some much needed depth to the battles. The game is worth playing just to learn the story though and it's great to be able to play out both sides of the story and to witness the diversity of them. It's a fair bet that most PlayStation 2 RPG fans are awaiting the next episode in the Final Fantasy series but to miss out on Arc: Twilight of the Spirits would be criminal as it's one of the better RPGs on the console.

How does it all stack up, you say? All in all, it's a pretty nicely wrapped package. Playing it is fun: there is a goof here and there, but it looks good, makes cool noises and will serve as a good replacement for your nightly bedtime story for a week or two. It won't keep your thumbs twitching till your eyes bleed, but will easily guarantee a few pleasant hours a night, and you will likely remember it as "that nice old-style RPG" for a few months. Peace out.

Ich mag es leicht! Mit 'Twilight of the Spirits' hat Sony ein extrem gelungenes Einstiegsrollenspiel nach Europa gebracht. Die Kämpfe sind selbst für Genreneulinge ohne komplexen Schlachtplan zu meistern, Rätsel sind für 'Arc'-Spieler ein Fremdwort und dank des linearen Leveldesigns, welches fast komplett auf Subquests verzichtet, weiß der Spieler immer, wo er als Nächstes hinmuss. Abgerundet wird der Rollenspiel-Appetizer durch die ansprechende Technik sowie die spannende Hintergrundgeschichte. Letztere überzeugt hauptsächlich mit glaubwürdigen und rundum sympathischen Helden. Während bei 'Final Fantasy' und Konsorten manche Handlung für westliche Gemüter unverständlich bleibt, machen sich mit Kharg und Darc ausnahmsweise keine Aushilfsphilosophen auf, die Welt zu retten. Rollenspiel-Fans, die nach einem gemütlichen Abenteuer für kalte Wintertage Ausschau halten, können also beruhigt zugreifen. RPG-Experten könnten sich allerdings etwas unterfordert fühlen.

Overall, Arc the Lad: TosT is a fresh and near flawless game that will envelop you early on for hours upon hours of watching and playing time with its engaging storyline and gorgeous graphics and will keep you wrapped around its little finger until the final showdown with the mysterious enemy. Although the games battles are not the most difficult around and the game really doesn't get your mind thinking too much, this is definitely one of the best RPG's available for your PlayStation 2 and a worthy addition to any RPG fans collection.

Hyviä rooliseikkailuja ei PS2:lla ole liikaa ja niiden joukkoon Arc: Twilight of the Spirits pienistä vioistaan huolimatta kuuluu. Kliseisistä lähtökohdistaan ja kuluneista kaavoistaan huolimatta se kaappaa mukaansa napakalla otteella ja tarjoaa miellyttävän viihdyttävän seikkailun, jolla on sydän paikallaan.

Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is one of the best RPGs of 2003, no doubt about it, but this sweet, sweet deal comes with a hitch: you must (must, must, must) be dedicated enough an RPG enthusiast to grin and bear it through the preliminary rough spots. Twilight basically boils down to a pure, simple and satisfying role-playing game that is easy to pick up, easy on the eyes and downright absorbing, eventually. Great game, great game.

This game has some exceptional elements, such as the graphics and the multiple threads of the storyline, but it also has some setbacks - most notably in the sound and the simplistic puzzles. While the voice acting, aside from the synching problems, is generally good, the dialogue seems a little forced at times. However, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits, is certainly entertaining and a real treat for the eyes.

In the end, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits has a lot going for it. Despite its relatively simplistic nature and less than inviting challenge, the interpersonal relationships between the game's fascinating characters and its entertaining battle system are quite enjoyable. In fact, its battle system is the best polished of its kind since February's Breath of Fire sequel. And for those of us who played that chewy piece of software, we know how profound that statement really is.

When this title was brought to my attention I immediately thought of vague conversations and a melodramatic plot. Japanese RPG’s are known to consists of a bunch of standard stuff but we of course love playing them aswell as get ourselves drowned in that typical Japanese atmosphere. In the end however, we’re each time dealing with games that are so mellow that you would go out yourself, seeking for a new adventure. Arc: Twilight of the Spirits is not an exception to that.

Given the flaws, Twilight of the Spirits is still a decent game. It's definitely not a game for gameplay fanatics. It is, however, a game for people who enjoy an easy play with a story that carries a lot of subtleties and excellent direction.

Arc The Lad: Twilight of the Spirits takes gamers down both a road they are familiar with and a darker, sinister way. For gamers who are willing to take a few hours to immerse themselves into what appears at first glance to be a “typical” storyline and combat system, it pays off with a truly enjoyable adventure.

Overall, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is the perfect summer RPG, and one that’ll leave you hoping there’s room for more games in the series. There are a lot of aspects touched on that could be the basis for games that take place both before and after events here, such as Nafia’s past or Kharg’s future. With any luck, we’ll get to see more of these characters, and soon.

Overall while not to the ultra-high standard of Final Fantasy, this is a very good alternative. Graphically solid and a huge 60 hours worth of play is always a good thing. Give it a go I say.

The only downfall of the audio is in the sound effects, that are sometimes just a bit too willing to take a backseat to the rest of the sound department. Now, here is the largest problem to face this game: replay value. SCEA’s last RPG outing, Dark Cloud 2 had reasons aplenty to keep coming back to this game for weeks on end. Simply put, Twilight of the Spirits does not have that same staying power. Aside from some minor side quests and two extra character to hunt out, both of which are admittedly very hard to find, there isn’t much reason to keep putting this in your PS2 aside from the highly involving story.

Overall, I actually liked this game, and I find the system nicely done. The game may not have lived up to Sony’s expectations, but I would recommend trying the game out. It may not be as appealing in the graphics as the other high class games, but the battle and story are pretty well-executed. If you are an Arc the Lad fan, it may not live up to the originals, but if you are looking for another RPG to play, I suggest that you check this one out.

Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is the latest installment in the long-running Arc the Lad series and the first to appear on the PlayStation 2. If you're up on your Sony history, you'll remember that the original Arc the Lad was one of the very first RPGs to appear on the PlayStation when it was released in Japan in 1995. Perhaps you'll also remember that even though Arc the Lad seemed like an ideal candidate for a prompt North American localization, the original game and its two sequels remained firmly rooted on the other side of the Pacific until 2001, when the series finally saw American release in the form of Arc the Lad Collection. Fortunately, Twilight of the Spirits has suffered no such delay--the Japanese version was released just three months ago, and its American counterpart is now available with fully localized text and voice acting. It's a solid RPG that doesn't take many chances, and while it may not set the role-playing world on fire, it's still a lot of fun.

Cet Arc The Lad nouveau, autant le dire franchement, n'est pas de la veine de ses grands frères. Mais qu'importe, il possède suffisamment d'atouts pour se frayer un chemin dans le coeur des adeptes de paysages ensoleillées et de landes fantomatiques. Malheureusement, son lot de défauts l'empêche d'atteindre la place qu'il mérite de droit. Dommage, vraiment. Quand les sociétés de développement comprendront l'importance des voix dans la psychologie et la prestance des personnages, nous seront sauvés. D'ici là...

Much of what you'll think of Twilight of the Spirits will depend on how familiar you are with the PlayStation games. Compared to Arc 2 and 3, Twilight is downright barren no monster hunting, no real side-quests, only two hidden characters. On its own, however, it's an uneven but decent RPG that ultimately pays off after a modicum of effort. It's no Arc 2, but then it's no Tsugunai 2, either.

Arc: Twilight of the Spirits often feels more about toil than reward. Stumbling across some of the more intense battles picks up interest for a while, but most of the game can be played on autopilot. Arc seem comfortable to reside on a tier where fighting is a shade too easy while the plot strays the wrong side of cliché. It certainly picks up in the last quarter or so, but an oftentimes slow trek is expected until you get there.

With such a cornucopia of RPGs available this year, Spirit of the Twilight may not be a contender for game of the year. If you're looking for a game that's just a bit more cerebral than the typical action adventure style of RPGs that are popular now, then you won't be disappointed with this purchase.

There's an overall quality of the game that makes it greater than the sum of its parts. But not that much greater...not enough to make this game better than average. This game needed to get a big kick in the pants in the gameplay and graphics area, and that plot seriously needed to be worked on. This could have been a lot more fun...but it definitely needed a lot more work. I'd never heard of Cattle Call before this game (no pun intended.) but they obviously don't know too much about what goes into a good game. If you skimp on graphics and sound, you have to make sure the gameplay and the story are solid, and it just wasn't here.

Arc the Lad, then, is a workmanlike project that offers up a well-rounded but unremarkable experience when taken as a whole. There's nothing really wrong with the game, and its clichés will be comfortable for genre fans -- yes, including me, despite my allegiance to progress and creativity. It doesn't push any boundaries; the developers have chosen, instead, to concentrate on making a game with time-tested appeal. I liken it to a big, dumb, friendly guy: an affable, warm-hearted chap that you'd be friends with in real life even if he doesn't offer any useful insights or advice. Reliable, trustworthy and true: that's Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits. Whether or not you have time in your schedule for a middle-of-the-road fantasy RPG when the PS2 offers so much variety is between you and your Dual Shock 2.

I sin kamp att inte drunkna försöker Arc: Twilight of the Spirits hitta något att använda som livboj och här är grafiken det som flyter bäst. Den är småsuddig och karaktärerna vägrar envist att byta miner om de inte absolut måste, men den är ingen katastrof. Spelets katastrofpris går istället - efter en hård och jämn kamp - till rösterna, som i det lamaste jag hört sedan Love gav order via headset i Socom: US Navy SEALs. Summan av kardemumman är att Arc trots en kul story får sig en kallsup och mest ligger och sprattlar runt medelstrecket. Och på flera punkter även under det.

Overall, you need to be into this sort of roleplay adventure before you get started here. I know some people like this sort of thing, but I don't. There is no real spark. I don't crave fast-paced gun slinging, but I do demand a standard of fluidity in the animation. After all, this is the PS2 here, and it can do respectable things. Arc doesn't. Try before you buy.