Arc The Lad Saga Review

Arc The Lad (PSone Classics)
Developed By: SCEI
Original Localization: Working Designs
Ported to PSN By: MonkeyPaw Games
Date of Release: October 12, 2010
Price: $5.99

"Chosen to save a generation. Destined to save a world. Hoping to save himself."

From the time that it was founded back in the late 80's, until it's untimely closure in 2005, the staff at Working Designs worked hard to bring gamers some of the most amazing games from overseas. Their final release for the PlayStation, the mighty Arc the Lad Collection is arguably their grandest achievement. And now with the help of MonkeyPaw Games, the Arc the Lad saga has been revived for a new generation of fans!




Arc The Lad is a strategy rpg in the vein of Tactics Ogre, but with a few neat twists like being able to jump over obstacles in the middle of battle. Though it may not break much ground with the gameplay, the story certainly carries things along well, as does the marvelous soundtrack. As an introduction to the series it is masterful in it's duties, yet short. The average gamer may get around 8 hours out of it, however for myself it was more like 5. Though it should be noted that they were 5 well-packed hours. The character development and excellent storytelling come together to craft a worthy start to the adventure.



Arc The Lad II (PSone Classics)
Developed By: SCEI
Original Localization: Working Designs
Ported to PSN By: MonkeyPaw Games
Date of Release: November 23, 2010
Price: $5.99

"When all you've been told is a lie, nothing hurts more than the truth."

Arc the Lad II steps up the ante by not only introducing a new cast of characters, but also letting you import your original party from the first title. Character customization plays a large role in the second outing, and the choices are almost overwhelming. You can customize nearly every aspect of your heroes, so if you find yourself coming up short in battle, there are plenty of choices to try.




Arc the Lad II continues with the same gorgeous graphics, music and cinema quality of the first title, however this time around the experience is quite a bit longer. Players will get 40-50 hours of gameplay this time around, and the well paced story will keep things interesting till the end. Of course once again the end is just the beginning, which leads us to the conclusion of this trilogy...

Arc The Lad III (PSone Classics)
Developed By: SCEI
Original Localization: Working Designs
Ported to PSN By: MonkeyPaw Games
Date of Release: January 4, 2011
Price: $5.99

"When evil rises from the ashes, hunters rush in where angels fear to tread."

Arc the Lad III is a decidedly different beast than it's predecessors. Gone are the flat 2D backgrounds, as the world is now rendered in 3d. Once again you can import your saved characters from the previous game, but you won't see most of them until later. The gameplay systems feel a bit different this time, partially do to the simplified battle system, which tones down the massive character customization of Arc II.




In a way the game feels like a collection of side-quests, which slowly eases the narrative along. That's not a bad thing, as it is a nice change of pace from the earlier titles. There's a lot of good times to be had as you travel the world hunting bounties.

At this point I should also mention the companion disc to Arc the Lad II, Arc the Lad Monster Arena. Available on the PSN alone for $3.99 or bundled with Arc II for $8.99, Arc Arena lets you use captured monsters from Arc II to battle in a Pokemon-style tournament. It's a pleasant little diversion, and IMO it should not be missed.

As a whole, the Arc the Lad series is quite an amazing experience, and at a combined price of $21 for the 3 main titles and Arena, you just can't go wrong, especially considering the exorbitant prices the physical prices fetch on today's market. In this reviewer's humble opinion, $21 is a steal for roughly 100 hours of gameplay. I say go for it, and here's hoping MonkeyPaw revives more Working Designs goodness!