I am aware, I am aware! - that does sound more like a plot for a cheesy news special. And still, I tell you: the story behind Arc the Lad is good. It's interesting and relatively unique for an RPG, and besides, it actually has a major effect on the actual game dynamic, because you get to take turns playing with 2 completely different characters in two completely different settings, and what's really amazing, both are pretty cool. Now this is not your usual run of the mill character-swapping, because not only the characters and the settings, but nearly everything is different - location, mood, battle dynamics, spells, items, personalities... That last one is a particularly pleasant touch because the difference between the two main characters is so striking. One is a passionate (read: naïve), well-loved and well, pampered son of the town ex-queen; the other is a slave - to paraphrase a certain Costanza - angry, neurotic, completely dysfunctional. It's indeed a pleasure.

   Risking dissonance with the industry-standard review format, I won't further spoil the story for you and instead let you discover the world of the deimos and humans at your own leisure. But just to help you get on your way: the story is generally tight, has about the right amount of depth to keep you engaged, and the dialog (with an occasional exception) is not particularly tedious to the ear. There are only two things that can be perceived as wrong with the story: one is that it's as linear as can be, which means you won't really be making and plot-changing decisions (but hey, it's an RPG, after all!), and two, the story of Darc, the deimos brother, is rather more interesting that that of his human counterpart. But all in all, neither defect is severe enough to really damage the storytelling.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?

   Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Arc is a looker. The graphics are very attractive, clean and colorful, and most locations look interesting and alive. Now as with most other aspects of this game, it won't quite take first place in this category, especially if you start counting polygons, badmouthing the textures and making like the High God of Antialiasing. But overall, they are cute and lovingly done, and are more original than most games out there which are usually a blatant rip-off of something or other. The only bone I have to pick on this front is that a few of the outside locations where random battles take place clearly got third-rate treatment, and it's a shame to see two tree trunks and a bush stand on the same footing as some of the better developed locations like abandoned science stations or lush forest spots; same goes for some of the monsters - a green blob of jelly does not count for creative design, I tell you, even if you stick an eye on it. This unfortunate fact contributes to making some of the random battles an uninteresting clicking fest. Still, despite this minor shortcoming, the visual team clearly put in a whole-heartedly good effort, and gets high marks.

Move, target, a notch to the right, re-target, a step to the left, target...

   Arc The Lad makes an attempt at an ambitious combat system but comes up a tad short. What they wanted was turn-based combat that was a mix of cool action and interesting strategy; what they delivered was combat that was a little too slow to get the blood pumping and a little too unversatile to allow for true strategic elements. While the system may at first appear to allow lots of opportunity for strategy, it soon becomes apparent that this is only skin-deep, and can have only a limited effect at the final outcome, essentially making it worthwhile only in special situations. Basically, your opportunities here are a) movement within a limited field in an attempt to give yourself the advantage of a positional attack b) trying to lead your enemies into standing together so you could fry them with magic collectively rather than individually and c) getting your enemies to line up in a straight line so that your ranged unit could hit several of them at the same time. Most of the classic and often-loved scenarios, such as tank-healer duos don't apply, spells don't combine, you can't really control blocks and counter-attacks, terrain is too wide and movement is too limited. In addition, the system of "angle of attack", which essentially requires you to experiment with your attacking position until you can get just the right angle to hit more than one foe with a single strike is nothing but a nuisance that slows down the pace of the battle, to be outdone only by the ridiculous fact that you have to waste a turn to pick up monster-dropped items during the battle - they will promptly disappear right after the last one goes "poof".

   Not all, however, is bad in battleland. Just as there are shortcomings, there are also positives to the combat system that put it back on the map with an overall rating of "satisfactory". One is the sheer joy of controlling the much more versatile ranged units (Maru rocks!). Nabbing three enemies with a single poison arrow, shishkebob style, really puts a smile on one's face, and some of the special moves that bring arrows raining down on multiple enemies are just terrific. The system of weapon accessories that lets you augment your weapons with up to 3 different effects works well to add flavor to attacks, and stats such as accuracy and avoidance make enough of a difference to make fiddling with them interesting.

   To add more bright color to the picture of combat, sharp, vibrant and overall excellent graphics also do much to sweeten the taste of battle, and some of the spell and special move visual effects are done quite well, exhibiting all the promise of a registered Final Fantasy wannabe. Striving to copy greatness? You betcha, and that's a good thing. But the thing that made battling most pleasurable to my crooked heart was, believe it or not, the terrific voice acting...

"So, this is pain..." (Gentle, doll-like voice. Genuine sense of surprise and self-discovery. Just been hit for 36 points of damage.)

   Bebedora. That weird little doll-like creature. How do I love thee. The comments coming out from under that big hat during battles are for the most part priceless, and the other characters aren't far behind. There is a battle comment per character, per turn, ranging from Volk's belligerent growls to Bebedora's totally off-beat, mind-somewhere-else, out-of-this-world hilarious commentary. All of these sound bits are totally consistent with each character, and carry a steady mark of quality oddball humor, which sounds that much better because it's kicking in the middle of severe bloodshed. It serves to be a wonderful little distraction that makes combat much more entertaining and adds a real dimension to the characters - unlike in many games, they don't simply become unifunctional battle pawns while you are fighting, but retain their dimension and personality. In case this kind of humor didn't make it into your particular cup of tea, though, these voices can be turned off.

Soooo, how did it go?

   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.

       ... Vaga

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