Arc the Lad: End of Darkness

Arc the Lad: End of Darkness
North American cover art
Developer(s)	Cattle Call
Publisher(s)	JP SCEI NA Namco
Series	Arc the Lad
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	JP November 3, 2004 NA June 14, 2005
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player
Distribution	1 DVD

Arc the Lad: End of Darkness, known in Japan as Arc the Lad Generation (アークザラッド ジェネレーション), is a 3D role-playing video game developed by Cattle Call for the PlayStation 2 (PS2). It is the second and last game from the Arc the Lad series on the console, the first being Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits. It is the fifth and final game of the series.

Arc the Lad: End of Darkness takes place five years after Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits, and reuses the many of the settings, characters, enemies, and music from the previous game. The world has many new technologies and job classes and is less rife with racial tensions between the Deimos (intelligent creatures) and Humans. However, the main natural resource of the Arc world, Spirit Stones, are nearly depleted, and there is uncertainty about the future of the Deimos and Humans.

This is the only Arc game to use a real-time battle system, instead of a tactics-based battle system. Generally, this was viewed as a step backwards for the series because of its poor execution.^[1] Arc also featured online play with up to 8 players playing in a 4-on-4 death match or 4-person co-op. However, the servers were taken down in June 2006.

Gameplay

Arc is an Action RPG that requires the player to travel from city to city around the world in order to complete missions assigned to them by the guilds located there. There are two types of missions: storyline missions whose completions allow the player to take tests and further the plot, and optional missions for items and experience.

In battle, the player can execute standard attacks, dash forward and backwards, target enemies, strafe enemies, and use four abilities. The player's abilities and equipment are determined by what cards they have assigned to their character. There are ability cards (magic, "gimmick", and special skill), and "part" cards (attack, defense, and accessory). Cards can be acquired by picking them up during battle or purchasing them in shops. The player can also synthesize cards to create new ones.

The player can unlock and play with up to 24 other characters from previous Arc the Lad titles. These cannot be used in the storyline missions, but can be used in extra missions and in online play.

Online

A new feature to the Arc games, online play allows the player to either explore the world with friends or to go head on head in four on four battles. After low online participation and poor reviews, the online server was shut down June 16, 2006.

Synopsis

Story

The story follows Edda, the only exorcist in the world, and his two main companions, a Slothian Deimos named Hemo and a mysterious girl named Kirika. The conflict centers around monsters called malademons, who cannot be killed unless it is by an exorcist. Every major city in the world has a Hunter's Guild, where Edda can go to take on missions exercising the malademons in order to gain experience and rank within the guilds.

Main Characters

• Edda: A human male from Craig Island. Like his mother before him, Edda is an exorcist and has the power to kill malademons. His dormant power was awakened after he met Kirika. Edda is light-hearted and is always positive, much to the surprise of many characters Edda meets.
• Hemo: A Slothian-type Deimos that travels with Edda. Unlike normal Slothians, Hemo is chatty and bursting with energy. Hemo functions as the comic relief for the game.
• Kirika: A human female who appears at the secluded Craig Island. Her book on exorcism caused Edda's powers to be awakened during a fight with a malademon. She is a mysterious and soft-spoken character.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 57.68%[2] Metacritic 59/100[3] Review scores Publication Score Electronic Gaming Monthly 5.17/10[4] Game Informer 5.5/10[5] GameSpot 5.3/10[6] GameSpy [7] GameTrailers 5/10[2] GameZone 7.9/10[8] IGN 6.9/10[1] Official PlayStation Magazine (US) [9] PlayStation Magazine 5.5/10[10] Detroit Free Press [11]

Arc the Lad: End of Darkness was met with generally mixed reviews due to flaws in its storyline and combat system. Reviewers remarked about the weaker conflict than was in the previous game and how the storyline alters or otherwise discards significant plotlines from its predecessor. They also complained how the combat system was convoluted and had a bad control scheme, and the battle animations were long and unresponsive.^[12] GameRankings gave it a score of 57.68%,^[2] while Metacritic gave it 59 out of 100.^[3]

References

External links

• Arc the Lad: End of Darkness at MobyGames
• SCEJ Instruction (Japanese)