JP: Sony Computer Entertainment
US: Working Designs PSN:
JP: Sony Computer Entertainment
US: GaijinWorks, Sony Computer Entertainment America
EU: MonkeyPaw Games
Platform(s)
PlayStation
PlayStation Network
Genre
Tactical role-playing game
Release Date
PSX:
JP: October 28th, 1999
JP: May 17th, 2001 (PlayStation the Best)
JP: December 6th, 2001 (PSOne Books)
US: April 18th, 2002 (Arc the Lad Collection) PSN:
JP: January 16th, 2008
US: January 4th, 2011
EU: June 13th, 2012
Ratings
CERO: A
ESRB: T
PEGI: 12+
Arc the Lad III (アークザラッドⅡ, Āku za Raddo III) is a tactical role-playing game developed by G-Craft and ARC Entertainment and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Taking place 3 years after Arc II, the game details the exploits of Alec, an aspiring young teenager from Romalia, living in the island of Eteru, who yearned to become a Hunter after being saved by one during the Great Disaster a few years back. After seeing a Hunter respond to his request to save his village of Sasha from a rowdy gang of bandits, he decides to finally become one himself. With his best friend and fellow village boy Lutz in tow, the two decide to take in as many jobs as possible to travel beyond the seas.
After Arc I & II's development, there were no plans for an Arc III as the story was more or less finished, however, around 1999, after a campaign from fans, Arc III entered production due to the high demand. Released in 1999 in Japan exclusively for the PlayStation, it was later published, after a tumultuous translation process, by Working Designs in 2002 along with Arc I, Arc II and Arc Arena, exclusively in the United States. It was later released in the PlayStation Network, where it reached Europe along with the US and Japan.
Long ago, the world was forever changed due to the Great Disaster. In the town of Romalia, a young child, Alec, nearly died from his house collapsing before a Hunter saves him in the nick of time. Seeing him off and giving him a sword as a keepsake, young Alec would later be taken to the village of Sasha in the isle of Eteru. There he reminisces about that day.
While he and Lutz were lazing about, they hear gunshots. The village is under attack by bandits. As everyone is gathered in Elder Goze's house, the Elder mentions enlisting the help of a Hunter, which Alec and Lutz agree to do, despite the Elder's protests. Once he and Kuretta, Lutz's sister, come up with a plan to distract the robbers, they head to the Hunter Guild at the town of Itio, capital of Eteru, to request a job.
After being saved by the Hunter, Leegle, at the nick of time. Alec makes a decision. He wants to become a hunter, that way he can travel beyond the horizon and find the remains of Romalia. Taking Lutz in tow and after a send off at the village, they head off to Itio for the Hunter Trial.
A young boy from Romalia, who lives in Sasha Village in Eteru since the Great Disaster. After being saved from near death by a Hunter, he decides to become a Hunter himself, and try to find a way back to his birthplace of Romalia. He has a rather stoic, logical vibe to him, with a lot of compassion for the people around him.
A lad from the village of Sasha, and Alec's close friend. He is obsessed with item scavenging, and has an immature, mischevious air to him. He and his older sister Kuretta have a small sibling rivalry with eachother, and he tends to annoy people with his carelessness, but he has a good heart. In the English version, his immaturity is exaggerated, especially his obsession with girls, and gaining a tendency to call others "sissies" or "fruits".
Theo Mil Raquel (テオ・ミル・ラケル)Voice: Yuriko Fuchizaki
Age: 10
An upbeat, cheery boy from the town of Renn in Forestamore. Having lost his mother, he yearns to become a Cardist like her, and ends up being bestowed the ability of Cardish by the spirit of Nol of the Seven Braves, in the Earth's Scar. While Alec has a cooler air, and Lutz is cheekier, Theo has a more caring, loving personality.
A tomboyish, cold and quick tempered girl who grew up in the equally cold city of Gislem in North Sularto. An expert in weaponry and marksmanship, she starts to open up more after meeting Alec's party.
A student from the Gaia Magic Institute from Rusaht in Jiharta, joins the party in order to stop his friend and fellow student Tikva when he steals a water control scroll for the Academy.
A master swordsman from Paltos in Parute, he joins the party when his brother Leshalt is killed by the academy and seeks revenge.
Gameplay[]
While Arc I & II had a more linear main plot with Arc II's Guild Jobs serving as a sidequest, the Guild Jobs serve as the main method of serving the plot in Arc III, creating a sort of Trails in the Sky-like structure. There is usually one mandatory job, and a heap of optional ones, of which one may be necessary to complete before the next story job. Furthermore, occasionally, a job will be a minigame instead of a normal battle and/or dungeon, allowing for much variety in the job roster. Wanted Monsters and the turn based tactics of the first two games also return, with a bump in presentation, as well as the Item Synthesis, being upgraded to allow for more customization.
The ability to turn non-humanoid, non-Wanted enemies into cards to use as consumable summons has also been added in the form of Theo's Cardish ability, allowing for a bit more variety in combat, similar to Final Fantasy VIII's Drawing system, but more dependent on the monsters available in your current point in the game. Leveling up was also further simplified and streamlined, with aspects such as leveling up equipment being removed entirely.
Due to the the cast of the previous game taking a backseat in terms of starring roles, only three people of the cast of Arc I&II appear as playable characters, Tosh, Elc and Shu. As a result, apart from those three's stats, the Convert option serves more as an item transferal service, with the items being purchasable through Chongara's shop in Testa's black market in North Sularto.
Reception[]
Ken Chu of RPGFan and David Smith of IGN argue that due to the streamlining of mechanics, such as the removal of complex level up mechanics, fans of Arc II may find it to be rather disappointing in comparison to the prequel.
Smith adds that the focus on Guild Jobs make the game feel much more rote and routine, stating that "perhaps Arc III is just putting a set of labels on the way any RPG scenario is designed these days (go there, do this, repeat a few dozen times), but nevertheless, I still get the feeling that the game is laid out rather by rote." They do feel the story, while being a bit lesser, is still serviceable, with the cameos being a nice nod to the previous two games, ending with "That's not to say this isn't an effective tale, particularly considering the potentially clumsy structure it's built around, but it pales a little in comparison."
Smith does comment that the item and weapon crafting and the Cardish mechanic as a highlight, though slightly, jokingly, hinting at a Pokémon inspiration: "One character has the ability to capture monsters, store five at a time, and bring them out to aid the party in combat -- yeah, I know what you're thinking, but questions of originality aside, it's a fun system, (...)".
Finally, Smith ends their Arc III portion of their Collection review with "Whether or not you prefer it to Arc II, Arc III is still a well-done RPG, and it does handle a few aspects of presentation unquestionably better than its predecessors. (...) And after the amount of gameplay you'll have gotten out of the collection at this point, it's hard to say you've been cheated.", further adding that the CG and voices are the highest quality of the series.
Chu comments in their review that "[In Arc II], bounty hunting was a fun diversion; when it becomes the focus of the gameplay, it’s not quite as enjoyable." Chu also brings up the repeated encounters in dungeons, as in, whenever you leave and re-enter, you have to fight them again, to be a negative as well as they hinder dungeon exploration. Furthermore, Chu comments that occasional difficulty spikes and what they feel is a more run of the mill script to also be a downshift in quality from Arc II.
Lastly, Chu feels Masahiro Andoh's performance in Arc III is of lesser quality compared to Arc I & II, making them consider Arc III to be the weakest game of the trilogy, despite the 78 out of 100 score. Despite this, Chu feels that the CG movies were a highlight of the game, surpassing the quality of the previous two games.
Mike Moehnke from RPGamer, though, does write a more positive review, stating that "like its predecessor and descendant, III is certainly worth playing." Like the above two, Moehnke feels that while the Guild Job system allows to bring side characters to life, beating all Jobs is easy, "reinforc[ing] the game’s linearity.", as you can't return to previously visited places once clearing them out in the first disc. Moehnke further praises the playable cast's likeability and its gameplay, also citing Cardish and Synthesis as a positive, but states the villains and narrative to not be anything too impressive.
Moehnke feels the AI has been downgraded in challenge though, and argues that the lack of things like the detailed critical attack animations is a bit of a shame, further stating that the visuals and environments are a bit drabber, despite the overworld graphics fitting a bit with a "society struggling to regain basic amenities".
Despite their complaint of graphics being less flashy, they do feel the characters not being models does allow for a better graphical appeal for the game, arguing that "the refusal of the series to use many polygons even in 1999 means the game is much easier on the eyes now than many of its contemporaries." Lastly Moehnke praises Andoh's score, the voices and the lighthearted minigames, claiming its their favorite of the series, rating it as "Good", a 3.5 out of 5.
