Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits (2003)

by Cattle Call, Sony Computer Entertainment

Genres:Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Tactical

Themes:Fantasy

Game modes:Single player

Story:The world of Arc: Twilight of the Spirits is populated by two races: human and Deimos. The two races prefer to avoid contact with each other, but both depend on the Spirit Stones to sustain the balance in the world. Recently, the human army began sweeping across the lands, taking over countries. This army is going after the five great Spirit Stones. The Spirits, however, are determined to prevent this; to achieve their goal, they choose two heroes who would eventually be able to unite the two races in a battle for justice. One of them a is a human nobleman named Kharg, who hates the Deimos and is planning revenge; another is a Deimos slave named Darc, who dreams of uniting and commanding his race. Will the two heroes be able to put aside their differences and save the world?.. Arc: Twilight of the Spirits is the fourth entry in the Arc the Lad series. Like its two immediate predecessors, the game has tactical battles which allow free positioning and movement of the characters on the combat field. However, the game is closer to being a "regular" Japanese-style role-playing game rather than a tactical RPG. The player controls a relatively small party (up to six active combatants), and is able to explore towns and dungeons in a standard RPG fashion. In the beginning, the game puts the player into control of Kharg, but afterwards the chapters alternate between the human hero and Darc, each with his own party. Characters can use a variety of techniques, accumulating SP (spirit points) in battles and them using them to learn special attacks.Show more

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@emilooo440

February 01, 2025

A true gem in every sense of the word, this game feels ahead of its time, and in some ways is still relevant to our current political and environmental climate. The gameplay is a sophisticated evolution of Final Fantasy Tactics-style role-playing games with pre-set arenas and unique challenges, with many encounters tailored to suit the story as it unfolds. The story is also deceptively long and in-depth, covering two different sides in a racial conflict over the limited resources of the earth, and how the individual sides are more complex, understandable, and disunited than the other seems to believe, which eventually comes to a head as our protagonists follow different goals, follow similar leads, and clash as their heritages both separate and shared are brought into the open. The music is among the greatest the genre has seen, with a unique soundscape for non-combat scenarios, and a wide variety of combat themes to suit the mood of the story. And this is without mentioning the star-studded celebrity voice cast in the early stages of their careers, putting their talents to work in this intelligent and incredibly over-the-top story. Despite what the world map would indicate, the story and its beats are easy to follow up on when the player is ready, without too much fluff in between the important and satisfying parts that makes this game so special, not to say there aren't optional combat encounters to simply enjoy the system, or beef up your characters' stats or equipment with fabulous prizes. I believe this game would be a definite feather in the cap of GOG and an absolute joy to any first-time players, and however many veterans of the franchise there are. It went criminally under-noticed at the time, probably due to a lack of franchise recognition in favour of other, more established titles from Japan. I feel like the themes of this game have only gotten more relevant as time has passed. Get it twisted, you will become a more just person by playing this game.

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@Dracullina

February 14, 2025

This is the best RPG ever made I like Darc and I am just like Delma but also Lilia they should remaster it it has something for everyone even the furries people would love Volk. He's voiced by Steve Blum. Play this game and please remaster it for like every system its so good, and also remaster Arc the Lad: End of Darkness. Thank you

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