Post by Bytor on Jun 2, 2011 18:28:59 GMT -5
Arc the Lad: End of Darkness (Arc the Lad: Generation "アークザラッド ジェネレーション") is currently the fifth and last game released in the direct series. The was released for the PlayStaqtion 2 and developed by Cattle Call and published by SCEI in Japan and Namco in North America. The game was released in Japan on November 3, 2004 and in North America on June 14, 2005. The game was the first to do away almost totally with the tactical aspect of gameplay and actually incorporates a real time battle system, which many die hard fans of the series were not happy about.
The story takes place about ten years after the events in Twilight of the Spirits and focuses on two friends Edda, who aspires to be a hunter, and his friend Hemo, who is a Slothian (but unlike most of his race energetic and active). Unlike previous installments this game is actually broken up into many smaller quests and focuses more on the smaller goals than on epic world ending issues.
Gameplay is where many have issues with this installment as many felt the mechanics not only added little to the game but actually hindered it. Tacvtical and strategic battles are replaced by more of an action/adventure type battle system where battles take place in real time and button pushing becomes more important than strategy. The game also uses a "card" system which allows you to use various magics and attacks and are interchangeable for different allies. These cards are either purchasable or can be gained as spoils of battle. The game also introduced online play where friends could join in quest and help to accomplish missions, however lack of sales certainly limited finding other players to join in games.
Bottom line is this game may have sounded the death knell for the serious. What started out as innovative and fresh became stale over the years and while character development continued to be strong very l;ittle else remained original to the previous installments.
