RPG Progress Report

[Sarge]

Arc the Lad, at least the first game, is just decent. It's a Shining Force knockoff, and one of (if not the) first RPGs on the system. But if you play that, you'll want to roll into Arc the Lad II. Now that game is amazing. It's the perfect blend of something like Chrono Trigger and Shining Force. Just... make sure to do the hunt for the items that will get you the Invincible spell. You can miss some of the items, so if there's anything I would refer to a walkthrough for, it's that. You'll appreciate it when you hit the last battle.

[Exhuminator]

Arc the Lad, at least the first game, is just decent. It's a Shining Force knockoff, and one of (if not the) first RPGs on the system.

It is one of the first yep, but I believe the actual first RPG for the PS1 was King's Field (released December 16, 1994 in Japan).

make sure to do the hunt for the items that will get you the Invincible spell.

Thanks for the protip! I'll remember that when I get around to it.

Whoa, just found out Arc the Lad was made by G-Craft, the same studio that developed the original Front Mission. Oh man I'm stoked now.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I love Grandia but the opening is garbage. The graphics are also terrible, a 2D aesthetic like that found in Albert Odyssey or Rayearth would have greatly benefited the game.

Once it gets going though, wow is it good. 50+ hours but I plowed through it. It's probably the best "epic" JRPG of its era.

Lunar is a weird one. The charming early-90s anime art is probably the coolest thing about the game. It's a bit of a slog and the battle system is dull. Alex is a shit character, thank god for the kitty cat. Grandia is the best Game Arts game by a mile.

I'll be playing Breath of Fire in a few days. Always liked this one.

[Exhuminator]

Once it gets going though, wow is it good. 50+ hours but I plowed through it. It's probably the best "epic" JRPG of its era.

Do you recall how long it takes for Grandia to get going? Like 5 hours in or?

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I just played some Arc the Lad. I died in my first battle against some slimes, and it was game over! So now I have to sit through all the introductory cutscenes again. Oh well, I'll give it another shot. I'm LOVING the OST so far. Ungghhh yeah baby give it to me right in my tympanic membranes.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Once it gets going though, wow is it good. 50+ hours but I plowed through it. It's probably the best "epic" JRPG of its era.

Do you recall how long it takes for Grandia to get going? Like 5 hours in or?

Yeah maybe. I'd say once you get off the boat (literally, this isn't some euphemism) things really get rolling. Such a rad battle system, though admittedly easy to exploit.

[darsparx]

I'd say 5 hours might not be far off. It takes about that long to really get out of your hometown for the last time. I played it a bit before losing my vita charger the last time I did, so yeah sounds about right...it's humor and such is awesome though but I have to agree on graphics it's like this was another game that was forced 3d even though it should've been 2d


Edit: and wow...ToCS never fails to shock me with certain story elements. On day 2 of the second field study and man is it a weird day combined with some other "civil" issues going on in it. Seems Jusis and Machias have finally restored relations towards me and working on each other. But Emma is bugging me a bit because it would seem she's a witch/magician of some sort though she won't say anything about it. Amazing storytelling since it's obvious I'm feeling whatever they were trying to get across about certain characters in this thing...Oh and Baron Bleublanc, is he even a Baron? So obnoxious yet seems like an actor...

[Xeogred]

Once it gets going though, wow is it good. 50+ hours but I plowed through it. It's probably the best "epic" JRPG of its era.

Do you recall how long it takes for Grandia to get going? Like 5 hours in or?

-

I just played some Arc the Lad. I died in my first battle against some slimes, and it was game over! So now I have to sit through all the introductory cutscenes again. Oh well, I'll give it another shot. I'm LOVING the OST so far. Ungghhh yeah baby give it to me right in my tympanic membranes.

Arc the Lad rules, but it's worth noting that the first game is a literal prologue for the second game basically. Arc 1 will only take you about 10 hours to complete, perhaps 20 if you want to do everything like I did. Why do everything? Your entire cast basically returns for 2 and so you get those characters with all their stuff. I think they kind of scale them a bit, but most things carry over.

Arc 2 on the other hand is massive, I didn't even beat it but I love it. Got 50 some hours in and then spent a lot of time with the Tournament expansion that came with the collection too. You could fight monsters, then recruit them into your party. Seemed pretty endless.

Yeah the music is amazing. I love its urban fantasy setting. What's ultra cool about 2 is how you can actually walk around in towns and even dungeons and it... works! I don't always love how SRPG's are basically just menu's and then you get to the battle screen. Arc 2 gives you traditional control over areas you'd normally expect in JRPG's and then mixes it up with the SRPG battle system. And I love how fast and fun its battle system is compared to say, FFT or something. It's a bit simpler, but not in a bad way.

Arc's just damn fun. Can't wait to check out the PS2 ones sometime, at least Twilight sounds really good I believe. 3 I didn't like, it detaches itself completely from the first two, and the graphical style change wasn't to my liking.

[Sarge]

Yeah, the third game is solid enough, but it's nowhere near the level of the second. I did pick it up after a couple of years had passed and finished it off, though.

Twilight was awesome back when I played it. Don't know how well it has aged, but that's true of almost everything I played back then...

[MrPopo]

Twilight was awesome back when I played it. Don't know how well it has aged, but that's true of almost everything I played back then...

The temptation to quote this out of context is strong.

[Sarge]

Bahaha! I thought about that when I typed it, too.