Arc the lad is the story of a young boy named Arc who has been predestined to, of course, save the world. The enemy this time is not any one person but in fact all of humanity. The world of Arc is one that is very intune with nature and its influences. In fact there are 5 Guardians that provide the world with everything it needs. In order to obtain power great enough to stop the abuse of the world, Arc and his companions must recieve the blessing of each Guardian, Light, Wind, Earth, Fire, and Water. Arc's father has been setting the events of Arc's destiny in motion for the past 10 years. Each character Arc meets either has been selected by Arc's father and obliged to help him, or shares a common path with Arc.
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Arc the Lad has a unique style of gameplay in the fact that is a Strategy style RPG battle system, combined with a more RPG story element and normal gameplay. You do not have alot of control of the characters unless you are in a battle. The world is not free flowing and thus Arc can not move around it like in a Final Fantasy title. Places on the map are accessible via Airship and once you arive you can pick where you would like to go, be it a town or area of battle. Most towns do not give you control of Arc or his friends, the system will take control and Arc will go where he needs to go to continue the story.
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In Battle however, you have complete control of the characters. Each character has different movement range and agility, thus determinging how far you can move them each turn, and how fast their next turn will arrive. Much like Strategy RPG's such as Vandal Hearts of Final Fantasy Tactics, you can strategically place each character in the most effective spot to attack. The only difference is, that you do not have control over the starting point of your characters. They start spread out usually at the top or bottom of the screen. Monsters also are spread out thus making it more difficult to postition your characters. Again as with many Strat RPG's, how you attack a monster is critical. Attacking from the front usually leads to a direct counterattack by the enemy, attacking from the side reduces the chance, and attacking from the rear virtually eliminates a counterattack. This also works the same when an enemy attacks you, however unlike Vandal Hearts II, monster will not target the backs of your character by default.
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When you choose to attack a monster you have several options, you may use items such as stones or bombs, you may attack normally using the characters chosen attack, or use a magical attack. Arc gains severl attacks based on being choosen by that guardians. He has several element attacks such as Burn ground, a fire attack, Gale Flash, a Wind/Space attack, and Total healing, a water attack. Each character is either great at magic, a physical fighter, or a combination. Your strongest magic user, will be your weakest physical character and vice versa. You will also have a character that can summon other monsters to aid you in battle. You will have full control of each of these summoned monsters (that is if you can find them all).
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Many people may not like that there are NO SHOPS in Arc the Lad I. Thus improving your characters is a matter of leveling up and proper use of the accessories you find. There are accessories that will increase attack strength from 10% to 50%. The same is true for defense and Magic Ability. You will find accessories througout the game that can be added to your characters to increase their abilities. However, you are limited to 4 accessories per character and thus you must decide wisely which to use on which character.
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The graphics and sound are not the best that will be found on any console, but they are true to their original. Arc the lad uses a common graphic style of superdeformed sprites (similiar to Lunar) that are highly detailed in a small space. The music of the game has been improved slightly from the original and is not monontoneous like many other Strategy RPG's. Also to add to the effect of the game, voice overs have been added when a character attacks, uses Magic, dies, misses or is struck, again very much like Lunar.
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The dissapointment to Arc the Lad 1, is that it does not end, but is continued in Arc the Lad II. This will not pose a problem to those that have purchased the complete collection. The story of Arc is very involving and will keep you involved over the short amount of time it takes to play the game. The game can be finished in about 10 hours but there are several very long special dungeons that will add to the amount of time it takes to play. In a world of 40 hour games, Arc the Lad is a refreshing change. A game that will allow you to get to know your characters, get to like them, enjoy the story and completely enjoy the game all in a short time. The game is not uniquely original, but it was also made before many of the RPGs we enjoy today, thus at the time it was created, it was an original and set a mark that all games would start to follow. Arc the Lad will not make you leap with amazing graphics or symphany orchestra sound, but it will thrill you with an amazing story, great gameplay and a classic humor that only Working Designs can create. 
<p> AllRPG.com