Arc the Lad

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Arc the Lad
Original title ア ー ク ザ ラ ッ ド
transcription Ākuzaraddo
Computer / video game
Studio G-Craft, SCEI
Publisher SCEI
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 June 13, 1995
platform PlayStation , PlayStation Network , WonderSwan Color , PlayStation 2
Anime television series
Country of production JapanJapan Japan
original language Japanese
year 1999
length 25 minutes
Episodes 26th
Director Itsuro Kawasaki
production Hideo Katsumata
music Michiru Oshima
First broadcast April 5th - October 11th 1999 on WOWOW
synchronization

Arc the Lad ( Japanese ア ー ク ザ ラ ッ ド , Ākuzaraddo ) is a Japanese series of computer role-playing games , the first part of which was released in 1995. In addition to a total of seven games, an anime series was also released .

Content and game mechanics

The player leads the boy Arc from the village of Touvil, who is fighting against the evil in the world. As the game progresses, the characters Kukuru, Iga, Poco, Tosh and Chongara join him.

The focus of the game is on the battles, which are fought in rounds on a strategic map that appears especially for this purpose. The player can only take a limited number of his comrades into battle, with different combinations of characters allowing different attacks. Between battles, the player explores the main maps. As the game progresses, the player gains experience points, items and weapons.

Production and publications

Arc the Lad was developed by G-Craft and SCEI and was initially designed as a single game. As the development dragged on, however, a first game with a shorter plot of around 8 hours of playing time was released and the series was then continued in other games. The first game in the series was released on June 13, 1995 by SCEI for the PlayStation . Arc the Lad II , developed by ARC Entertainment, followed on November 1, 1996. It offers 60 hours of play and continues the storyline of its predecessor, from which the game status can also be transferred. On July 31, 1997 Arc the Lad: Monster Game with Casino Game was released and on October 28, 1999 Arc the Lad III by the same developer. The second game in the series was later also released for PlayStation Store and PSOne Classic . In 2002, Bandai released Arc the Lad: Kijin Fukkatsu, an in-house development based on the series for the WonderSwan Color . Arc the Lad: Seirei no Tasogare was released on March 20, 2003 and followed on November 3, 2004 with Arc the Lad: Generation, the last game in the series to date. Both were developed by Cattle Call for the PlayStation 2 and distributed by SCEI.

In 2002, Working Designs released a collection of the first four games in the series. Both games for the PlayStation 2 were also released in America, the first as Twilight of the Spirits 2004 also in Europe and in German.

Anime adaptation

In 1999 the studios Office AO, Production IG , Shaft , Studio Mu and Xebec produced a 26-part anime adaptation of the second game in the series. Directed by Itsuro Kawasaki , Producer was Hideo Katsumata . Kenji Teraoka created the mecha design, Yoko Kikuchi the character design and Toshihisa Koyama was responsible for the artistic direction.

The series first aired in Japan from April 5 to October 11, 1999 by WOWOW . The Anime Network broadcast an English version and several channels broadcast a Spanish version. The anime was also translated into French and Dutch and was released on DVD in the US.

synchronization

role Japanese speaker ( seiyū )
Arc Hiro Yūki
Kukuru Yūko Mizutani
Elk Daisuke Namikawa
Lieza Yui Horie

music

Michiru Oshima composed the music for the series . The opening credits are Arc the Lad ~ Main Theme ~ by Masahiro Andō and for the credits the songs Happy Tomorrow and Rest in Peace by NiNa were used.

reception

For the first game in the series, the German magazine Mangaszene wrote on the occasion of the US release that it was more of a short appetizer for the successor, which offers significantly more playing time. The anime adaptation is praised for its faithful implementation of the template Arc the Lad 2 with only a few, meaningful cuts. The appearance and character of the characters and the soundtrack are also very similar to the original for the benefit of the anime. The plot is understandable even for those who are not familiar with the games, it develops slowly at first, but after a few episodes the world with fantasy and modern elements can captivate the viewer. The Anime Encyclopedia writes that the very similar stories of the search for revenge that each of the characters in the anime pursues are all connected in an inconsistent but attractively designed adventure and fantasy world that is typical of computer games from the time of the first final fantasy games.

In the only game in the series to be published in German - Twilight of the Spirits - the manga scene praises “excellent graphics”, “unusually rock soundtrack and excellent combat system”. The “highlight” is the story in which the perspectives of the two main characters alternate. The von Kharg offer few new ideas, but the Darc s "a fresh, subversive journey". The PAL adaptation of the German version was successful and the synchronization was impressive compared to the unsuccessful US version.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Review of the Arc The Lad Collection . gamecritics.com, accessed August 9, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Manga scene No. 7, p. 29f.
  3. ↑ Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy: The Anime Encyclopedia. Revised & Expanded Edition . Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley 2006, ISBN 978-1-933330-10-5 , pp. 28 .
  4. ↑ Manga scene No. 19, p. 52.