Originally Posted by
kupomogli
This I don't get. People throw massive praise at Shining Force, a painfully average TRPG, but even as average as the original Arc the Lad game is, it's still much better than Shining Force. Doesn't get the same kind of praise. Arc the Lad 2 though is one of the best TRPGs in the genre and the game gets overlooked because it's the second game, a sequel to a rather disappointing first in a time where we've got great games FFTactics and Tactics Ogre. Arc the Lad 2 may have received its popularity in Japan because the first was popular when it came out, but the game didn't get its time to shine in the US because of the game that preceded it in this collection, a collection that came out in 2002. The collection certainly didn't do the brand any favors, that much is certain, and let's be serious here, the first was never "bad" but when it released in 1995 in Japan, it was more similar to the quality of the Shining Force titles that preceded it than Tactics Ogre which released the same year. Also, the isometric design to stages in Tactics Ogre really pushed what was capable in TRPGs due to height and depth, something that may have hurt perspective on non isometric or non 3D games in the future. That doesn't mean that a good TRPG couldn't be made without it, as Arc the Lad 2 is good and Brigandine is the best TRPG ever made.
That being said, if you've only played the first Arc the Lad and didn't put time into the second one, you're missing out. Arc the Lad 2 is like night and day compared to the original. It's not without its flaws though. Weapons now have levels and by attacking with your weapons, you'll more frequently do your most powerful action and have a higher chance to get a good hit on the enemy instead of a partial hit, add to this that due to monster collecting, monsters may have less variety than humans, but they're statistically more powerful, meaning that you won't as often deal full damage making the game a bit slow early in the game with constant partial blocks from the enemies until your weapon level increases. Unless the characters are your all out magic users, magic use is fairly weak again due to monsters having better statistics, so characters that are melee/magic might as well focus on melee and not really bother with magic. There's a limit to the amount of items that you can hold, meaning unless you use multiple save files and Arc Arena to circumvent this, item arrangement will be a constant thing long before you finish the game. Magic spells still have to target an opponent or an ally, you can't set it off in an area and then the area of effect will hit them, the main focus has to be a target. With that being said, these are the only real problems surrounding Arc the Lad 2, the third game actually has more issues. Arc the Lad Twilight of Spirits is okay, and End of Darkness is pathetic.
Arc the Lad 2 keeps the TRPG gameplay, but changes the games exploration aspect to that of a standard RPG. Multiple towns and dungeons on each of the games continents. There's a guild in the game called the hunters guild with around 50 different jobs that each have their own storyline, something similar to the quality that you see in the main storyline(think any side quest on an RPG that has its own story.) Each area in the game has one ore more additional dungeons that have unique weapons and items that can be acquired. Then there's the monster collecting which allows you to add monsters to your party and Arc Arena which add another layer to the game altogether. The first Arc the Lad is worth playing only because the second is so good.