Lighthearted Lark- Arc Rise Fantasia Review
Beyond a handful of Virtual Console titles, and the sole exception of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, traditional Japanese role-playing games are a surprisingly rare commodity on the Wii. Publisher Ignition Entertainment must have recognized this dearth, as the recent release of Imageepoch’s (the Luminous Arc series, Sands of Destruction) Arc Rise Fantasia adds a very conventional example of the genre into the console’s library. While the title undoubtedly satisfies the basic tenets required by epic adventures, it also incorporates enough tropes to weaken appreciation from RPG aficionados.
The title’s storyline contains the customary cast of characters- there’s the impetuous young hero, the young girl with a enigmatic past, an altruistic prince, and the covetous female friend. While Arc Rise‘s narrative also relies on formula, with a number of easily distinguishable twists, it did grow on me as the game reached its midpoint. Like many modern JRPGs, current geopolitical crises forms the basis of conflict, with themes of military domination and struggle over dwindling energy sources clearly inspiring the title’s plotline.
While level-grinding is a age-old JRPG staple, Arc Rise Fantasia is a bit more persistent that its peers. Not only will sporadic spikes in difficultly send parties combing for fiend fodder, but arsenals can be augmented with ‘weapon points’ mined from battle experience, furthering a murderous motivation. Once powered up, arms receive both stat boosts as well as additional HP-depleting special moves. Some of these new powers can even be transferred to other weapons, via a puzzle-esque placement of blocks called Arm Forces. Players will need to keep their manuals close, as only a minimum of tutelage is offered in-game.
Advantageously, the game’s combat is both nuanced and succinct enough so that Arc Rise doesn’t become mired in monotony. Each round of combat grants the entire party a specific number of action points (AP) which can be spent on essential attacks, magic, defense, or item use. Later, characters will be able to initiate Excel Acts- special skills which draw from a replenishing resource, or the aforementioned Arm Forces- that offer amplified weapon attacks.Main character L’arc has the power to summon stalwart allies with his Rogress bonding ability, although the skill is AP-costly.
The inclusion of melee, magic, and Arm Forces combos manages to keep battles from becoming stagnant. These chains can be instigated by either attacking a enemy with a single character, or for dramatic and devastating effect, each member of a three-person party. Additionally, players may rely on the AI to do the strategizing for them, by using the game’s Tactics option. Much like Paradigms in Final Fantasy XIII, these selectable presets coach the team, using broad policies such as ‘offensive only’ or ‘no magic’.
Most of Arc Rise Fantasia presents an agreeable visual palette. Overworld expeditions and towns are vibrant, but often succumb to the jaggedness offers by the Wii’s resolution. During conversations, the title’s character portraits are expressive, but suffer from a undeniable flatness. Much worse is Arc Rise‘s vocal delivery, which rivals the slapdash performance found in Chaos Wars. Although players are given the ability to mute the conversations, offering a subtitled product would have been preferred. Alternatively, the game’s orchestral soundtrack is superbly evocative, and escalates in quality as the game persists.
Arc Rise Fantasia‘s reluctance to transcend JRPG formula is the title’s greatest misstep. Even the most fanatical enthusiasts of the genre will feel that the title is, at best, a competent amalgam of familiar elements. As such, the title can be recommended to either fans of 32-bit era role playing or those without access to other hardware. Others will likely be happier with a less derivative adventure.
What a JRPG that Desert didn’t like? Call the media!
First!
I bought this from amazon. I’m sure I’ll kind of like it but still I wish it was a little different.
Pwned. You’re second and a loser at all things in life.
Well the combat sounds cool at least.
I need to play this and DQ9 still. I’m sure DQ is the better game, but it’s summer, I have time for both.
The third pics looks like PSU to me.
The graphics looks pretty good to me.
You should put the price in the info as well.
How much is the game?
I don’t understand why people do this.
BTW – good review.
How long is this one?
It’s $39.99 BTW, which isn’t bad at all.
is the translation bad or just the voice over? I saw this one wasn’t getting good reviews at all.
I only like the action RPGs. Turn based bores me.
I’ll still get it one day. Who am I fooling.
All the game needs is mechs and singing.
Must resist paying full price for ARF. Must resist.
After seeing some videos and reading some reviews, I can skip this.
You guys are hating on this game unfairly. I got it and its not that bad at all. The combat is great, the story gets going, and the music is really really good.
Thumbs down for you.
With FF13 selling for $29, I totally agree with the revirew. Maybe when this hits $15
Never been a fan of these games. Doubt I’ll ever change.
Crappy looking site, crappy review.
Where’s FF selling for that price?
It’s about the words, troll
Good review, ignore the trolls deagle.
Multiple endings or not? That matters most to me.
If the letters N I S where on the cover Deagle would be in L O V E.
You lost me when you called Symphonia turn-based. Have you ever even played that game?
I’ll get this when it’s $19.99 or so.
So you dont like this just because of the voice acting and the the characters? weak.
I agree this game is actually very entertaining, yes the voice acting sucks but if you ignore that there is an awesome game here, with good story and a good battle system in my opinion. Give the game a shot instead of letting someone’s reviews turn you off towards it.
The voice acting bad I’ll say that, but that has nothing to do with the overall game.Do you play just to listen or to enjoy? This game is actually pretty damn good, and it feels like other jrpg’s like tales (not the battle system just the tone of the game) and skies of arcadia. It’s worth the price if you ask me.
I couldn’t watch a movie with bad dialog and I cant stand games with bad translations. Ignition could have avoided this by keeping the Japanese voice work.
And a “C” means average, not bad.
Thanks for providing such useful information. I really appreciate your professional approach. I would like to thank you for the efforts you made in writing this post. I am hoping the same best work from you in the future as well.
Gucci Borse