Sony's Arc the Lad series—the second game in particular—featured some of the finest traditional RPG gameplay the PlayStation ever saw. That's why some gamers were alarmed to find that Twilight of the Spirits was being developed by Cattle Call, makers of 2002’s Dullest Game of the Year, Tsugunai. These qualms aren't entirely unjustified, but—despite the slowest start in RPG history—things really aren't as bad as they seem. The world of Arc is divided evenly between the human race (still living in pseudo-medieval times, it seems) and clans of intelligent demons called Deimos. The plot switches back and forth between Kharg, a young strapling who leads a charge against the despotic Dilzweld Army, and Darc, a moody demi-Deimos who's trying to unite his race for an apocalyptic showdown with its human oppressors. Their common target: the Great Spirit Crystals, five magical baubles that hold untold power when united. As you'd expect, things get ugly rather quickly. Although the basic gameplay is straightforward, Arc's famous semistrategic battle system has gotten the full 3D treatment. Oddly, it works suspiciously like the one in Breath of Fire V—all weapons are ranged, and where you attack an enemy is just as important as what you attack him with. While not quite as elegant as the square-based system used in previous Arcs, it's still engaging, and battles move quickly once you turn the voices off (a must if you enjoy retaining your sanity). So what's the issue here? Just like Tsugunai, it's all in the execution. Simply put, the story takes forever to get interesting—a good 10 hours, in fact. Even when it's hot, though, it's lopsided. Kharg's story is standard RPG filler you've seen a million times before, but Darc's is truly great—it covers the guy as he goes from common slave to King of All Deimos, and it's packed with gory, surprising plot twists. This story imbalance isn't helped by the audio or the visuals, which are technically adept but more generic than a box of 25-cent fruit pies. Much of what you'll think of Twilight of the Spirits will depend on how familiar you are with the PlayStation games. Compared to Arc 2 and 3, Twilight is downright barren—no monster hunting, no real side-quests, only two hidden characters. On its own, however, it's an uneven but decent RPG that ultimately pays off after a modicum of effort. It's no Arc 2, but then it's no Tsugunai 2, either.
