10 hours in. I didn’t know what to expect from an Arc the Lad game, but this seems like a normal SRPG so far. I’m really liking half of the story, and the battles are slow but highly playable. I don’t know how long this is or whether there’ll be a difficulty spike later on, but at this rate I should be able to finish it without too much trouble.

The story: Twilight of the Spirits tells the tale of half-human, half-Deimos twin brothers separated at birth, and the game switches from one perspective to another. From Kharg, brought up as the prince of a human kingdom, to Darc, brought up as a Deimos slave and mocked for his mixed heritage. As both of them rise to leadership positions of the opposing races, an collision is all but inevitable.

In terms of story quality, Darc’s route >>>>>> Kharg’s. If the game was just about Kharg it would be the standard, tedious RPG fare: prince of a small kingdom, evil empire taking over the world, mysterious girl on the run with magical trinket feeds prince cock-and-bull story, prince immediately swears to protect her to the death. I shouldn’t even have to spell all this out, you know it so well. Kharg is such a bore, such an annoying goody-two shoes with his little ponytail and his nice-guy attitude and his mommy running up every five minutes to wipe his little nose, it makes me sick.

That’s where Darc comes in. He’s no less goody-goody (despite his protests to the contrary) but his story is waaaay better for several reasons. First, visually and setting-wise his route is more appealing because of all the different kinds of Deimos and Deimos designs. Humans come in one flavor: human, but there are all kinds of Deimos. Orcon, Drakyr, Pianta, Coleopt, Lupine and many more besides, so there’s a lot more to look at. They also have different cultures, viewpoints and rivalries, so it’s an interesting world to read and learn about.

Secondly, Darc’s party members are a great improvement over the sickening sycophants nosing up to Kharg. A tsundere orc girl out for his life, a treacherous plant in the form of a giant head, a wolfman on the prowl for revenge and an eldritch abomination in the form of a little girl. And it’s only chapter 2! Of course they’re all going to end up fawning over Darc long before the final battle, but the opposition is nice while it lasts.

Thirdly, Darc is a much more conflicted character than “I will protect everyone!” Kharg. Darc starts out just as idealistic, but the harsh realities of the Deimos world have forced him to become a power-hungry dictator. Deep down inside, though, he still longs for everyone to be friends. He’s trying to deny his humanity, but he just can’t cut it. That’s why he spares people who betray him and merely captures mysterious-girl-with-trinket when it would have made more sense to kill her and steal the trinket.

The sad thing is that I’m sure in the end Kharg and Darc will end up on the same “Humans and Deimos must work together to save the world!” page and it will be just like every other RPG out there, the end. I’m holding out a very sliiiim hope for an option that lets you side with one faction against another, but it’s unlikely to happen in a game as idealistic as this one. That’s why I’m going to enjoy Darc’s chapters as much as I can while moving as quickly through Kharg’s as possible.

As far as battles go, Twilight of the Spirits doesn’t do anything too unique. The gridless tactics system isn’t that common, but I’ve seen it before in Shining Force Feather, for example. The only slightly tricky thing is the way Spirit Stones (MP) have to be bought. They almost never refill naturally, so you can’t just throw special attacks out there willy-nilly. And the game is stingy with the cash.

Speaking of which, enemies don’t automatically give you money or items. They drop them on the ground for you to pick up at your (in)convenience. If the battle ends before you pick it up, tough. It adds a tiny bit of strategy in that you have to identify who is most likely to drop the best loot, usually the commander, and leave at least one other enemy alive before finishing them off. Enemies hit hard too, but as long as your defense is high and you don’t take on too many at once you’ll be fine.

It’s a bit slow because of the walking speeds and the unskippable battle animations, though. However it’s not as slow as some other SRPGs. And in any case I’ve made peace with it. Those random map battles though…RRGGHH. But maybe a skill or an item will pop up to eliminate them altogether. Also I really wish I could patch in some clothes for poor Delma and the rest of the Orcons.

Anyway, as I said above, I don’t know how long the game is, but I’m enjoying it enough that I’ll definitely finish it, provided my PS2 holds together. And then maybe I’ll check out the other Arc the Lad games. They seem pretty promising.