Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits

Plot

The game takes place in a fantasy setting populated by humans and a race of humanoid monsters known as Deimos (Mazoku (魔族, Demon clan) in the Japanese version), focusing on their power struggle over elemental relics known as Spirit Stones. The two main protagonists of the game are the human and Deimos hybrid brothers Kharg (Quinton Flynn) and Darc (Carlos Alazraqui). Kharg wishes to destroy the Deimos and for humans to live peacefully, as he was raised by his and Darc's human mother, Nafia (Gabrielle Carteris). Meanwhile, Darc wishes to be king of the Deimos and destroy the humans for the protection of the Deimos, at the request of his and Kharg's Deimos father, Windalf (Nicholas Guest).

The game follows the two brothers on their own separate journeys. In Kharg's story, he is accompanied by Paulette (Jill Talley), his childhood friend, Maru (Danny Cooksey), a self-proclaimed prince, Ganz (Steve Kehela), a soldier who lives with nature, and Tatjana (Cree Summer), an ex-member of the Dilzweld Army. Darc's story has him accompanied by Delma (Jennifer Hale), the sister of the Orcon leader, Densimo, Volk (Steven Blum), a Lupine who wishes for revenge against the humans for killing his wife and son, Camellia (B.J. Ward), a flower that became withered at the hands of the Dilzweld Army, and Bebedora (Debi Derryberry), a puppet master created by the Divine Ruler. Other characters who Kharg and Darc meet include Lilia Getmann (Grey DeLisle), a girl who is being sought out after by the Dilzweld Army, Zev (Paul Lukather), an old man who often appears at random, Samson (Gregg Berger), a thief who steals only from the Dilzweld Army and later revealed, Lilia's father, and Lord Darkham (James Horan), the central antagonist of the game.

Darc and Kharg's main goal is to collect the five Great Spirit Stones and use them for the benefit of the Deimos or humans respectively. However, as the game progresses, Darkham and the Dilzweld Army obtain four of the five Great Spirit Stones, and are forced to make an artificial Wind Stone as Kharg and Darc have two halves of the Wind Stone.

Towards the end of the game, Kharg and his friends confront Darkham at Maluise Tower, where he uses the Great Spirit Stones and Lilia to awaken the Flying Castle, a giant ark with enough power to wipe out the Deimos. Lilia at this point is revealed to be the key to activating it, and in a show of its power, destroys a large populated town. After fighting him, Darkham tells Kharg he must take his place in destroying the Deimos, and commits suicide. Soon, Darc and his friends arrive, and he and Kharg make a deal on whoever wins a duel between them and their allies will get all five Great Spirit Stones. The player then must choose between fighting the humans or Deimos, but no matter whoever wins, Zev appears after the fight and reveals himself to be the Divine Ruler, telling everyone that they were just his puppets in getting him all five Great Spirit Stones. He then takes the stones and Lilia, and goes off to the Flying Castle. Whoever wins goes there first, and then the losing side goes after them.

After both the humans and Deimos have altercations between working between each other at first, upon their reunion, Kharg and Darc finally come to an agreement to work with each other, and after going through all the floors, Kharg, Darc, and all their friends arrive just in time to see the Divine Ruler use Lilia to awaken the powers of the ark. After absorbing all the powers, the Divine Ruler becomes the Lord of the Black Abyss (Richard McGonagle), a creature the Spirit of Hope warned Kharg, Darc, and Lilia in the Cave of Truth earlier in the adventure. He then takes everyone to a Shadow World, where their inner demons torment them until either Kharg or Darc (depending on who the player is playing as) snaps them out of it. After defeating the monsters creating the visions, the group has to fight Lilia, who is trapped by the Lord of the Black Abyss. After defeating her, the Lord of the Black Abyss tells them that they're stuck there forever, but as hope is lost, Lilia comes back by the power of the Hero and the Holy Mother (who is Arc and Kukuru from the first Arc the Lad). After using the power of the ark, which is in the hearts of everyone, everyone is transported to the lair of the Lord of the Black Abyss, and ultimately, face off with him.

After defeating him, the Lord of the Black Abyss still has power, and threatens to destroy humans and Deimos. Lilia plans to give her own life like Arc did to seal him away, however, the spirits contained in the Great Spirit Stones appear and seal away the Lord of the Black Abyss, at the cost of leaving the world and the Deimos losing their life-force. The group later return to Cragh Island (a location Kharg and Darc came to earlier), and before Kharg and Darc can clash again, they both come to an agreement along with Lilia that even though humans and Deimos will clash again in the future, it's better to enjoy the peace they already have.

Reception

The game has received average reviews upon release. IGN gave it a score of 8.2 and GameSpot gave it a score of 8.GameRankings gave it a score of 74.70%, while Metacritic gave it 72 out of 100.