Arc Rise Fantasia
Imagepoch, Marvelous Entertainment
Ignition Entertainment
Nintendo Wii
Fantasy JRPG
1-Player
ESRB: T

Price: $39.99 USD


Most of the Wii Catalog we see in these modern times is purely composed of a few 3rd Party Games that are worth it, Nintendo Originals, and a heavy load of casual games on a one-way ticket to the discount bin of Wal-Mart. On the RPG department, we got very few games which are actually RPGs. On this modern role-playing market currently dominated by titles like Final Fantasy XIII and Mass Effect, does Arc Rise Fantasia, an attempt to bring back the old JRPG with a spice of the new, deliver what it promises? Let´s find out.

STORY
You play as Meridian Empire Legionnaire Mercenary, L’arc Bright Lagoon. The guy with the red outfit and the broadsword who lives by the code of do the job, get the money, repeat. After an unexpected turn of events in a job, he has a dashing encounter with the mysterious Ryfia, a sweet innocent girl engulfed in mystery who becomes quickly attached to L’arc. Along the way they are joined by Prince Alfonse, or Alf for short. L’arc´s best friend and 2nd to the Imperial Crown. What seems like a simple trip back to the Imperial Capital turns into a world-class journey filled with colorful towns, a galore of villains, various characters, and the mysterious resonance between L’arc and Ryfia with powerful entities dubbed Rogress.

Along this colorful cast of characters, we also got Niko, Twin Gunner Marksman and L’arc´s constant clumsy underling, the cool and collected Rastan, a powerful swordsman, Cecille, a young girl on the path of valor, and a powerful warrior, amongst other characters who make the world of Arc Rise Fantasia feel more varied.

Gameplay
Arc Rise Fantasia is a JRPG which attempts to take the best elements of the Old and mix it with the best elements of the new, so combat ends up being Dynamic, yet nostalgic. For starters, your regular In-Battle Party consists of Three Characters max. Although, sometimes a fourth character will join. But unlike regular Party Members, this “Guest” will only act under his/her personal judgment, rather than receiving commands.

Issuing commands in Arc Rise Fantasia features a unique twist. Every character has a personal AP value (2 on most of the cases), and all the AP values of the In-Battle party adds up to an AP pool visible on the Top-Left portion of the screen. Each battle command consumes a certain amount of AP, and players can freely choose which characters will act by issuing the commands as long as there is enough AP. One single character can take let´s say, 3 actions, while the others can sit back and watch. Although, a good party which issues commands evenly to adapt to each situation is hard to beat.

After issuing and confirming the commands, the Round proceeds in real time, in which Party members and enemies mix up in the battlefield. Magic and Items come up almost instantly, unlike Physical attacks which need the character to run next to their targets (SPEED influences their running speed). After all commands are executed, the Command Menu pops up again to re-issue commands. If taking time to pick these commands is too long for things such as just attacking normally, players can set up to 3 different Tactics to choose as Battle Plans. Either adapts to the situation, No Magic, Attack only, etc, in order to speed the process up. Although, Targets and actions will be randomly chosen.

Besides regular attacks, we also got Magic. Magic in Arc Rise Fantasia works in a unique way in which you can customize your character´s Magical warfare. Each character has an Orb, a Magic Crest in which Elemental Gems are attached (Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water), and each Gem determined the Spells the character can use. Magic of each element is divided into 4 levels of power, starting with Level 1 Magic. Further Levels are unlocked in special stores for a high fee. Instead of having an individual amount of MP, each character has a personal count of times a certain level of Magic can be used. This limit can be increased as well for a fee in specialized stores, and once the number of times the character can use a spell is depleted, he/she will be unable to use anymore magic until their MP is replenished. These Orbs can be customized heavily, although their own Damage Points will determine how far they can be customized before they become deteriorated and need to be reset to be used again.

After attacks, there are the “Excel Acts”. Special Tech attacks which deplete a combination of AP, and rising tension known as SP. As character dish out and receive damage, their individual SP increases. Combining SP percentages and AP lets them use personal attacks which are stronger than regular attacks. Some cases such as Ryfia, involve Non-Magic healing, or Status upgrades.

L’arc is the only character who also features an RP gauge, or Rogress Points. By filling it up to Max like SP, L’arc can summon a Rogress and dish out apocalyptic damage, buff up, or heal his own party. In other words, they can turn the tide of battle, but they take their time to be used again since a summon depletes the RP gauge completely, best to be saved for those nasty bosses.

Other commands include classics such as Defense, Items, and moving around the Battlefield to spread out and avoid the nasty Area-Attacks which can hurt up to three people if they are too close together.

A unique mechanic of Arc Rise Fantasia is the Arm Force mechanic. Each weapon features its own set of Special Skills, such as HP+. Represented as Gems, these skills can be extracted and implanted into other weapons as long as they reach up to three levels of Skill. Their own Gird to attach gems is small as first, but it expands when the weapon levels up. After reaching Maximum level, those skills can be extracted to be implemented on stronger weapons, further customizing your characters. On most cases, some skills cannot be extracted from a weapon even if it has reached its Maximum Level.

Towns in Arc Rise Fantasia feature their own Area Maps which are given to you by a special family of Nomads on the Map Trade business. The 1st Map of each area is free of charge. But further use of the Map will render it illegible, putting the need to buy a new Map, this time with a fee. Also, Inns, Armories selling Weapons and Armor, Item Shops, and Orb Workshops compose their market. There are also Guild Branches. In these places, players can tackle a series of Sub quests they can take at leisure for additional Item, or Money rewards.


Graphics & Presentation
Arc Rise Fantasia´s Graphics aren´t exactly the eye-popper that rivals with other games. Although, the choice of realistic proportions alongside the stylized Anime look in real-time graphics rivals up with Square-Enix´s work in Kingdom Hearts. Overworld exploration is deeply lush with lot of detail, optional Skits like in Namco´s Tales Series can inform you of topics related to the current point of the story, as well random gags. The script itself is good, although the voice acting to interpret it feels a bit lacking. Later on this issue dissipates, but it´s still noticeable most of the time.

Controls aren´t an issue here. Arc Rise Fantasia is designed under the 4 control schemes adapting to your budget. Wiimote, Wiimote + Nunchuck, Classic Controller, and Gamecube Controller. Plus, you won´t be using the pointer to do fancy stuff here.

The Music takes on what you expect of a High-Fantasy JRPG, then inserts some good metal into it.

Overall
Arc Rise Fantasia has that air of the classic Fantasy JRPG, along with dynamic Semi-Real Time combat, big levels of character customization, plenty of Non-Main Story game time, and unique characters. It can easily be dubbed, “the healthy alternative to Final Fantasy XIII for Wii owners”.

PRO
- The essence of the Old, with a revitalizing essence of the new
- Awesome graphics & a stylish presentation
- Music composed by Yasunori Mutsuda, mastermind behind the bells & whistles of Chrono Trigger, Tobal No.1, and Xenogears

CON
- Weak voice acting

Review Score: 7.5/10